EATING DISORDER COUNSELING
You have been trying to stop thinking about food and eating but the more you try the worse it seems to get.
Food is on your mind when you wake up; it is there when you go to bed. It’s there much of your day. At times you feel frustrated and exhausted.
You have worked hard to figure out how to let go of this fixation, but you always end up right back where you started whether it is monitoring what you or how much you eat, restricting yourself or binge eating.
Now you are ready to seek professional help.
You are looking for a therapeutic team that gets it and can help you find freedom from obsessions and rituals connected to food and body.
You want to feel content, satisfied and in control but when it comes to doing something different than what you have tried, you feel uncertain and stuck.
After all, it was not always like this. Food did not always consume your life. Even when you first started managing your relationship with food you felt empowered, focused and hopeful. You might have even seen some of the results you were looking for. It seemed simple and manageable.
Yet, somewhere along the way, food and eating started to take over.
Food began to dominate more and more of your life. You stepped up your efforts. The more you felt out of control, the more you tried to add strategies to manage food, becoming more and more vigilant.
Now food is on your mind most of the time.
Like the Chinese Finger Trap tightening around your finger ever so strongly, your strategies began to narrow your life the more you attempt to escape this cycle.
More and more of your energy and life are consumed by food and/or body image.
You have started to wonder whether the results you are looking for are attainable. You feel tired and more uncertain. You never thought the strategies you have tried would be ineffective, not getting you where you want to be. You never imagined doing just “the right thing”, paying a great deal of attention and energy to food and body could make you feel more anxious and fatigued.
We are here to help
No matter how long you have been struggling with food, body image issue or an eating disorder, recovery is possible.
You do not have to feel trapped
Our team is here to help you find freedom from obsessions and rituals connected to your food and body.
When you seek eating disorder and body image counseling at Lotus
- You will unpack factors contributing to your struggle with food and learn that eating issues are not just about food
- You will learn to identify and work with triggers
- You will let go of strategies that are not working for you
- You will learn acceptance based strategies to disempower the impact of eating disorder thoughts and behaviors
- You will navigate being in contact with difficult emotions and experiences effectively
- You will identify your chosen values and life meaningful to you
- You can also embark on the journey of life congruent with these values, building a life worth living
- You will start making peace with food and your body
Transitions including starting college, moving, new job and other adjustments are particularly potent ground for eating disorders with the loss of known supports, decreased structure, rigorous workload, new social situations, and other stressors. Having a well-defined plan in place will help you recover, maintain recovery and live well.
What to expect from eating disorder therapy at Lotus
Counseling for eating disorders is intended to help you heal your relationship with food and pursue life meaningful to you. This can include spending more time with loved ones, relating and connecting authentically without eating concerns hijacking your presence, pursuing your passions, showing up for life, being the person YOU want to be. We walk with you, allowing small steps pave the way to recovery and freedom.
We do what works
We use evidence-based treatment approaches informed by the best science available and what research and direct practice have shown to be effective.
This includes mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral therapies such as Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Our work is informed and influenced by Health At Every Size literature and research.
You can email or call us to schedule or ask any questions you might have. We offer a 20 min free phone consultation to assess how we can best help you and to answer your questions.
In our experience eating concerns are often just a tip of an iceberg. We pay close attention to genetics, environment, other mental health concerns, history of trauma, relationships and more.
Most clients seeking help with an eating disorder, food and body image concerns are seen weekly for a 55 min session each week. For those who need more intensive work, we meet twice per week or refer out to a higher level of care. Clients who have been in therapy before and are coming for recovery maintenance can quickly start scheduling meetings every other week. Thoughtful assessment and communication help us determine the best course of treatment for you. If your needs change so does treatment planning.
We will work with you to assess your history including a relationship with food and your body and contributing factors. We will set goals and help you reach them on your journey to a richer, more satisfying life.
It is possible to live a fuller, richer life, free of worries about food and body
We offer a safe, non-judgmental space and supportive, compassionate care. We are passionate about the treatment of eating and body image concerns.
Insurance and payment options
We accept Blue Cross, Blue Shield insurance, Blue Care Network including Premier Care, Michigan Care, Aetna, United Healthcare, Priority Health, Multiplan and Cigna via Multiplan. We are also happy to provide you with a superbill that you can submit to your insurance. Some insurance plans offer out of network benefits. Our out of pocket fee is $145 – $170 and we have some sliding scale options.
We accept cash, check and credit payments as well as HAS/FSA cards.
If you have any questions or would like to schedule, don’t hesitate to give us a call or email.
We are here to help
Our professional team at Lotus is here to help you break that vicious cycle, lean into rather than fight discomfort of “quicksand” in order to “get out”. It’s easy to lose perspective and no longer see how we contribute to our struggle. We are here to help you regain perspective, clarity, and focus.
You can feel in control and confident again.
Connect with us. Get professional support and learn effective skills to manage your eating disorder and body image concerns. Capitalizing on your potential is possible. Even though the pressure you face has to lead you to feel lost or discouraged, it doesn’t mean you can’t start feeling in control and experience more joy and satisfaction again.
At Lotus Consulting
We offer a safe and judgment-free environment and a deeply caring, compassionate and highly trained professional, multidisciplinary team. You can begin to recover while feeling heard. We offer emotion regulation, distress tolerance skills, interpersonal effectiveness skills, mindfulness and acceptance training and more. We help you expand your psychological flexibility and pursue valued living.
Live the life that is meaningful to you
Our team of licensed therapists will help you refocus on what you value in life by cutting through the noise and distractions of eating and body image concerns, leaning into discomfort and integrating effective tools.
Our mission
Our mission is to provide a deeply caring, compassionate care, safe and judgment-free environment coupled with evidence-based therapies to help you and all of our clients live a richer, fuller and more satisfying life.
Through the use of mindfulness-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapies such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy we help you and all clients manage complex experiences and emotions, increase tolerance of distress, let go of struggle, living mindfully and getting clear on what really matters to you.
We are dedicated to high standard of ethical and effective care.
We are deeply passionate about mental health and wellness as well as social justice issues.
The clinical approaches of our team members vary within the spectrum of evidence-based treatments ranging from mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral therapies such as Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to Prolonged Exposure treatment. All of us at Lotus believe in and conduct our work from a place of empowerment and inclusion, drawing from multicultural competence.
You will benefit from eating disorder therapy if:
- If you frequently find yourself preoccupied with food and body image
- If you have tried to stop thinking about food, body or exercise but you have not been able to
- If you have food rituals (from calorie counting to avoidance of food)
- If you feel shame and anxiety associated with food
- If your relationship with food has lead to narrowing of other domains of your life such as relationships and hobbies
- If food or body image dictate how you live your life
Your next steps
It is possible to experience joy and calm again. You will be able to pursue the life that matters to you, experience increased level of satisfaction the more you live a life consistent with your values.
Right now, serenity feels far off, but that doesn’t mean you can’t start taking the necessary steps to start unpacking your food and body image concerns today.
You will feel empowered to write the ending of your story. We at Lotus look forward to guiding you in this process. To schedule an appointment for eating disorder counseling call today.
Lotus Consulting is a premier outpatient treatment and wellness center helping adult clients 18 years old and older with food, body image concerns, eating disorders, addictions, stress, anxiety, depression and mood concerns, trauma, loss and grief, relationships, transitions, performance enhancement and more. Located in Ann Arbor, Lotus is easily accessible to individuals in Ypsilanti, Dexter, Chelsea, Saline, Plymouth, Canton, Brighton and surrounding areas.
Find out more about us HERE.
Types of eating disorders
There are several eating disorders and body image disorders.
We treat Anorexia, Bulimia, Binge Eating Disorder, Otherwise Specified Feeding and Eating Disorders (OSFED) and co-occurring conditions.
ANOREXIA
Anorexia is often characterized by severe restriction of food intake or calories, an intense fear of gaining weight, and excessive weight loss.
Symptoms can include:
- Chronic restrictive eating or dieting
- Excessive exercise
- Frequently skipping meals
- Fear of gaining weight
- Hair loss or thinning of hair
- Rapid weight loss or being significantly underweight and malnourished
- Depression
- Fatigue
- Insomnia
- Dehydration
- Low blood pressure
- Dizziness or fainting
- Absence of menstruation
- Intolerance of cold extremities
- Social withdrawal or avoidance of functions with family and friends
BULIMIA
Bulimia is characterized by periods of binge-eating (eating large portions of food uncontrollably) or excessive overeating, followed by purging or getting rid of extra fuel usually through fasting, laxative use, or self-induced vomiting.
Signs and symptoms include:
- Preoccupation with body image or weight loss
- The constant fear of gaining weight
- Repeatedly consuming large quantities of food in one sitting
- Uncontrollable eating habits
- Excessive exercise
- Low self-esteem or a negative body image
- Anxiety, depression
- Dieting or fasting after binge eating
- Fluctuations in weight
BINGE EATING DISORDER
Nearly everyone overeats from time to time, especially during holidays or special occasions like birthdays and other events. Binge eating disorder is more than overeating, it’s characterized by the consumption of unusually large amounts of food and with feelings of a lack of control.
Signs and symptoms include:
- Eating when you feel full or an inability to stop eating when full
- Eating normally in the presence of others but binging when isolated
- Feelings of numbness or lack of sensation while binge eating
- Feelings of shame or self-hate after binge episodes
- Experiencing the feeling of stress or anxiety that can only be relieved by eating
- Not feeling satisfied when eating
OSFED
The category of “other specified feeding or eating disorders” (OSFED) was developed to encompass those with symptoms that don’t meet the strict diagnostic criteria of a specific eating disorder but still have eating disorder symptoms that significantly interfere with functioning.
Signs and symptoms can include:
- Behaviors and attitudes showing weight loss, dieting, and control of food as primary concerns
- Denial of hunger
- Presence of purging behaviors
- Food rituals (e.g. eats only a particular food or food group)
- Obsession with food cleanliness or exercise
- Withdraws from usual social engagements and activities
- Digestive concerns
- Negative body image and low self-esteem
- Binge eating
- Loss of control when eating including impulsive or irregular eating habits
Co-occurring disorders we treat along with eating issues include:
If you are experiencing any of these, see our service page for these concerns to learn more about them and Lotus treatment. Know that we address and treat a wide range of concerns from stress management and general mental health and wellness, transitions and identity concerns to specialized mental health for concerns such as trauma and eating disorders. This list here is not all-inclusive. It is but a sample of how we work and what you can expect at Lotus.
We are deeply passionate about mental health and wellness as well as social justice issues
The clinical approaches of our team members vary within the spectrum of evidence-based treatments ranging from mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral therapies such as Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to Prolonged Exposure treatment. All of us at Lotus believe in and conduct our work from a place of empowerment and inclusion, drawing from multicultural competence.