Eating Disorder Treatment in Glen Iris Melbourne: Compassionate, Recovery-Focused Care

Non-judgmental psychological support for eating disorders, body image concerns, and disordered eating patterns

Understanding Eating Disorders

Eating disorders are complex mental health conditions that affect how you think about food, your body, and yourself. They exist on a spectrum—from restrictive eating and obsessive calorie counting to binge eating, purging behaviours, or rigid food rules that control your life. While eating disorders involve food and body image, at their core they're often about control, self-worth, emotional regulation, and unmet needs.

Recovery is possible, and it begins with compassionate, evidence-based support that addresses not just eating behaviours, but the underlying thoughts, feelings, and patterns that maintain the disorder.

Therapy provides a safe, non-judgmental space to explore your relationship with food and your body, understand what the eating disorder is serving in your life, and develop healthier ways to meet your emotional needs.

When Professional Support Is Needed

Common Presentations in Eating Disorder Therapy:

Restrictive Eating and Food Control Rigid food rules, calorie restriction, fear of certain foods, or compulsive exercise patterns that dominate daily life and thinking.

Body Image Distress Persistent dissatisfaction with your appearance, body checking behaviours, avoidance of mirrors or photos, or distorted perceptions of your body.

Binge Eating Patterns Episodes of eating large amounts of food with a sense of loss of control, often followed by shame, guilt, or compensatory behaviours.

Identity Beyond the Eating Disorder Feeling as though the eating disorder has become central to your identity, or struggling to imagine yourself without it.

Emotional Regulation Through Food Using food restriction, binge eating, or purging to manage difficult emotions like anxiety, sadness, anger, or numbness.

Impact on Relationships and Functioning Withdrawal from social situations involving food, difficulty maintaining work or study, or strained relationships due to eating disorder behaviours.

A Compassionate, Recovery-Focused Approach

Treatment for eating disorders requires specialized understanding and a gentle, non-judgmental approach that recognizes the eating disorder often developed as a way of coping with overwhelming feelings or circumstances.

Key Elements of Eating Disorder Therapy:

Body Image Healing Moving beyond appearance-focused thinking toward body respect and self-compassion. This involves challenging internalised beliefs about weight, appearance, and worth, and developing a more neutral or accepting relationship with your body.

Identity and Self-Worth Work Exploring who you are beyond the eating disorder. Many people find that their sense of self has become intertwined with food rules, body size, or eating disorder behaviours. Therapy helps you reconnect with your values, strengths, and authentic identity.

Emotional Regulation Strategies Developing healthier ways to manage difficult emotions without relying on eating disorder behaviours. This includes building awareness of emotional triggers and learning skills to tolerate distress.

Understanding the Function of the Disorder Gently exploring what the eating disorder provides—whether it's a sense of control, a way to numb emotions, punishment, or protection. Understanding this helps identify what needs aren't being met and find healthier ways to address them.

Nutritional Psychology and Food Flexibility Working toward a more balanced, flexible relationship with food that's free from rigid rules or fear. This often involves challenging black-and-white thinking around "good" and "bad" foods.

Family and Support System Involvement When appropriate, involving family members or support people in the recovery process can provide crucial understanding and support, particularly for adolescents.

Therapeutic Approaches for Eating Disorders

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT-E) CBT for eating disorders addresses the thoughts and behaviours that maintain the disorder, helping you develop more balanced perspectives about food, weight, and self-worth.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) ACT helps you develop psychological flexibility, accept difficult feelings without using eating disorder behaviours, and reconnect with what truly matters to you beyond appearance or weight.

Schema Therapy Exploring how early experiences shaped beliefs about yourself, your body, and your worth. Schema therapy addresses core wounds that may underlie the eating disorder.

Emotion-Focused Approaches Building capacity to recognise, tolerate, and express emotions safely, reducing reliance on eating disorder behaviours for emotional regulation.

The Recovery Journey

Recovery from an eating disorder isn't linear, and it looks different for everyone. It's not simply about restoring weight or normalising eating patterns—it's about developing a fundamentally different relationship with yourself, your body, and food.

Recovery involves:

• Challenging the eating disorder voice and developing your authentic voice
• Building self-compassion when setbacks occur
• Reconnecting with life beyond food and body concerns
• Developing trust in your body's signals
• Creating a life worth living that isn't controlled by the eating disorder

Collaborative Care Approach

Eating disorder treatment often works best when psychological therapy is coordinated with other healthcare providers, including:

• General practitioners for medical monitoring
• Dietitians for nutritional rehabilitation
• Psychiatrists if medication support is needed

This collaborative approach ensures comprehensive care that addresses all aspects of recovery.

Finding Eating Disorder Support in Glen Iris

When seeking therapy for an eating disorder, consider:

• A psychologist with training in eating disorder treatment approaches
• A non-judgmental, weight-neutral approach focused on health rather than appearance
• Understanding of the complexity of eating disorders and recovery
• Willingness to work collaboratively with other healthcare providers

Take the First Step Toward Recovery

If you're struggling with an eating disorder or disordered eating patterns, reaching out for support is an act of courage. Recovery is possible, and you don't have to navigate this journey alone.

Located in Glen Iris, Melbourne | Medicare Rebates Available | Telehealth Options

Contact Annamariya H Psychology today to discuss compassionate, evidence-based support for eating disorder recovery.

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