At Union Square Cognitive Therapy, we specialize in evidence-based treatment for eating disorders in adults and adolescents. For adults, we offer Enhanced Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT-E), a specialized treatment for eating disorders. For adolescents, we offer Family-Based Treatment (FBT), which actively involves parents and caregivers in supporting recovery. Our clinicians also incorporate approaches such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), trauma-informed therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills, compassion-focused therapy, and mindfulness, as appropriate. Several of our clinicians are Certified Eating Disorders Specialists (CEDS), demonstrating advanced, specialized competence in eating disorders treatment.
Eating disorders affect much more than eating habits. They often influence physical health, relationships, mood, self-confidence, and the ability to participate fully in everyday life. Our approach to eating disorder treatment is individualized and collaborative, with the goal of helping clients recover fully, improve body image, and develop a more flexible and healthy relationship with food.
Eating Disorders We Treat
Eating disorders take many forms. You do not need to fit a particular stereotype or have a certain appearance to deserve support. We work with individuals experiencing:
Binge Eating Disorder
Binge eating can involve feeling unable to stop eating, eating beyond physical comfort, or experiencing distress, shame, or guilt afterward.
CBT can help you understand the patterns that maintain binge eating, develop more consistent eating habits, respond differently to difficult emotions and urges, and address the rigid food rules and self-critical thinking that are often part of the binge eating cycle.
Anorexia Nervosa and Restrictive Eating
Anorexia Nervosa, orthorexia-related concerns, and other types of restrictive eating may involve limiting food intake, intense fears about weight gain, rigid food rules, or a strong need to control eating or body shape. These patterns can become difficult to change, even when they affect health and quality of life.
Treatment can address weight restoration, change the thoughts and fears that reinforce restriction, support greater flexibility around food, and help restore a healthier relationship with eating and body image. Care is tailored to individual needs, including medical considerations.
Bulimia Nervosa
Bulimia Nervosa can involve cycles of restriction, binge eating, and compensatory behaviors, such as self-induced vomiting, misuse of laxatives, fasting, or excessive exercise.
CBT-based treatment can help interrupt these cycles, establish more regular eating patterns, address the thoughts and behaviors that maintain them, and develop healthier ways to manage distress and body-image concerns.
Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)
ARFID involves significant food restriction or avoidance that is not primarily driven by concerns about weight or body shape. It may be related to sensory sensitivities, fear of choking or vomiting, or limited interest in eating.
Treatment is tailored to the reasons behind the avoidance and may focus on reducing food-related anxiety, gradually expanding food variety, and addressing patterns that interfere with nutrition or everyday life.
Disordered Eating, Body Image, and Food-Related Anxiety
Not every difficulty with food or body image fits a specific diagnosis. Persistent worry about weight, distress after eating, emotional eating, chronic dieting, rigid food rules, or preoccupation with appearance can still have a significant impact on well-being.
Therapy can help you challenge unhelpful thinking patterns, reduce the influence of appearance-related concerns, and develop a more flexible and compassionate relationship with yourself.
What to Expect From Eating Disorder Therapy
Beginning treatment can feel daunting, particularly when eating disorder behaviors have become familiar or difficult to change. Initial sessions provide an opportunity to discuss your concerns, history, and goals. You and your therapist will develop an individualized treatment plan and identify practical steps toward progress.
As treatment continues, you will work to understand the patterns contributing to your difficulties, practice new skills, and navigate challenges along the way. When appropriate, your therapist may coordinate care with a physician, registered dietitian, or a higher level of eating disorder treatment. Medical monitoring and additional support can be important components of safe, effective care.
With adults, we utilize Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), an evidence-based approach that explores how thoughts, emotions, and behaviors influence one another. Enhanced Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT-E) is specific to eating disorders, and it helps identify and change the thoughts, behaviors, and emotional patterns that maintain disordered eating and poor body image.
Depending on your needs, treatment may focus on:
· Understanding patterns: Identifying triggers, food rules, avoidance, and behaviors that reinforce eating difficulties.
· Building consistency: Developing more regular, flexible, and nourishing eating habits.
· Changing rigid thinking: Challenging all-or-nothing beliefs about food, weight, body shape, and self-worth.
· Managing emotions: Learning to respond to anxiety, shame, and other difficult emotions without relying on eating disorder behaviors.
· Improving body image: Reducing the role of appearance and weight in self-evaluation.
· Making meaningful changes: Practicing new skills in everyday situations at a pace that reflects your needs.
With adolescents, we offer Family-Based Treatment (FBT), an individualized, family-based approach to help teens (and their families) recover from an eating disorder.
Your therapist will work collaboratively with you to establish goals and determine which treatment approaches are most appropriate.
Take the First Step
If concerns about food, eating, or body image are taking up too much of your time or affecting your relationships and daily life, support is available.
Union Square Cognitive Therapy offers eating disorder treatment in Manhattan, with telehealth options where appropriate. We work with adults and adolescents to find an approach that best meets their individual needs and treatment goals.
Contact us to schedule a free consultation and learn whether our approach to eating disorder treatment may be a good fit for you.
