My Personal Philosophy for Transforming Eating Disorder Recovery

After 20 years dedicated to working with eating disorders, particularly bulimia and binge eating disorder, I’ve come to a profound realization: a coaching approach offers a uniquely powerful path to recovery. My philosophy centers on empowering you, not just treating a condition. It’s a dynamic, solution-focused journey that meets you where you are, without judgment, and leverages your inherent strengths to build lasting change.

A CBT-Informed Approach

From Core Beliefs to Lasting Change

At the heart of my coaching is a deep dive into your core beliefs. These deeply ingrained convictions about yourself, others, and the world often stem from childhood influences and significant figures. They profoundly shape your thought processes, emotions, and behaviors, frequently fueling the eating disorder cycle.

Drawing heavily on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), we will work collaboratively to identify these foundational beliefs. For instance, a core belief like “I’m not good enough” can lead to automatic negative thoughts such as “I’ll never truly recover,” triggering despair and potentially driving binge eating as a coping mechanism. We will  identify these thought patterns and the underlying beliefs, then apply CBT techniques to:

  • Challenge unhelpful thoughts: Develop strategies to question the validity of negative thoughts and replace them with more balanced and realistic perspectives.
  • Develop alternative coping strategies: Create healthier behavioral responses to challenging situations and emotions, rather than relying on disordered eating.
  • Identify cognitive distortions: Learn to recognize common thinking errors (e.g., all-or-nothing thinking, catastrophizing) that maintain the eating disorder cycle.

Quieting the Inner Critic

Cultivating Self-Compassion

A common companion when struggling with an eating disorder journey is the relentless inner critic. This internalised voice manifests as harsh self-judgment, negative self-talk, and feelings of shame, often propelling restrictive behaviours or binge-purge cycles.

 

My CBT-informed approach

To quieten the inner Critic

 

We will work together to:

  • Identify the Critic’s Voice: Pinpoint exactly when and how your inner critic speaks—is it a voice of perfectionism, harsh judgment, or fear?
  • Challenge Negative Self-Talk: Scrutinize the validity of these critical internal messages. Is what the critic saying truly accurate or helpful for your recovery?
  • Reframe and Replace: Transform critical thoughts into more compassionate, realistic, and supportive internal dialogues. This isn’t about ignoring challenges but fostering a kinder relationship with yourself.
  • Develop Self-Compassion: Cultivate self-compassion by treating yourself with the same kindness and understanding you would offer a friend, directly counteracting the critic’s harshness.

 

Building on Strengths

The Power of Positive Psychology

My coaching philosophy is further enriched by my training in Positive Psychology. This vital field moves beyond simply addressing what’s “wrong” and instead focuses on identifying and cultivating your inherent strengths, virtues, and positive experiences. It’s about helping you thrive, not just survive.

Rather than exclusively focusing on deficits or problems, we intentionally build upon your existing resources, resilience, and unique capabilities, equipping you with the tools to live a more fulfilling and meaningful life beyond the eating disorder.

Emotional Balance and Sustained Motivation

Emotional dysregulation often sits at the core of binge eating, where food becomes a default coping mechanism for difficult emotions. A significant focus of our work will be developing robust emotional regulation strategies. You’ll learn healthier, more effective ways to navigate intense feelings, reducing the urge to turn to food for comfort or escape.

Motivation for change is both vital and fragile. Knowing this, I integrate Motivational Interviewing strategies to nurture and sustain your drive throughout recovery. We’ll collaboratively identify your intrinsic reasons for change, strengthening your commitment and keeping your motivation high, even when faced with obstacles.

Integrating Mind and Body

Mindfulness, Visualization, and Yoga

To further support your journey, I incorporate powerful mind-body techniques:

  • Mindfulness: Cultivate greater awareness of your thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations without judgment. This helps you interrupt automatic patterns, develop self-compassion, and enhance present moment awareness of hunger and fullness cues.
  • Visualization: Create vivid mental images of desired outcomes or coping strategies. This helps you rehearse desired behaviors, strengthen your sense of agency, and reduce anxiety by creating calming mental landscapes.

Yoga Therapy

Additionally, for those interested, I offer Yoga as a specialized part of my service. Yoga provides a profound way to reconnect with your body compassionately, fostering:

  • Improved body image: Shifting focus from external appearance to internal sensation and strength.
  • Reduced anxiety and stress: Through breathwork and mindful movement, yoga calms the nervous system.
  • Enhanced interoception: Developing a greater awareness of internal bodily signals, such as hunger, fullness, and emotions.
  • Increased self-awareness: Fostering a deeper connection between mind and body, leading to greater emotional understanding.

 

Empathy Born from Experience

Having personally recovered from an eating disorder over 25 years ago, I appreciate the immense challenges you may be facing. While every person’s journey is unique, my experience allows me to meet you with genuine understanding and empathy. My commitment is to create a safe, non-judgmental space where you can explore, learn, and grow.

All consultations are conveniently conducted via Zoom, offering flexibility and accessibility regardless of your location.

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