EATING DISORDER THERAPY in South Pasadena
Compassionate EATING DISORDER THERAPY
Does your relationship with food, exercise, or your body prevent you from fully connecting with others, pursuing your dreams, or finding rest and self-compassion?
You are not alone. At Carter Psychotherapy Collective, we specialize in offering eating disorder therapy to help individuals of all ages and body sizes heal from disordered eating. Therapy with us is a safe, supportive space for you to explore your relationship with food and your body and begin the path to recovery.
Whether you’re experiencing body image issues, disordered eating, or struggling with more severe eating disorders, therapy can help you develop a healthier, more balanced relationship with your body.
Signs That Eating Disorder Therapy Can Help
Do you ever feel…
Distressed about the size or shape of your body
Like you’ve “messed up” after eating
Like you struggle to separate your eating and exercise habits from your sense of self-worth
Disconnected or out of control in your relationship with food and your body
Eating disorder therapy can help you understand these patterns and begin healing at a pace that works for you.
I believe that working towards food freedom, healthy embodiment and recovery from an eating disorder ultimately grants us freedom in other parts of our lives. We start to feel like we are really getting to know ourselves. We start to feel more compassionate for ourselves and the people around us. We have time and energy to work towards our goals. We start to feel like we have a part to play in the world we live in. We start to feel whole.
-Allison
How Eating Disorder Therapy Can Help You Heal
Our team of highly trained eating disorder therapists offers personalized therapy for both adolescents and adults. Therapy with us focuses on healing the emotional, psychological, and sometimes physical aspects of eating disorders. We provide a comprehensive approach that helps you:
Understand the root causes of your eating disorder and its impact on your life
Develop healthier coping strategies to deal with emotional distress, anxiety, or mood disorders that may contribute to disordered eating
Cultivate self-compassion and increase your self-esteem
Work through past traumas that may be impacting your relationship with food and body image
Eating Disorder Recovery: Steps Toward Freedom
Recovery from an eating disorder is possible. We work with you to take incremental, achievable steps toward food freedom, self-compassion, and healing for both your body and mind. No matter where you are in your recovery, therapy can help improve your quality of life and increase safety as you work toward a healthier relationship with food.
Collaborative Care for Eating Disorder Treatment
While we don’t provide medical or dietary services directly, we love to collaborate with your other healthcare providers to support your recovery. Sometimes, medical support or dietary guidance is helpful to ensure safe and effective recovery from an eating disorder. If we believe additional support is needed, we will work with you to identify the next steps and help you connect with trusted professionals.
Holistic Therapy for Eating Disorders
We take a holistic approach to eating disorder treatment that integrates multiple therapeutic modalities to support healing. Here are some modalities we use to help you:
Psychodynamic Exploration: We explore your relationship with food, movement, and body image, and how it interacts with other aspects of your wellbeing and mental health.
Support for Underlying Trauma: We use mindfulness based strategies, like the Trauma Resiliency Model, address any underlying traumas that may be influencing the role of the eating disorder in your life.
Mindfulness and Self-Compassion: Using strategies from mindfulness practice and DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) we support you in developing self-compassion, improving self-esteem, improving your relationships, and managing overwhelming emotions.
Body Image Support: We offer strategies from the Body Positive Model to help you develop a healthier relationship with your body and improve your self-worth.
Intuitive Eating & Health at Every Size: We are aligned with the principles of Intuitive Eating and Health at Every Size (HAES) and offer education and support for integrating these principles into your recovery.
CBT and DBT: Eating disorders often coexist with anxiety, OCD, depression and emotion regulation difficulties. Our therapists offer practical tools for decreasing distress so that decreasing eating disorder behaviors doesn’t leave you feeling under resourced.
You are welcome here
Whether this is the first time you’re addressing your relationship with food or you’re stepping down from a higher level of care, we want to hear from you. Please reach out to schedule a free consultation so you can get to know us. We look forward to walking alongside you on your healing journey!
Meet our Eating Disorder Therapists
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![Lianna Kirakosyan, eating disorder therapist in Los Angeles and South Pasadena]()
Lianna Kirakosyan, LMFT
Eating Disorder Therapist, adults and older teens, health anxiety
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![Joshua Sullivan, teen eating disorder therapist in Los Angeles and Pasadena]()
Joshua Sullivan, ACSW
Eating Disorder Therapist, teens and adults, LGBTQIA+, OCD
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![Toph Eggers, AMFT, Therapist in South Pasadena]()
Toph Eggers, AMFT
Teens and adults, men’s body image, athletes, exercise disorders
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![Allison Carter, LCSW, Eating Disorder Therapist in South Pasadena]()
Allison Carter, LCSW
Eating Disorder Therapist, teens and adults, perinatal mental health
NO MATTER WHAT…
Our therapists all prioritize a strong, steady therapeutic relationship and believe in the importance of attuned listening, compassion and insight. We are trained in multiple styles that help us facilitate deep exploration of your inner world, as well as allow us to be able to offer concrete strategies for beginning to have new experiences in your life.
If you are wondering if we are open to working with you and your unique constellation of experiences, please contact us to chat about what you need and which of our therapists could be a good fit.
Therapy that honors your complexity.
Therapy is available in person in our office in South Pasadena, or over video anywhere in California, using a free, HIPAA compliant telehealth platform.
We are LGBTQIA+ affirming and experienced in supporting clients around the intersection of mental health and body image with issues related to faith and spirituality, sexuality, gender, and race.