Why Eating Disorders Are Increasing — Especially in Urban Areas

Body image pressure is more intense right now than at any time in recent history.

• Social media algorithms amplify unrealistic beauty standards.

• Wellness culture often disguises restriction as “discipline.”

• Professional environments in major metropolitan areas (Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Albuquerque) frequently reward appearance, productivity, and control.

• High-achieving individuals often internalize the message that their bodies must be optimized just like their careers.

For professionals, entrepreneurs, creatives, and high performers, eating disorders can become a quiet coping strategy — one that temporarily provides a sense of control, numbness, or relief from anxiety.

But over time, it creates isolation, shame, and exhaustion.

Therapy can help you step out of that cycle.

Our Integrative Approach to Eating Disorder Treatment

There is no single technique that works for everyone. That’s why I use an integrative approach, drawing from multiple evidence-based methods and tailoring them to your specific needs, history, and goals. Eating disorders are complex — often rooted in emotional, relational, and cultural factors — so treatment needs to be equally nuanced and individualized.

One core component of my work is Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). Eating disorders are often attempts to regulate overwhelming emotions. DBT helps you develop practical skills to manage intense feelings without turning to bingeing, restricting, purging, or compulsive behaviors. Together, we focus on regulating emotions, reducing binge–purge cycles, managing urges without acting on them, building distress tolerance, and strengthening self-compassion. Instead of relying on food or control as coping strategies, you learn new tools that actually work.

For clients who struggle with fear foods, rigid food rules, body checking, compulsive weighing, or OCD-related eating patterns, I incorporate Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). ERP gently and systematically reduces anxiety around food and body triggers by helping you face feared situations without engaging in compulsive behaviors. Over time, your nervous system learns that you can tolerate discomfort without needing rituals or avoidance. This approach is especially helpful when eating disorders overlap with obsessive-compulsive traits.

I also practice from a trauma-informed lens. Many eating disorders are rooted in developmental trauma, emotional neglect, chronic criticism, narcissistic family systems, or body shaming experiences. In this context, the eating disorder often began as a form of protection — a way to cope, numb, or create a sense of control. In therapy, we explore these roots with care and compassion, working to build safer, more sustainable coping strategies. Healing the nervous system is often just as important as changing food behaviors.

Finally, my work is grounded in Intuitive Eating and Health at Every Size® (HAES) philosphies. Diet culture is not recovery. We focus on rebuilding hunger and fullness cues, reducing food guilt, unlearning moral judgments about eating, and restoring metabolic trust. Treatment is weight-inclusive and centered on body neutrality rather than body perfection. Recovery is not about shrinking your body — it’s about expanding your life. 

What Eating Disorder Recovery Can Look Like

Recovery does not mean:

• Loving your body every day

• Never having food thoughts again

• Eliminating anxiety entirely

Recovery can mean:

• Eating without panic

• Fewer obsessive thoughts

• Reduced binge/restrict cycles

• More mental energy for your relationships and career

• Feeling at home in your body

It is possible.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to be underweight to have an eating disorder?

No. Eating disorders occur at every body size.

Do you work with clients who are not ready to give up dieting?

Yes. We move at your pace.

Is this therapy weight-focused?

No. My work is weight-inclusive and aligned with Health at Every Size principles.

Can you work with clients who also have OCD, trauma, ADHD, or anxiety?

Yes. My integrative approach addresses overlapping concerns.

Begin Eating Disorder Therapy

If you are exhausted from the mental noise around food and your body, therapy can help you build a steadier, more compassionate relationship with yourself.

You deserve support that sees the whole picture — not just the symptoms.

Schedule a consultation today to begin eating disorder therapy in California, Oregon, Washington, or New Mexico.