Healing from Eating Disorders, Chronic Dieting, and Body Image Struggles

Do you feel stuck in an exhausting cycle of dieting, worrying about food, or struggling to feel at home in your body? Whether you’re dealing with an eating disorder, recovering from a lifetime of chronic dieting, or wrestling with negative body image, you’re not alone—and healing is possible.

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At Brown Dog Therapy and Wellness, I help adult clients in Virginia and Maryland untangle these challenges with compassion and care. Together, we’ll create a safe space to explore these struggles, honor your experiences, and move toward a more peaceful relationship with food and your body.

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What does an Eating Disorder look like?

 

It’s common to think of eating disorders as diseases that only affect thin, young, white women, but this stereotype is far from the truth. Eating disorders affect people of all genders, races, body sizes, and cultural backgrounds. In fact, Diet Culture normalizes and praises so many disordered behaviors that many people don’t realize that they might have an eating disorder. There is no one way to “look” like you have an eating disorder—and no one is ever too "healthy" or "unhealthy" to seek help.

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Eating disorders might include:

• Feeling consumed by thoughts about food, weight, or exercise,

• Using food (or the restriction of it) as a way to cope with emotions or feel in control,

• Experiences of binging, purging, or extreme restriction.

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Chronic dieting might feel like:

• A constant cycle of restricting, overeating, and guilt,

• Trying every diet under the sun but never feeling satisfied or enough,

• Struggling to trust your body’s cues or feeling disconnected from it.

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Body image struggles might feel like:

• A sense of shame, discomfort, or judgment about your body,

• Feeling like your worth is tied to how you look,

• Avoiding mirrors, photos, or social situations because of your body.​

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These experiences are made more complicated and confusing by the fact that our society is obsessed with thinness, and it seems like everybody all around us is dieting. Maybe you know that these thoughts and behaviors aren't working for you anymore and you want to feel more freedom around food, exercise, and your body, but everybody else in your life seems to be happily engaging in Diet Culture.

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This is such a common experience, but these behaviors and feelings do not have to define or consume you any longer.

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My clients often share struggles such as:

• Feeling like their lives revolve around food and weight,

• Doubting that they'll ever feel comfortable in their own skin,

• Wondering if it's even possible to let go of the control that diets promise.

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​If this sounds familiar, know that you're not alone, and that healing doesn't mean giving up; it means finding freedom.

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The Brown Dog Therapy and Wellness approach to working with disordered eating, exercise, and body image:​

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I work from an anti-diet, body-neutral lens to help you divest from the harmful expectations of Diet Culture and reconnect with what truly nourishes you—physically, mentally, and emotionally. I practice from the Health At Every Size® (HAES) approach, which emphasizes that health is not defined by body size or shape. This means that we’ll focus on behaviors that support your well-being, rather than weight as a measure of success. Together, we’ll cultivate self-compassion and create a space where your body is respected, just as it is.

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My approach honors the systemic and cultural factors that impact your relationship with food and your body, while holding space for your unique story.

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Together, we can:​

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• Investigate and challenge harmful beliefs. Using approaches like Narrative Therapy, we’ll explore how Diet Culture, White Supremacy, Misogyny, and other societal messages have shaped your relationship with food and your body—and begin to rewrite those stories.

• Explore the pain beneath the surface. Eating disorders are often trauma disorders, rooted in early experiences, family dynamics, or interpersonal trauma. Through trauma-focused modalities like EMDR therapy, we’ll gently explore the events that shaped your relationship with food and your body. This process helps reduce the emotional charge of painful memories and creates space for healing and self-compassion.

• Develop supportive tools. Through CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy), we’ll focus on building up your toolbox to improve your ability to sit with painful emotions (rather than turn to food or restriction to feel better), challenge negative self-talk, and cultivate self-compassion.

• Reclaim peace and self-trust. Using nervous system regulation tools and body image work, we’ll reconnect with your body’s wisdom, foster acceptance, and find joy in caring for yourself—not controlling yourself. This will allow you to build a sense of safety within yourself. Nervous system awareness and regulation techniques can help you feel more in tune with your body and its cues, creating a foundation for self-trust. Together, we’ll work toward caring for yourself in ways that feel empowering, rather than rooted in control or shame.

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How I can help:​

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Healing body image involves helping my clients move away from judgment and shame, and toward acceptance and respect for their bodies. Together, we’ll work on reconnecting with your body through practices like mindfulness and self-compassion, fostering a self-relationship based on care rather than control. This includes honoring your body’s needs and rejecting harmful Diet Culture messages.

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​Take the first step.​

You deserve a life where food and body image don’t take up all your energy. Let’s work together to create a more peaceful relationship with yourself. Schedule a free consultation today.