Emotional Eating & Eating Disorder Recovery – Miller Counseling Services

Anorexia, Bulimia, Emotional Eating, Binge-Eating/Overeating, Obesity, Eating Disordered Thinking, Weight/Body Image Issues, Compulsive Exercise

Eating Disorders, Emotional Eating, Obesity and Body Image/Weight Issues are prominent medical and psychological problems that affects many; male and female, young and old, in all different patterns and scenarios.

Life threatening symptoms such as cardiovascular, endocrine, skeletal, reproductive and digestive disorders can result from all eating disorders depending on the pervasiveness of the problem. Anorexia is the number one killer mental illness for females. Obesity can result in long term medical problems, shortening life span as well.

Our Western culture is fraught with mixed messages about eating, ideal weight, exercise, and beauty; all related to what the eating disorder health-care community terms “eating disordered culture.” Symptoms of this negative cultural message are:

Healthy lifestyle woman smiling outside

Self-worth is equated with having the perfect body.
Individuals find themselves caught up with this “never good enough” life style toward perfection
Anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive and unhealthy addictive behavior result in development of eating disorders such as binge-eating disorder, bulimia, anorexia, compulsive exercise, and orthorexia.
Young children, adolescents and young adults often can show body weight and eating concerns that can result in life-threatening eating disorders very quickly if treatment is not sought.

Dr. Susan Miller of Miller Counseling Services finds that counseling a motivated client, utilizing healthy family support and nutritional therapy, can bring cognitive/emotional/behavioral/spiritual changes needed to promote healing and recovery in emotional eating and eating disorders.

Dr. Miller is a specialist in working with Eating Disorders who wants to help those suffering from eating disorders and eating disordered thinking find freedom from the downward cycle of an unhealthy relationship with food and body.

Using evidence-based strategies, Dr. Miller provides clinical treatment that includes:

Team Approach: integrating community nutritionists, psychiatrists & other medical professionals for comprehensive care. MCS believes that developing a team approach with other professionals outside our doors with family or individual therapy offers the best treatment outcome for those suffering from eating disorders.
Family Therapy for parents, siblings, couples and individuals enhances the benefits of counseling those with eating disorders. Dr. Miller provides psycho-education for families and friends who support a loved one with an eating disorder.
Clinical Holistic Treatment using CBT, DBT, ACT, Expressive Arts and Mindfulness-based modalities that provide focus on developing a healthy mind, body and spirit. MCS believes that to develop a normal relationship with food, body and mind, one has to learn how to be more connected with the Truth about who they are in order to let go of the eating disorder behavior.
Evidenced Based Adjunct Treatment: Expressive art experiences, journaling and book therapy are used for kinesthetic learning experiences to help healing of the mind, body and spirit occur.
Psycho-educational and Therapeutic groups are offered for those in recovery of Eating Disorders, Emotional Eating, Binge-Eating, Negative Body Image and Weight Concerns. Emotional Eating Recovery Group
Comprehensive Treatment Options are also customized to the individual’s needs. This could include weekly individual sessions, family sessions, group therapy, expressive arts therapy, as well as outside alternative health approaches such as massage, yoga, chiropractic, acupuncture, equine therapy and other body work. Nutritional therapy, psychiatric and medical care are also integrated collaboratively depending on the level of care the individual needs.
Referral and Assessment of Level of Care: Sometimes it is necessary to refer those with pervasive eating disorders to a higher level of care. MCS maintains close referral relationships with many Intensive Out-patient as well as Residential and Hospitalization treatment programs. We are able to assess level of care and assist individuals and families in seamless coordination of services between the treatment facility and our services.

Symptoms and Definitions of Types of Eating Disorders and Emotional Eating

Eating Disorders and their derivatives are a form of Emotional Eating. Emotional eating is any type of disordered eating that is a result of an emotional relationship with eating, body image and/or food.

If you want to learn more about types of eating disorders see the links below from National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA):