Eating Disorder Treatment in North Carolina.

Additional Information

Eating disorders can affect much more than eating. They can influence mood, anxiety, relationships, school or work, physical health, self-esteem, and a person’s ability to participate fully in everyday life.

At Krippa Family Psychological & Wellness Services, we provide individualized therapy for adolescents and adults struggling with disordered eating, body image concerns, and eating disorders. Treatment is tailored to each person’s symptoms, developmental needs, medical needs, and goals—not simply to a diagnosis.

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When Eating Becomes a Struggle

When Eating and Body Image Begin to Take Over

Eating disorders do not always look the way people expect. A person may be struggling significantly even when their weight appears typical, they continue to attend school or work, or those around them do not recognize that anything is wrong.

Concerns may include restricting food, binge eating, purging, compulsive exercise, intense fear of weight gain, preoccupation with calories or food, avoiding certain foods, distress about body shape or size, or feeling out of control around eating. For some people, these behaviors become a way of coping with anxiety, perfectionism, difficult emotions, trauma, or a need for control.

Early support can help interrupt these patterns before they become increasingly entrenched and begin to affect physical health, emotional well-being, and daily life.

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Eating Disorders & Concerns We Treat

Eating disorders can develop at any age and may involve a wide range of symptoms and behaviors. We work with adolescents and adults experiencing concerns including:

Anorexia nervosa and restrictive eating

Bulimia nervosa

Binge eating disorder

Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)

Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder (OSFED)

Disordered eating that may not meet criteria for a specific diagnosis

Body image and body dissatisfaction

Fear of weight gain

Compulsive or excessive exercise

Anxiety, perfectionism, or obsessive thoughts related to food and eating

You do not need to wait until symptoms become severe or fit neatly into a diagnosis to seek help. Treatment can begin when eating, food, exercise, or body image starts interfering with physical health, emotional well-being, relationships, or everyday life.

Our Approach to Treatment

An Individualized Approach to Eating Disorder Treatment

There is no single approach that is right for every person with an eating disorder. Treatment begins with understanding the individual—not simply the eating behaviors. We look at the factors that may be contributing to or maintaining symptoms, including anxiety, depression, perfectionism, obsessive thinking, trauma, family dynamics, sensory concerns, ADHD, and difficulties with emotional regulation.

Therapy may incorporate evidence-based approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), exposure-based strategies, and trauma-informed interventions. For adolescents, parents and caregivers may also be involved in treatment when appropriate.

Our goal is to help clients develop a healthier and more flexible relationship with food and their bodies while addressing the emotional and psychological concerns underlying their symptoms.

The Treatment Team

Eating Disorder Treatment Often Requires a Team

Eating disorders can affect both emotional and physical health, which is why treatment may involve more than psychotherapy alone. Depending on the individual’s needs, care may include collaboration with a physician, registered dietitian, psychiatrist or psychiatric medication provider, and other healthcare professionals.

Our therapists can collaborate with outside providers when appropriate to help create coordinated care. Medication management is also available within our practice for clients who may benefit from treatment for co-occurring concerns such as anxiety, depression, or obsessive-compulsive symptoms.

When medical or nutritional needs exceed what can safely be addressed through outpatient treatment, we will recommend additional services or a higher level of care. Our priority is helping each client receive the level and combination of support appropriate for their needs.

Eating Disorders and Co-Occurring Concerns

Looking Beyond Food and Eating

Eating disorder symptoms rarely exist in isolation. Many adolescents and adults also experience anxiety, depression, OCD, perfectionism, ADHD, trauma-related symptoms, low self-esteem, or difficulty managing intense emotions.

Effective treatment means understanding how these concerns interact. Restricting, binge eating, purging, rigid food rules, or compulsive exercise may provide a temporary sense of relief, control, or emotional regulation while ultimately reinforcing the cycle that keeps symptoms going.

By addressing both eating disorder behaviors and the concerns occurring alongside them, therapy can help clients develop healthier ways to cope, greater flexibility, and a stronger sense of self that is not defined by food, weight, or appearance.

Copyright © 2021 Kristin A. Krippa, M.A., - All Rights Reserved. COUNSELING, PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT, Psychological Evaluations, Group therapy CHILDREN, TEENS, ADULTS, ATTACHMENT PARENTING, DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, RELATIONSHIPS, STRESS, PARENTING CONSULTS, CARY, NC

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