Compassionate Therapy for Eating Disorders: Support for Lasting Recovery
At Harley Psychology & Therapy Group, our specialised eating disorder counselling service provides a safe, supportive environment to address unhealthy patterns with food, body image, and emotions. Our expert therapists and psychologists offer personalised care, guiding you toward recovery and long-term wellbeing.
Who can our therapy for eating disorders help?
If you answer yes to one or more of the following, you may benefit from our eating disorder therapy near me. We can help you with the way you think and feel about eating, weight, and yourself.
- Do you deliberately try to limit your food to influence your shape and weight?
- Does thinking about food, eating and weight make it hard for you to concentrate?
- Are you afraid of losing control of your eating?
- Are you afraid of gaining weight?
- Do you often have episodes of feeling out of control when you eat?
- Have you ever made yourself sick or taken laxatives to try and lose weight?
- Do you exercise in a ‘driven’ way to try and lose weight or change your shape?
We offer a free, quick, confidential and scientifically validated test that can evaluate your eating disorder and point you in the right direction.
“I would just like to say a big thank you for everything you have done for me. When I came into therapy, I had no idea in what way it could help, in the past I thought honesty was the answer to all and since I had already achieved that I was unsure how therapy would work for me. I never thought it would be so, but I honestly believe that having a fuller comprehension of myself has really helped me come to terms, understand and be at peace with myself. I feel much more grounded and in no way out of control.”
Philippa, Marylebone
Supporting You
How our therapy for eating disorders can help you
Our therapy helps people with eating disorders by addressing the underlying emotional and psychological factors contributing to unhealthy eating patterns.
It provides a safe space to explore body image concerns, develop healthier coping strategies, and improve self-esteem. Therapy can also help individuals regain control over their eating habits, manage stress, and build a positive relationship with food and their body, supporting long-term recovery and well-being.
- Identify and address underlying issues driving eating problems.
- Recognise and change harmful thinking patterns.
- Explore and improve body image and self-esteem.
- Develop healthier eating habits and patterns.
- Learn coping strategies for managing stress, triggers and negative behaviours such as bingeing, vomiting, and over-exercise.
- Alleviate co-occurring mental health issues like depression and anxiety.
- Build confidence and resilience to support long-term recovery.
Discover How Our Experienced Team Can Help
The emotional impact of eating disorders
Eating disorders often carry a deep emotional burden, affecting both physical and mental health. Feelings of shame, guilt, anxiety, and isolation are common, and many individuals struggle in silence. These disorders can impact self-esteem, relationships, and overall quality of life.
Understanding the emotional side is crucial in recognising the need for support. Eating disorder counselling offers a safe, non-judgmental space to explore these feelings and begin the path to healing.
The role of social media in eating disorders
Social media can heavily influence how people, especially younger users, view their bodies. Constant exposure to idealised images and ‘perfect’ lifestyles can fuel body dissatisfaction and unhealthy eating behaviours. Algorithms often amplify content that reinforces harmful beauty standards, making it harder to escape these pressures.
With therapy, individuals can challenge their distorted beliefs, build self-worth beyond appearance, and develop healthier relationships with their bodies and the online world.
The importance of early intervention
Seeking help early can make a significant difference in recovery from an eating disorder. The longer disordered behaviours continue, the more entrenched they become, both physically and mentally. Early intervention not only improves treatment outcomes but also reduces the risk of long-term health complications. Recognising the signs and acting promptly allows for more effective support and a greater chance of full recovery.
At Harley Psychology & Therapy Group, no concern is ever too small to reach out for help. Our qualified and highly experienced therapists and psychologists offer tailored eating disorder counselling in a safe and supportive environment to help you heal.
What is the treatment for an eating disorder?
The most effective treatment currently available for an eating disorder is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). As such, it is recommended by the government body NICE as the treatment of choice to aid recovery. Searching “eating disorder therapist near me” online and finding a clinic is your first step to getting the treatment you need.
What does our therapy for eating disorders involve?
Step 1
Your eating disorder therapist will start by understanding your eating habits; whether you binge, purge and exercise; feelings about YOUR weight and body image; your overall mental and physical health; and the changes you would like to make. They will then create a tailored treatment plan.
Step 2
Together, you’ll work on adjusting your eating pattern and behaviours. This may include keeping a diary of what you eat, strategies for reducing bingeing and purging, and ways of increasing your calorie intake in a tolerable way.
Step 3
You’ll address the thoughts and emotions maintaining your eating problems, shifting them to support a healthier attitude to eating, weight and shape.
Step 4
Your eating disorder therapist in London will help resolve underlying factors contributing to your eating disorder, either resolving them or reducing their influence on your life with the aim that you no longer need your eating disorder to support you.
Step 5
Finally, your therapist will support you in living without your eating disorder, managing inevitable setbacks and relapses along the way.
FAQs
What is an eating disorder?
An Eating Disorder is a way of coping with uncomfortable emotions triggered by, amongst other things, difficult or distressing experiences, overwhelming pressure/expectations and low self-esteem.
A focus on controlling eating and weight gives the sufferer a goal that takes them away from problems in life, or within themselves that feel unmanageable and inescapable, and provides them with a sense of control and potential achievement in the face of fear or failure and negative evaluation by others (and themselves).
An Eating Disorder is not a diet that has gotten out of control or of fussy eating (in the case of someone who is restricting what they eat) or a result of greediness or lack of control (in the case of someone who is bingeing).
What are the 3 main types of eating disorder?
There are three main types:
1. Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia Nervosa usually develops in adolescence and early adulthood. The defining features of Anorexia Nervosa are as follows:
- Excessive food restriction as a result of an overwhelming and irrational fear of weight gain
- Additional strategies aimed at weight loss (e.g. excessive weight loss, vomiting, laxative abuse)
- Distorted body image (including an intense dislike and distorted perception of body shape and weight)
- A tendency to evaluate self-worth according to shape and weight
- Excessive weight loss that can threaten physical health and cause metabolic and hormonal disturbances. A person with Anorexia Nervosa has a Body Mass Index of less than 17.5 (Body Mass Index health range is 20-25).
‘Anorexia’ is not the same as ‘Anorexia Nervosa’. ‘Anorexia’ is a medical term for lack of appetite and subsequent weight loss (usually the result of a physical problem). People with ‘Anorexia Nervosa’ do not lose their appetites but instead intentionally override hunger cues in order to restrict their intake and lose weight.
Anorexia Nervosa is 10 times more likely to occur in women than in men and BEAT (The British Eating Disorders Association) estimates that 1-2% of young women are suffering from Anorexia Nervosa at any one time.
2. Bulimia Nervosa
Bulimia Nervosa usually develops in a person’s late teens. The key features of Bulimia Nervosa are:
An overwhelming fear of weight gain
Distorted body percept and concept
Low self-esteem based on shape and weight
Binge eating; consuming food in a frantic and out of control way. If more than 1,000 kcals are consumed the episode is defined as an ‘objective binge’, if less than 1,000 kcals are consumed the episode is defined as a ‘subjective binge’. The defining feature of a binge is not the amount of food that is eaten but the sense that the individual cannot stop.
Purging; this is an attempt to get rid of the food consumed during a binge either by self-induced vomiting or abuse of laxative or diuretics. Research suggests that a maximum of only 1/3 of food consumed during a binge can be purged via vomiting and only water is purged through laxative and diuretic abuse. Both methods put the individual at significant risk of dehydration and electrolyte imbalance which in extreme cases can be life threatening.
Non purging; this is an attempt to get rid of the food consumed during a binge via other methods e.g. excessive exercise.
90% of Bulimia Nervosa sufferers are women and it is estimated to be five times more common than Anorexia Nervosa occurring in approximately 8% of women.
3. Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (e.g. Binge Eating Disorder)
A diagnosis of Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified is given to individuals who experience some of the symptoms of Anorexia Nervosa and/or Bulimia Nervosa but do not fulfil all the diagnostic criteria for them. For example, you may be bingeing and purging but not frequently enough (i.e. twice per week) to fulfil criteria for Bulimia Nervosa or you may restrict your food intake but your weight might be above the cut off point for Anorexia Nervosa (Body Mass Index of 17.5).
The most common Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specific is Binge Eating Disorder. Binge Eating Disorder is characterised by episodes of frantic eating (bingeing) large amounts, which are not followed by purging. It usually develops between the ages of 30-40 years.
An Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS) is the most common type of eating disorder occurring in approximately 4-6% of the population.
4. Obesity
Although a significant physical and emotional problem, Obesity is not currently considered to be an eating disorder, however its cause and treatment are similar. The debate regarding its inclusion as an eating disorder continues.
What causes an eating disorder?
There is no single cause of an eating disorder; however, underlying most is low self-esteem. A person develops an eating disorder in order to cope or compensate for feelings of worthlessness often reasoning, ‘I may be defective but at least I can be thin’ or ‘People will like me more if I am thin’. An Eating Disorder also commonly occurs when a person feels out of control in other aspects of their life e.g. during major life changes including adolescence and leaving home for the first time. A poor self-image makes it harder for someone to adjust to the changes demanded during these periods leaving them vulnerable to the development of an eating disorder; their shape and weight become the only thing that they feel they can control.
Although the thin ideals promoted in the media are often blamed for the development of eating disorders it is only those who are already vulnerable as a result of low self-esteem and confidence that will be influenced by these.
Information and self-help for eating disorders
Get valuable insights, tips, and guidance in our award-winning blogs to support your eating disorder.
Learn about “Cognitive Emotional Behavioural Therapy for Eating Disorders: Working With Beliefs About Emotions” by Emma Gray
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