FAQ’s

Book Session

• Therapists and licensed mental health practitioners have specialized training to help you examine the Why’s of how you developed your eating disorder and to work through and treat underlying issues behind your eating disorder. They are also able to diagnose and treat other psychological issues which might be present such as depression, anxiety, a trauma history or substance use disorders.

• As a life coach I do not diagnose or treat conditions or have the training to delve into more underlying issues. Instead, I am trained to support the work and treatment goals you have with your therapist or treatment team should you be working with one, to focus on the “here and now” and the How’s of recovery, and to help you in accomplishing day-to-day behavior changes. However, if underlying issues do come up in a coaching session they will be empathized with and considered for how they are affecting you now, as well as how you might be able to bring them up with your therapist or most appropriate treatment team member.

• Therapists generally work from an office and sessions are generally an hour long. As a coach I can be an addition to the work you are doing with your therapist and work with you in areas where you might need support in your daily life and for variable lengths of time. For example support with eating at restaurants or grocery shopping.

• Having recovered from my own eating disorder, I can also act as a tangible role model for recovered living and I hope to provide you with a source of hope and inspiration that full recovery is possible. From my own experiences, I truly know the pain of an eating disorder and the challenges of recovery. Through my training I am conscious of how to use my personal experience in the best interest of each client.

• As a coach, I am trained to be a supportive addition to a treatment team and to help you implement the goals that you are working on with your team into your daily life.

• I will work with you in the here and now, dealing with your current thoughts, feelings and behaviors and with helping you to build a skill base for daily living that will help your recovery become internalized and lasting in a complementary way to what you are working on with your therapist and other team members.

• As a recovered coach, I am also trained in how to use my personal experience in the best interest of each client, and can provide you with a tangible role model for recovered living and I hope to provide you with a source of hope and inspiration that full recovery is possible.

• Learning and practicing new ways of coping with difficult emotions
• Developing and practicing self-compassion
• Body image healing work
• Exploring your true values
• Exploring and working on motivation, patience and hope and your Why’s for recovery
• Learning and practicing ways of challenging eating disorder thoughts
• Helping you to set goals and supporting and guiding you in achieving your goals
• Challenging eating disorder behaviors in a planned, supported way
• Eating meals, snacks and fear foods together as you feel ready
• Supporting you with grocery shopping, meal preparation, clothing shopping, and other practical aspects of recovery work
• Supporting you in accessing and strengthening your authentic self or wise mind so that this part of you can heal your eating disorder self and
• Supporting the work you’re doing with your treatment team, therapist or dietitian.

In May 2013, binge eating disorder was included as an official diagnosis in the DSM-5 (APA, 2013)—that’s the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

According to the DSM-5, when a person meets the criteria for binge eating disorder, they experience recurring episodes of binging. A binge episode is characterized by two things. First, a person eats more food than would be considered normal in a similar situation and in the same amount of time. (Some binges can last for hours.) Second, a person feels a loss of control over the quantity or kind of food being eaten.

Bingeing episodes are associated with at least three of five behavioral indicators:

1. eating past the point of feeling comfortably full
2. eating large amounts when not hungry
3. eating unusually fast
4. eating by oneself to avoid embarrassment
5. feeling shame, depression, or guilt following a binge eating episode.

A person experiences clear distress about binge eating, and the binges occur at least once weekly for three months. A person with binge eating disorder doesn’t try to make up for the bingeing with intentional vomiting, excessive use of laxatives, or excessive exercise; these are called compensatory behaviors and they define bulimia nervosa (Herpetz et al., 2011; Tanofsky-Kraff et al., 2013). Binge eating disorder happens outside of episodes of anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa.

References

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: Author.

Herpetz, S., Hagenah, U., Vocks, S., von Wietersheim, J., Cuntz, U., Zeeck, A., et al. (2011). The diagnosis and treatment of eating disorders. Deutsches Arzteblatt International, 108(40), 678–685. doi:10.3238.arztebl.2011.0678

Tanofsky-Kraff, M., Bulik, C. M., Marcus, M. D., Striegel, R. H., Wilfley, D. E., Wonderlich, S. A., et al. (2013). Binge eating disorder: The next generation of research. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 46, 193–207. doi:10.1002/eat.22089