With a Little Help From My Family: Who is FBT For?

Meal support for Eating Disorder Recovery in Los Angeles, California [Image description: 2 Asian young women eating together] Depicts a potential young adult supporting a friend in eating disorder recovery in Los Angeles, CA via meal support

Family-Based Treatment–Not Just For Teens–For Adults Too! Family-Based Treatment (FBT) is the leading evidence-based treatment for teens with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. One of the common misbeliefs I hear is that it’s “only for kids or younger teens.” However, I think it has much wider applicability. In fact, I would say that my FBT …

Read more

When Eating Disorder Providers Are Steeped in Diet Culture

When Eating Disorder Providers are Steeped in Diet Culture [Image description: photo of an ice cream cone with 3 different flavors of ice cream] Portrays a possible snack for a person in eating disorder recovery in Los Angeles, California

Providers With Weight Stigma “People are concerned about the fact that I’m a therapist and have an eating disorder, and I’m like, ‘You’re concerned about me? I’m concerned about our entire fucking field.’” — Shira Rose, FoodPsych with Christy Harrison This quote has generated a lot of reactions. In this podcast, Shira—who lives in a …

Read more

Instagram to make Diet Ads viewable for ages 18 and over—Why They should Remove Them Altogether

Instagram to make Diet Ads viewable for ages 18 and over—Why They should Remove Them Altogether - Dangerous of Diet Products on Instagram and Other social media [Image description: photo of a mobile phone with instagram app open]

by Carolyn Comas, LCSW, CEDS-S On September 18th, 2019 Instagram instituted an official policy that all ads promoting diet and weight loss products would only be able to be viewed by users 18 and over. Under this policy, once reported they can remove false ads. This is a huge victory in the world of challenging …

Read more

Cutting Down on Food and Fitness Tracking

Cutting Down on Food and Fitness Tracking in Los Angeles, California [Image description: photo of a person looking at their wearable smart watch] Represents a person in counseling for an eating disorder in Los Angeles, California

Have you been tracking your food via a calorie-counting app? Maybe you’ve been tracking your exercise through a wearable or other system. Did you know such tracking: May encourage a disordered relationship with food and your body? May actually be jeopardizing your health rather than helping you to monitor it? If you’ve noticed that you’re …

Read more

Do I Need to Quit X to Stay in Recovery?

Do I need to quit X to stay in recovery in Los Angeles, California [Image description: photo of a girl in a swimsuit looking away from the pool during a swim meet] Represents a potential teen in eating disorder recovery wrestling with whether she can continue her sport.

By Carolyn Hersh, LCSW, CEDS-S Clinical Supervisor A difficult decision in recovery is knowing when to let go of an activity–or even a job–that could potentially re-ignite the eating disorder. As a therapist I find myself guiding my clients through exploration of their values. Some come to realize that the sport or career path they …

Read more

When You Have Adapted a Health At Every Size Approach and Your Family is Still Stuck in Diet Culture

When You Have Adapted a Health At Every Size Approach and Your Family is Still Stuck in Diet Culture [Image description: photo of a crack] Represents a potential chasm between a patient in California receiving HAES eating disorder therapy and their family still stuck in diet culture

For many of my patients who have firmly joined the anti-diet camp and embraced a Health at Every Size® (HAES) approach to health, dealing with family members entrenched in diet culture can be a minefield that is tough to navigate. Let me say that I get it! I also have friends and family members who …

Read more

Seven Reasons You Should Eat When You’re Not Hungry

Joyful Eating in Los Angeles, California [Image description: drawing of 2 females joyfully eating ice cream] Represents potential eating disorder counseling clients in Los Angeles, California challenging diet rules and eating even when not hungry

In my work with clients with eating disorders and disordered eating, I often find that the fear of eating when not hungry is one of the most difficult bits of dogma to overcome. One of the cardinal rules of dieting is “Eat only when you’re hungry.” People with eating disorders and good dieters everywhere have …

Read more

FBT Treatment Team Members

FBT Treatment Team Including Therapist, Dietitian, and Medical Doctor in Los Angeles, California [Image description: Purple scrabble tiles spelling "FBT Treatment Team"]

Family-based treatment (FBT) is the leading evidence-based treatment for teens with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. In an ideal world, every person with an eating disorder would have access to a full treatment team. This team could include a therapist, a dietitian, a medical doctor, and a psychiatrist. However, manualized FBT calls only for a …

Read more

Nana’s Poundcake, Food, and Cultural Connection

Nana's Poundcake, Food and Cultural Connection [Image description: photo of Nana's poundcake on a white plate] Eating Disorder Therapy LA

Cultural Connection–Through Food Cultural Connection happens through food. Food for us comes from our relatives, whether they have wings or fins or roots. That is how we consider food. Food has a culture. It has a history. It has a story. It has relationships. –– Winona Laduke Food is about more than sustenance. It is …

Read more

When Your Teen With an Eating Disorder is Sick….

When your teen with an eating disorder is sick during recovery [Image description: drawing of a daughter in bed and appears ill and her mother is holding her head and a thermometer] Represents a parent caring for a teen with an eating disorder in Los Angeles, California

Guest post by Dr. Jennifer Johnson What if Your Teen With an Eating Disorder is Sick? One of the most common questions that arise when parents are renourishing a teen with an eating disorder is what to do when they get sick. Parents are sometimes totally overwhelmed when that happens. Some families may back off …

Read more

Skip to content