Eating Disorders & Body Image

I specialize in working with individuals struggling with disordered eating, body image concerns, and eating disorders, including anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, and Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorders (OSFED). As a member of the Eating Disorder Task Force of Indiana (EDTFI) and Indiana University’s Coalition for Overcoming Problematic Eating/Exercise (COPE) team, I am committed to remaining informed about evidence-based practices and providing compassionate, specialized care.

An Integrative, Multidisciplinary Approach

I use an integrative and individualized approach to treatment, drawing from several therapeutic modalities to meet the unique needs of each client. Treatment is not one-size-fits-all. We work together to understand your experiences, identify what is maintaining the eating disorder, and develop a plan that supports meaningful and sustainable recovery.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy CBT supports the identification and restructuring of unhelpful thoughts, beliefs, and behavioral patterns.

Interpersonal Therapy IPT explores how relationships, communication patterns, life transitions, grief, and interpersonal stress may affect symptoms.

Acceptance & Commitment Therapy ACT helps build psychological flexibility and supports actions that align with your values.

EMDR Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing may be used to address trauma, distressing experiences, and triggers connected to eating disorder symptoms.

Ego State and Parts Work Parts-oriented approaches help us understand internal conflicts and the protective roles that different aspects of the self may hold.

Polyvagal-Informed Practices Nervous system education and regulation skills can help increase awareness of stress responses, safety, and emotional regulation.

Because eating disorders often involve psychological, medical, and nutritional components, I collaborate with a trusted network of primary care physicians, psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, registered dietitians, and other treatment providers. Addressing medical and nutritional needs is a critical part of recovery alongside the psychological work we do together.

Understanding Eating Disorders

Eating disorders are complex illnesses: not choices, personal failures, or a lack of willpower. Their development is often influenced by an interaction of biological, genetic, psychological, environmental, relational, and sociocultural factors.

In therapy, we explore the experiences and messages that may have shaped how you understand food, your body, achievement, control, and personal worth. These messages can come from family systems, peers, diet culture, social media, athletics, military culture, gender expectations, trauma, life transitions, and broader cultural standards related to appearance, productivity, success, and belonging.

Developing media literacy can also be an important part of treatment. This involves learning to identify, question, and challenge the images, claims, stereotypes, and cultural messages we repeatedly encounter. As these influences become more visible, it becomes possible to reconsider beliefs that may have once felt like unquestionable truths.

Understanding the Function of the Eating Disorder

Rather than viewing the eating disorder only as an enemy, I often invite clients to become curious about how it may have developed as an adaptive strategy for coping with overwhelming emotions, trauma, perfectionism, uncertainty, disconnection, or a need for safety and control.

While these strategies may once have served an important protective purpose, they can become increasingly rigid and begin to interfere with relationships, health, identity, and the ability to live a full and meaningful life. Recovery involves honoring the function these behaviors may have served while discovering safer, more flexible, and more sustainable ways to meet those underlying needs.

My Philosophy of Recovery

At the heart of my work is the belief that recovery is about far more than changing behaviors around food. It is about reclaiming your authentic self and reconnecting with the parts of you that have always existed beyond the eating disorder.

My role is not to “fix” you. Instead, I aim to help you better understand yourself with curiosity, compassion, and courage. Together, we identify and challenge the negative, often paralyzing thoughts, beliefs, and protective patterns that keep the eating disorder in control.

Throughout this work, we focus on cultivating resilience, self-compassion, emotional flexibility, and greater trust in yourself and your body. Recovery is rarely linear, but meaningful change is possible, and you do not have to navigate the process alone.

When clinically appropriate, treatment may include collaboration with physicians, psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, registered dietitians, and other members of your care team. When symptoms require additional support, we may also discuss a higher level of care to help ensure safety and provide the most effective and comprehensive treatment possible.

Lived Experience & Passion for Helping Others ▾

My work is deeply informed by my own lived experience with an eating disorder. I understand firsthand the profound impact these struggles can have—not only on the individual but also on family members and loved ones.

This personal insight fuels my passion for helping clients navigate what can often feel like an overwhelming and isolating journey. It also informs the compassion, respect, and hope I bring into the therapeutic relationship.

I am here to provide support, guidance, and a space where you can explore your experiences without shame. Together, we work toward understanding the eating disorder while also making room for the person, relationships, values, strengths, and possibilities that exist beyond it.

Hope & Recovery ▾

The path to recovery is not easy, but recovery is possible. I am honored to walk alongside my clients as they navigate this journey, rediscover hope, and reclaim a life that is no longer organized around the constraints of an eating disorder.

Recovery may also involve addressing related struggles such as anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, perfectionism, identity concerns, and relationship challenges. These experiences are not treated as separate from the person as a whole. Instead, we work to understand how they interact and what support is needed to foster lasting healing.

You are more than the eating disorder, and recovery is about creating space for your values, relationships, identity, voice, and life to become larger than the symptoms that have been holding you back.

Lived Experience & Passion for Helping Others ▾

My work is deeply informed by my own lived experience with an eating disorder. I understand firsthand the profound impact these struggles can have—not only on the individual but also on their family and loved ones. This personal insight fuels my passion for helping clients navigate what can often feel like an overwhelming and isolating journey. I am here to provide support, guidance, and a compassionate space where recovery feels possible.

I approach therapy with the belief that it’s about reclaiming your authentic self and challenging the negative, often paralyzing, thoughts and behaviors tied to the eating disorder. I aim to empower clients to face these challenges with courage and resilience. For some, this journey may include additional support through medical and dietary referrals or, when symptoms are severe, discussing higher levels of care to ensure safety and effective treatment.

Military, Veterans & First Responders

Since 2010, I have been dedicated to working with military service members, Veterans, and their families. As a Star Behavioral Health Provider and contract therapist with the Wounded Warrior Project, I bring both professional expertise and lived experience as the former spouse of an Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) Veteran for 13 years. Having navigated the challenges of supporting a loved one living with Post-Traumatic Stress, I understand the profound impact these experiences can have on individuals, relationships, and family systems.

My Work with the Wounded Warrior Project

Since 2016, I have served as a contract therapist with the Wounded Warrior Project, facilitating Project Odyssey, an adventure-based therapeutic retreat designed to help warriors manage and overcome invisible wounds, strengthen resilience, and build skills that support meaningful, fulfilling lives.

Through experiential activities, psychoeducation, group processing, and therapeutic interventions, Project Odyssey provides participants with opportunities to reconnect with themselves, their families, and their communities while developing practical tools for long-term wellness.

Over the years, I have had the privilege of supporting more than 23 retreats across the United States, working alongside interdisciplinary teams to serve Veterans, active-duty service members, caregivers, and military families.

A Passion for Service​: Although I am a civilian, my deep connection to the military community comes from years of personal and professional experience. As a former spouse and co-parent of an Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) Veteran, I have lived the challenges and triumphs that come with military life, including navigating the impact of invisible wounds like post-traumatic stress. These experiences, combined with over a decade of working closely with Veterans, active-duty service members, and their families, have given me a unique understanding of their struggles, resilience, and needs. My ability to relate stems from both empathy and lived experience. I understand the complexities of military culture, the sacrifices made by service members and their families, and the profound effects these experiences can have on relationships, mental health, and daily life. This personal insight allows me to connect authentically with my clients, offering a safe and supportive space to work through their challenges and embrace healing and growth.

Furthermore, I have had the honor of appearing on the Tamron Hall Show and participated in a documentary that aired on Veterans Day, providing insight into the battle of post traumatic stress and invisible wounds of war.  As a Warrior Spouse at that time, I supported the mission of helping providing insight into the impact within relationships, mental health, and the importance of seeking help for struggles related to invisible wounds of war. Both personally and professionally, I have witnessed the profound transformation that can occur when military and veterans (and their family) seek appropriate treatment, both personally and professionally.