Body Oriented Support

Want to speak to someone now?

Sometimes the time is now, if you need immediate support, help is out there. You can call 0808 801 0432 for support in Scotland Mon-Fri from 3PM - 8PM for eating disorders, for more information you can also use the website for Beat Eating Disorders UK.

What does Body-Oriented Therapy include?

Body-oriented therapy includes treatment for bulimia, purging, food restriction, anorexia, binge eating, and obesity. It includes complex relationships with food, eating, physical behaviours, and perception of self.

It has no gender, age, or look. Someone who lives in a bigger body with a high BMI may have a purging eating disorder and a man who has a six-pack may be struggling with severe body-dysmorphia.

It has many faces.

It is a complex difficulty and often involves a complicated relationship with food, your body, and sometimes the people around you.

Not sure if this is for you? Take a look at some below:

In the last month, have any of these experiences happened in your life?

  • Deliberately restricting food to influence weight or shape

  • Going 8+ waking hours without eating to influence weight or shape

  • Thoughts about food, eating, or calories making concentration difficult

  • Thoughts about weight or shape making concentration difficult

  • A definite fear of gaining weight

  • A strong desire to lose weight

  • Controlling weight/shape through vomiting or laxatives

  • Exercising in a driven or compulsive way to control weight/shape or burn calories

  • A sense of having lost control over eating (while eating)

  • On out-of-control days, eating an unusually large amount in one go

  • How much weight or shape influences how you judge yourself as a person

  • How dissatisfied you've been with your weight or shape

What does therapy look like?

Body-oriented support often requires a set of questions to better understand what you might be going through, before our session you would fill out a lifestyle questionnaire that we would build on in our first session. This session is longer than most, but it comprehensive to better understand you and your experience.

The sessions for body-based oriented therapy often last between 6-12 months and consists of once or twice weekly sessions for the first couple of weeks, then weekly sessions and finally fortnightly sessions.

There will be 20- 40 sessions, depending on the individual and health assessments.

After working on body-oriented therapy is a focused collaborative experience, sometimes this means other elements of your experience may come up such as trauma, anxiety, or other mental health struggles.

In some cases, we may pause body-oriented work to attend to these, but this would be brief to allow for the most care and attention to be given to your treatment.

Working with me

I use a trauma and culturally-informed lens with my approach to working with disordered eating.

I am a subject matter expert in the biology of mental and physical health which means I offer comprehensive material to make your feel empowered and to ensure you are informed every step of the way.

I will also work alongside your GP with your permission, and have recommendations for dietitians and nutritionists for you also to work with to ensure your cared for holistically.