Eating disorder treatment in Austin, Texas
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Do you worry that you have lost control over how much you eat?
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Do you make yourself sick or otherwise compensate (including exercise) if you feel uncomfortably full after a meal?
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Do you currently suffer with eating issues, such as anxiety about eating, discomfort eating around others, extreme guilt about eating?
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Do you ever eat in secret?
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Do you ever pretend to eat more than you have actually eaten?
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Does your weight or body affect how you feel about yourself and your worth?
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The most important diagnostic question is this:
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Do you spend the majority of the day thinking about food or body?
Regardless of behaviors, it is the mental activity that is one of the most important factors of an eating disorder.
We can help you find peace with food and your body
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Learn how to listen to and work with your body to normalize your eating.
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Understand your body story and where the ruptures in the relationship with your body occurred.
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Work through body shame to get to embodiment.
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Improve emotional regulation from nourishment, skills, and healed wounds.
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Improve your relationship with activity so that you no longer push yourself to do things you do not need to do. Understand the dangers of the push.
We provide a gentle and steady support to our clients. Many people are nervous about starting a process like this, and we want to make it as smooth as possible.
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Our practice is inclusive, fat-positive, and a safe environment for people to heal.
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We provide treatment at a comfortable pace, while being mindful of any health or safety issues that may require a higher level of care, such as residential eating disorder treatment.
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You will have space for so much more life
when your eating disorder is behind you.
Levels of care for eating disorder treatment in Texas
If you or someone you know is struggling with eating and body issues, it can be hard to know where to turn for help. Eating disorders can be debilitating or even deadly, and the best recovery outcomes can depend on rapid detection and treatment.
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Outpatient eating disorder treatment at Austin Counseling and Nutrition
The level of care we offer is outpatient treatment, which typically consists of weekly individual visits with a counselor and a dietitian. This is the level of care where most people start, and we are able to assess the need for higher levels of care and make recommendations accordingly.
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Most clients benefit from both a therapist and a dietitian during eating disorder treatment. Eating disorder dietitians help people understand the truth about nutrition, food, and bodies. They can help dispel myths from media and society. Eating disorder dietitians make sure intake is adequate to prevent malnourishment and reduce binges, as well as help with gastrointestinal issues that often develop.
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Eating disorder counselors help people identify original wounds that drive the disordered relationship with food and body. Therapists can explore roots of insecurities, as well as process any traumas that may dictate behavior. Our counselors are trained in EMDR, a therapy that can provide rapid changes in emotional regulation and undesired behavior.
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Together the two pieces, nutrition and therapy, help a person fully heal from disordered eating or eating disorders. Coordination with a medical doctor creates a full team for the treatment of someone struggling with an eating disorder.
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Higher Levels of Care for Eating Disorder Treatment in Texas
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Residential Treatment
Depending on the severity of the disease, different levels of care are indicated. If someone needs support around the clock, this calls for a residential level of care for 24 hours a day. The only level of care higher is hospitalization, which may be indicated if the individual is not medically stable or requires a tube feeding, etc. This level is offered in Dallas at Eating Recovery Center (ERC), and in Houston at Center for Discovery (CFD).
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Partial Hospitalization Programs
There are also daytime programs available (Partial Hospitalization Programs) for those who are stable enough to return home at the end of the treatment day. The programs and groups may be similar at this level to those provided at the residential level of care. This type of program ranges from 5 to 10 hours a day, depending on need and/or the facility. In Austin, we have Eating Recovery Center and Center for Discovery offering this level of eating disorder treatment.
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Intensive Outpatient Programs
The bridge to or from these higher levels to outpatient is typically the Intensive Outpatient Program. This is usually a few days a week for a few hours. It is often offered in the evening, which allows the individual to continue to maintain school or work responsibilities if needed or able. ERC and CFD are Austin area providers of this level of care.
Treatment can be needed for as little as 6 months (in less severe cases) to as long as 5-10 years (the typical length of time to fully recover from a severe eating disorder). On average, treatment of some kind spans from 1 to 3 years, with visits becoming less frequent as conditions improve.
Eating Disorder Therapists in Austin, TX
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Owner, ACN
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Dietitian, Counselor
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Disordered Eating
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Eating Disorders
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EMDR trained
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Trauma
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Body Image
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Ages 12+
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Therapist
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Disordered Eating and Eating Disorders
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Body image & self-esteem
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Trauma/PTSD
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Cultural Adjustment
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Uses DBT, CBT, and expressive arts therapies
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Ages 7+
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Therapist
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Disordered Eating and Eating Disorders
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Body image
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Communities of color, Asian and Muslim communities
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EMDR trained
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Teens and adults
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Therapist
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Disordered Eating and Eating Disorders
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Body image
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Utilizes DBT, ACT, CBT, Motivational Interviewing, and EFT
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Teens and adults
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Sees individuals, couples, & families
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Disordered Eating & Eating Disorders
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Body Image and Embodiment
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EMDR, DBT, and EFT trained
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Trauma and Stress
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Relationship Concerns
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Ages 14+
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Disordered Eating & Eating Disorders
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Body Image
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Trauma/PTSD
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Mood disorders
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Personality disorders
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Substance use disorders
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Ages 5+
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Disordered Eating & Eating Disorders
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Body Image
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Trauma/PTSD
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Sexuality
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DBT, ACT, and EMDR
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Individuals and Couples
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Teens and adults
Eating Disorder Facts
Whether you are struggling with an eating disorder, or you know someone who is, you need to know these facts. These disorders are often not at all what you think they are. It is not about appearance or food. It is not something that can easily be turned off.
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1. An eating disorder is not about food. While food provides the focus and distraction of the disorder, it is only the surface issue. This focus on food provides a distraction from deeper emotional issues -- issues the person is not even aware they have. This person is struggling with emotional regulation. He or she does not recognize emotions well and does not cope with them appropriately.
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2. Eating disorders are not about appearance. Body image, like food, provides a distraction from what is really going on inside. If a person is nervous about a test or a relationship (something out of a person's control), the body feels like a distraction that can be controlled and manipulated.
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3. A person does not choose to have this problem. It is easy to feel like a person has gotten themselves into this mess and they can just decide to stop. This is not the case. The causes are both genetic and environmental in origin. The saying is "Genetics load the gun, and environment pulls the trigger". In any event, once a person is afflicted, they will need professional help to truly overcome the deep issues it brings.
4. This problem affects at least one in five women and at least one million men. Look around you. Think of the women in your life--you know someone who is dealing with these issues, whether you realize it or not. If you think someone is struggling, there is a good chance they are. Realize this, people with anorexia do eat (it is just not enough), and not all people with bulimia throw up (some overexercise, use laxatives, etc.). There are many other types of disorders besides these two. There are issues like compulsive overeating, binge eating, orthorexia (obsession with health and healthy eating). I have seen many people go unnoticed because their disorder wasn't obvious enough.
5. Eating disorders are the most fatal of all psychological disorders. People get lulled into complacency when they know someone who isn't "too skinny". Be aware that the majority of people dealing with these disorders are not underweight. Many are in larger bodies. Those who struggle with purging can be at an even higher risk of cardiac death than many low weight people with anorexia. Regardless, suicide is a common cause of death in those who struggle with eating disorders. You must take it very seriously.
Our Dietitians
Registered Dietitian in Austin, TX, specializing in helping people with eating disorders & disordered eating.
Intuitive Eating
Health at Every Size
Works with adolescents and adults.
Registered Dietitian in Austin, TX, specializing in helping people with eating disorders & disordered eating
Intuitive Eating
Health at Every Size
Works with older children, adolescents, and adults.
Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor and Registered Dietitian in Austin, TX, specializing in helping people with eating disorders & disordered eating.
Intuitive Eating
Health at Every Size
Works with 12 years old and older.
Frequently asked questions:
What types of eating disorder treatment do you offer?
We help people with all types of eating disorders, including: binge eating disorder, anorexia, bulimia, avoidant restrictive feeding and intake disorder (ARFID). Many eating disorders do not fit in an easy box and are called eating disorders not otherwise specified. We offer outpatient eating disorder therapy and nutrition counseling services. We also assess for the need for more intense eating disorder treatment and guide you through this process.
How much are parents involved in the treatment?
We welcome parent involvement, and we will contact the parents any time we need additional support from them. Depending on your child's needs and preferences, we will help guide you through this process to the extent desired.
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How long does it take to be recovered from an eating disorder?
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This is difficult to estimate. There is data that indicates eating disorder treatment can take 5-10 years due to the severity of the disorder. In cases where the behaviors are new and the client is motivated, some people can recover to a certain degree within the year. However, it is very difficult (or impossible) for some clients to be highly motivated because of the nutritional decline.
Eating disorder statistics
1 in 5 women struggle with an eating disorder or disordered eating.
National Institute of Mental Health's (NIMH) guide, Eating Disorders: Facts About Eating Disorders and the Search for Solutions
Eating Disorders affect up to 24 million Americans and 70 million individuals worldwide.
The Renfrew Center Foundation for Eating Disorders, Eating Disorders 101 Guide: A Summary of Issues, Statistics and Resources, published September 2002, revised October 2003, http://www.renfrew.org.
An estimated 10 to 15% of people with anorexia or bulimia are male.
Carlat, D.J. Camargo. Review of Bulimia in Males. American Journal of Psychiatry, 154, 1997
At least 50,000 individuals will die as a direct result of an eating disorder.
It is estimated that currently 11% of high school students have been diagnosed with an eating disorder.
ANAD Ten Year Study. National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders. www.anad.org
15% of young women in the US who are not diagnosed with an eating disorder display substantially disordered eating attitudes and behaviors.
Girl Power!, a public education program of the US Department of Health and Human Services.
A Study conducted by Cornell University found that 40% of male football players surveyed engaged in some sort of disordered eating behavior. (Newsweek, 1994)
The most common behavior that will lead to an eating disorder is dieting.
Natalia Zunino, Ph.D, of American Anorexia and Bulimia Association, Inc.
The diet and diet related industry is a 50 billion dollar a year enterprise.
Garner, D.W., Wooley, S.C. (1991), "Confronting the failure of behavioral and dietary treatments for obesity." Clinical Psychology Review, 11, pp. 727-780.
35% of "normal dieters" progress to pathological dieting. Of those, 20-25% progress to partial or full syndrome eating disorders.
Shisslak, C.M., Crago, M., & Estes, L.S. (1995). The spectrum of eating disturbances. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 18 (3), 209-219.
According to a recent study, over 1/2 the females between the ages of 18-25 would prefer to be run over by a truck then be fat, and 2/3 surveyed would rather be mean or stupid.
Gaesser, G. (1996), Big Fat Lies: The Truth About Your Weight and Your Health. New York: Fawcett Columbine.
51% of 9 and 10 year-old girls feel better about themselves if they are on a diet.
Mellin LM, Irwin CE & Scully S: Disordered eating characteristics in girls: A survey of middle class children. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 1992; 92:851-53
42% of 1st-3rd grade girls want to be thinner (Collins, 1991).
Collins M.E. (1991) Body figure and preferences among pre-adolescent children. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 199-208.
46% of 9-11 year-olds are "sometimes" or "very often" on diets, and 82% of their families are "sometimes" or "very often" on diets. (Gustafson-Larson & Terry, 1992).
Gustafson-Larson, A., & Terry, R.D. (1992). Weight-related behaviors and concerns of fourth-grade children. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 92, 818-822.
81% of 10 year olds are afraid of being fat. 51% of 9 and 10 year old girls feel better about themselves if they are on a diet.
Mellin LM, Irwin CE & Scully S: Disordered eating characteristics in girls: A survey of middle class children. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 1992; 92:851-53.
Time Magazine reports that 80% of all children have been on a diet by the time that they have reached the fourth grade.
2 out of 5 women and 1 out of 5 men would trade 3 to 5 years of their life to achieve their goal body weight. (Rader Programs)
91 % of women surveyed on a college campus had attempted to control their weight through dieting, 22% dieted "often" or "always".
Kurth CL, Krahn DD, Nairn K & Drewnowski A: The severity of dieting and bingeing behaviors in college women: Interview validation of survey data. Journal of Psychiatric Research. 1995; 29(3):211-25.
The average woman is 5'4" and weighs 140 pounds. The average model is 5'11" and weighs 117 pounds. Most fashion models are thinner than 98% of American women.
Smolak L. (1996). National Eating Disorders Association/Next Door Neighbors puppet guide book.
If today's mannequins were actual human women, based on theoretical body fat percentages, they would probably cease to menstruate.
Rader Programs. www.raderprograms.com.
Anorexia is the 3rd most common chronic illness among adolescents.
Public Health Service's Office in Women's Health, Eating Disorder Information Sheet, 2000.
A young woman with anorexia is 12 times more likely to die than other women her age without anorexia.
Mortality in Anorexia Nervosa. American Journal of Psychiatry, 152(7), 1073-1074.
Five to ten percent of anorexics die within ten years of onset, 18-20 percent die within twenty years of onset, and only 50 percent report ever being cured.
American Psychiatric Association (1993), "Practice Guidelines for Eating Disorders." American Journal of Psychiatry, 150 (2), pp 212-228.
20% of people suffering from anorexia will prematurely die from complications related to their eating disorder, including suicide and heart problems.
The Renfrew Center Foundation for Eating Disorders, "Eating Disorders 101 Guide: A Summary of Issues, Statistics and Resources," published September 2002, revised October 2003, www.renfrew.org.
Up to 19% of college aged women in America are bulimic.
Rader Programs. www.raderprograms.com.
Bulimia often occurs in athletes such as gymnasts, wrestlers, dancers, horse jockeys, football players, and runners.
2% - 5 % of the American population experience Binge Eating Disorder.
National Institute of Mental Health. Eating Disorders NIH Publication No. 94-3477 Rockville, MD, 1994
Men constitute 40% of those exhibiting Binge Eating Disorder.
American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Ed. (DSM-IV). Washington DC, 1994.
Without treatment, up to 20% of people with serious eating disorders die. With treatment, the mortality rate falls to 2-3%.
Only 1 in 10 people with eating disorders receive treatment.
According to eating disorders statistics, about 80% of the girls/women who have accessed care for their eating disorders do not get the intensity of treatment they need to stay in recovery.
If you or a loved one is in need of eating disorder treatment, call or text (512) 655-3878 or use the contact button to send an email.
