Who We Serve
We specialize in treating Bulimia Nervosa, Anorexia Nervosa, Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified and Binge Eating by using evidence-based and holistic approaches. We will treat ages 6 and up, male and female. We also provide services for the families, like our free family support groups on Monday nights.
According to the AED:
Anorexia
Individuals with anorexia nervosa are unable or unwilling to maintain a body weight that is normal or expected for their age and height. There is no precise boundary dividing "normal weight" from "too low", but most clinicians use 85% of normal weight as a reasonable guide.
Individuals with anorexia nervosa usually display a fear of weight gain and dread becoming fat even though they are underweight. Concerns about their weight and about how they believe they look have a powerful influence on the individual's self-evaluation.
The seriousness of the weight loss and its health implications is usually minimized, if not denied, by the individual.
The diagnosis of anorexia nervosa includes two subtypes:
1. Individuals with the restricting type maintain their low body weight purely by restricting food intake and, possibly, by exercise.
2. Individuals with the binge-eating/purging type usually restrict their food intake as well, but also regularly engage in binge eating and/or purging behaviors such as self-induced vomiting or the misuse of laxatives, diuretics or enemas.
Data indicates that the binge-eating/purging type of anorexia nervosa is more frequently associated with other impulsive behaviors, substance use disorders and mood lability
The longer a person has anorexia nervosa, the more likely they are to binge and purge.
Bulimia
Individuals with bulimia nervosa regularly engage in discrete periods of overeating, which are followed by attempts to compensate for overeating to avoid weight gain. There can be differences in the nature of the overeating but the typical episode of overeating involves the consumption of an amount of food that would be considered excessive in normal circumstances. The individual experiences a lack of control over eating.
Binge eating is followed by attempts to "undo" the consequences of eating too much through behaviors such as self-induced vomiting, misuse of laxatives, enemas, diuretics, severe caloric restriction, or excessive exercising
Profound concerns about weight and shape are also characteristic of individuals with bulimia nervosa. Self-evaluation is centered on the individual's perceptions of her body image.
Binge Eating
The term, binge eating disorder, was officially introduced in 1992 to describe individuals who binge eat but do not regularly use inappropriate compensatory weight control behaviors such as fasting or purging to lose weight. The binge eating may involve rapid consumption of food with a sense of loss of control, uncomfortable fullness after eating, and eating large amounts of food when not hungry. Feelings of shame and embarrassment are prominent.
