Disordered Eating · ARFID
Your relationship with food
deserves real attention.
You don't need a diagnosis to deserve support. Whether it has a name or not — the food rules, the restriction, the binges, the foods that feel impossible — if your relationship with eating is taking up significant mental or physical space, that's enough reason to start.
This might resonate if you
Have foods that feel physically impossible to eat — not preference, but genuine distress or fear
Find yourself eating in cycles — restricting, then losing control, then starting again
Use food or restriction to manage emotions you can't find another outlet for
Feel like your eating "isn't bad enough" for therapy — but it affects your daily life
Have tried intuitive eating, meal plans, or nutritional approaches that haven't addressed the psychological piece
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Presentations
What I work with
ARFID
CBT-AR · Thomas & Eddy
Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder
ARFID is characterized by extreme food selectivity or restriction that isn't driven by body image concerns. It might show up as a very limited range of accepted foods, intense sensory aversions, fear of choking or vomiting, or low appetite that causes nutritional or functional impairment. I use CBT-AR- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake, developed by Thomas and Eddy which is the leading evidence-based treatment for ARFID across the lifespan.
Binge Eating
Binge Eating Disorder & Loss of Control Eating
Binge eating involves episodes of consuming large amounts of food in a short period with a sense of loss of control often followed by distress, shame, or guilt. Therapy addresses the emotional, cognitive, and behavioral patterns that maintain the cycle, using evidence-based approaches tailored to binge eating presentations specifically.
Restrictive Eating
Restriction & Disordered Food Rules
Disordered restriction doesn't always meet criteria for anorexia nervosa. Many people live with rigid food rules, fear of certain foods, or patterns of restriction that significantly impact their quality of life without a formal diagnosis. This is a real and treatable presentation and you don't need a diagnosis to get help.
No Clear Label
A Complicated Relationship with Food
Not every difficult eating pattern fits a diagnostic category. If food takes up significant mental space, if eating feels fraught or controlled or out of control- that's worth addressing, regardless of whether it has a name. You don't have to arrive with a diagnosis to start therapy here.
Clinical Approach
How this work actually happens
Disordered eating sits at the intersection of behavior, emotion, physiology, and identity. Treatment here isn't about meal plans — it's about understanding and shifting the patterns that keep the eating behavior in place.
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Non-Judgmental by Design
There is no eating behavior that disqualifies you from care. Shame is part of the problem- it doesn't belong in the treatment. Sessions are direct and honest, but never punishing.
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Evidence-Based Framework
For ARFID, I use CBT-AR (Thomas & Eddy). For other presentations, I draw on CBT and ACT-based approaches with strong research support for eating-related concerns. The approach is chosen because it fits your presentation.
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Collaborative with Your Team
Depending on your presentation, coordinating with a registered dietitian or medical provider may be part of the work. I'm experienced in collaborative care models and can support that coordination when appropriate.
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Common Questions
Before you reach out
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ARFID (Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder) is an eating disorder characterized by extreme food selectivity or restriction not driven by body image concerns. It may involve sensory sensitivities, fear of choking or vomiting, or low appetite causing nutritional or functional impairment. CBT-AR — Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake, developed by Thomas and Eddy — is the leading evidence-based treatment for ARFID and is the framework used at Through the Woods.
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No. Many people with a genuinely difficult relationship with food don't meet criteria for a formal eating disorder diagnosis — and that doesn't make their experience less real or less worth addressing. Therapy at Through the Woods is open to all presentations of disordered eating, with or without a formal diagnosis.
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CBT-AR stands for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake. It was developed by Jennifer Thomas and Kamryn Eddy at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School and is the evidence-based treatment specifically designed for ARFID. It addresses the three maintaining mechanisms of ARFID: sensory sensitivity, fear of aversive consequences, and low interest in eating.
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Yes. Therapy for binge eating at Through the Woods addresses the emotional, cognitive, and behavioral patterns that maintain the binge cycle — including triggers, restriction-binge cycles, shame, and emotional eating — using evidence-based approaches tailored to this presentation.
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Disordered eating therapy including ARFID treatment using CBT-AR is available virtually in Colorado, Idaho, and South Carolina through secure telehealth sessions.
You don't have to wait until it gets worse.
A lot of people come to therapy having already spent years deciding whether their eating is "bad enough" to address. It is. A consultation is free and there's no commitment. Let's talk about what's actually going on.