Disordered Eating & Body Image Therapy for Women and Athletes
A Compassionate Place to Start
Do you feel anxious or out of control around food? Do you skip meals, strictly control what you eat, or find yourself constantly thinking about calories, weight, or your body? Maybe exercise has become something you feel you have to do rather than something you enjoy. Or perhaps your relationship with food and your body has changed as your life, sport, stress level, or circumstances have changed.
If any of this sounds familiar, you don't have to wait until things feel “bad enough” to ask for help.
Our practice offers a welcoming starting place for women and athletes of all ages who are struggling with food, exercise, body image, self-esteem, or the pressures surrounding appearance and performance. We provide general outpatient therapy in Providence, Rhode Island, as well as telehealth therapy for clients throughout Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Nevada.
Understanding Disordered Eating
Eating disorders are diagnosable mental health conditions, while disordered eating is a broader term describing patterns of eating or exercise that may negatively affect a person's physical or emotional well-being. Disordered eating is not a diagnosis, and it can look different from person to person.
You may benefit from support if you experience:
- Frequent dieting, calorie counting, or preoccupation with food
- Skipping meals or rigidly restricting what or when you eat
- Anxiety, guilt, or shame after eating
- Feeling out of control around food
- Binge eating or compensatory behaviors
- Exercising primarily to compensate for eating or “earn” food
- Feeling distressed when you cannot follow your food or exercise rules
- Frequent thoughts about your weight, appearance, or body shape
- Self-worth that feels closely tied to your weight, appearance, or athletic performance
- Difficulty concentrating because thoughts about food, exercise, or your body take up so much mental space
These patterns can affect anyone, regardless of age, body size, gender, athletic ability, or level of competition. For athletes in particular, the desire to improve performance, meet a weight category, change body composition, or recover from an injury can sometimes make it difficult to recognize when healthy habits have become rigid or stressful.
Therapy for Women and Athletes
Your relationship with food and your body is influenced by more than what you eat. Stress, perfectionism, anxiety, trauma, social expectations, athletic culture, life transitions, relationships, and past experiences can all play a role.
Therapy provides an opportunity to slow down and understand what is happening without judgment. Together, we can explore the thoughts, emotions, and experiences behind difficult patterns and work toward healthier coping strategies, greater flexibility, and a more compassionate relationship with yourself.
For athletes, therapy can also provide a space to explore the psychological side of performance, competition, injury, identity, body image, and the transition in and out of sport. You don't have to choose between caring about your performance and caring for your mental and physical well-being.
A Supportive Starting Point
Our goal is not to judge your food choices, your body, or your relationship with exercise. We want to understand your experience and help you determine what kind of support would be most helpful.
We are a general outpatient therapy practice, and we recognize that some individuals may need specialized eating-disorder treatment, medical monitoring, nutrition support, or a higher level of care. When that is the case, we can help coordinate care and provide appropriate referrals while continuing to support you within the scope of outpatient therapy when clinically appropriate.
You don't need to know exactly what you need before reaching out. If food, exercise, body image, or performance concerns are taking up more space in your life than you'd like, therapy can be a place to begin.
If you're looking for therapy for disordered eating, body image concerns, or support for women and athletes in Providence, RI, or online therapy in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, or Nevada, we invite you to contact us to learn more.
