How I Work

My Mission Is to Help You Heal Your Emotional Hunger

What’s it like to work with me? On this page, I’ll tell you about the kind of results my clients have reported and I’ll also give you a sense of my guiding beliefs, approach to therapy, and how I’m different from other weight loss programs and other therapists.  Whether you want to stop dieting once and for all, learn new ways of coping with your emotions, or improve your self-esteem, I can help.

Expected results

When you work with me, you can expect to get at the root of your emotional eating, stop the endless cycle of overeating, dieting and gaining back weight, and get you back in control of your emotions. You will finally learn why you eat, stop dieting once and for all, stop depending on food for comfort, and develop a healthier relationship with food, your body and your emotions.

I am committed to helping you achieve these results:

* Figure out what’s behind your pattern of constant eating. By exploring the situations that trigger your eating patterns, linking them with specific emotions, and defining why you use food to deal with them, we can begin the process of breaking free from your dependence on food.  No more mindless eating, no more constant snacking, and no more sabotaging your efforts to be healthy and lose weight.

* Stop obsessing over food. No more hours wasted daydreaming about what you’ll be eating.  You’ll also learn to break free from those terrible cravings that consume you, and that sabotage your healthy efforts.

* Stop dieting once and for all. No more restrictive diets that leave you hungry, no more falling off the wagon and feeling guilty, and no yo-yo patterns of weight loss and weight gain.  This will be the time you finally say goodbye to dieting and hello to a healthier way of living.

* No more turning to food every time your emotions run high. You will learn how to manage your emotions in healthier ways, and stop using food to cope with difficult feelings and situations.

* No more using food to comfort yourself. Work through your feelings of depression or emptiness, and find a better way to live.  Because you’ll be happier and more satisfied with your life, you won’t need to eat to push away those feelings of unhappiness.

* Break free from the guilty cycle of overeating. By learning to separate food from your emotions, and finding other ways to make yourself feel better, you won’t have to overeat.  And because you’ll stop overeating, you won’t feel so guilty, preventing you from yet another food binge.  With time, that vicious cycle will become a thing of the past.

* Develop a healthy relationship with food. You’ll learn how to eat more mindfully and consciously.  You’ll gain more control over how much you eat, stop seeing how much you eat as a reflection of who you are, improve your self-esteem and self-confidence, develop a better body image, and stop using food as a natural response to life’s ups and downs or as a substitute for love.

Guiding beliefs and values

My logo reflects the three fundamental values that guide my practice: insight, growth, and fulfillment.

* Insight. Represented by the tree’s roots, hidden beneath the ground, I believe that in order to really heal, you have to look at the roots of your emotional eating.  This includes discovering how it started, what food really means to you, and looking beneath the surface at some of the unconscious patterns that keep you stuck.  If your problem was really only about food, you’d have already solved it by eating well and exercising.  But it isn’t only about food, it’s about something deeper that you haven’t quite figured out yet.  I can help you figure out what that is.

* Growth. Represented by the tree itself, which is forever growing and expanding, I believe that true healing comes from continual self-improvement and growth.  Each person has the unique capacity to heal and become who they really want to be.  Sometimes there are issues that block this growth, and I can help you find ways to remove those blocks so that you can flourish.

* Fulfillment. Represented by the sun at the top of the tree, a symbol of hope and enlightenment, I believe that the pinnacle of healing comes when you reach true fulfillment in your life.  Because the emotional eating acts in part to fill a void in your life, by finding other ways to fill that void you will not only become happier, but healthier as well.  I can help you discover your strengths and passions, and find ways to put those to work in your life so that you can find purpose and fulfillment.

My approach

I am flexible in my approach. I recognize that each individual is unique, and your reasons for eating emotionally are not necessarily the same as everyone else’s.  I tailor my treatment approach based on your needs, targeting your specific problems and working towards your individual goals.

I believe that therapy is teamwork. As your therapist, I don’t tell you what to do, give advice, or decide what is best for you.  Instead, I believe our work together is a collaboration, and together, we figure out the best course of action based on your needs and my expertise.  I expect you to take an active approach in your own recovery, while I help guide you through it.

I am genuine, honest and direct. I believe in being very straightforward with my clients.  This means that I don’t sugar-coat things, nor do I say things just to please you.  Instead, I tell it like it is, always keeping in mind what you’re ready to hear at any given moment.  I believe this helps you see things differently and challenges you to grow.  In addition, I don’t hide behind the mask of cold, impartial therapist, like what you might see on TV.  Instead, I am very genuine with my clients, and I act like myself.  I believe this is essential for forming a good working alliance that leads to real change.

I believe in creating a warm, supportive atmosphere to facilitate your growth. Before you think I’m the next Dr. Phil, “tellin’ it like it is,” I want to emphasize that I do counterbalance my directness with empathy and support.  I always make sure I understand exactly what you’re going through, and I am skilled at making you feel that you can be very open with me.  I also encourage you to take the steps necessary for change while I stand by to support you when you falter. 

What makes me different?

My services are unique in two ways: one, my approach is different from other weight loss programs, and two, the way I work is different from most other therapists.

Diets don’t work. Not because they’re inherently flawed (of course eating less and eating well helps you lose weight), but because they’re so hard to follow.  Many diets tell you what to eat, when to eat, how much to eat, and what to avoid.  This can be overwhelming for anyone, and this kind of restriction can lead to overeating and “cheating.”

Diets require a lot of self-discipline, and very few people have the strength to be so disciplined about everything they eat. Likewise, exercising regularly can be a challenge when self-discipline is low.

When you’re struggling with your emotions, self-discipline flies out the window. When things are going well, and your level of stress is low, it’s easy to follow a diet plan or stick to your exercise routine.  But when times get tough, or you’re sitting home alone on yet another Friday night, it’s all too easy to turn to your favourite comfort foods. 

By teaching you how to manage your emotions, and work through your problems, you won’t need to turn to food as often. Because you’ve now found other ways to cope with life, and improved some of the situations that got you here in the first place, you simply won’t have as many emotional crises that require a tub of ice cream.  The weight will come off naturally, slowly at first, and when your strength recovers, you can work harder at developing healthy habits.

By working with me, you’ll not only break free from your emotional eating and lose weight, but you’ll become happier, healthier and more in tune with life. You’ll get to the true cause of your emotional eating, solving the problem at its root instead of on the surface.  The changes will be lasting, meaning you’ll go on your last diet and prevent further weight gain.  A major side-effect of this process is that you’ll actually become a better, more well-adjusted person, which will affect everything else in your life, including your relationship with yourself and others.

There are very few therapists out there who focus on the psychological aspects of emotional eating. I’m one of the few who does.  I look beyond the behaviour, and instead of telling you to change your habits, I work on the problem from the inside out.  I focus on healing the emotional hunger first, and then, and only then, help you with the actual eating habits.

My confession. There’s a reason I understand what you’re going through.  I’m an emotional eater myself.  I have a tendency to eat certain foods when I’m stressed out (chips are a particular favourite!), and I tend to use food as a source of fun and pleasure.  However, by working through my own issues, I’ve learned how and why I eat certain things, and have found other ways of getting satisfaction in my life.  Helping others work through their own struggle with emotional eating is my way of finding meaning and purpose in my life. 

You choose.  Are you finally ready to tackle your emotional hunger? This is by no means the easy way out.  You will likely face difficult emotions, memories or facts about yourself.  It will take a lot of hard work, and it won’t be fast or easy.  But it will work.  And besides, what’s the alternative?  In many ways, by not healing the hunger, you’re setting yourself up for years of overeating, yo-yo dieting, and slowly watching the scale creep up.  Is that really the easier choice?

Now that that you have a better idea about the results you can expect by working with me, and my approach and philosophy of working with clients, go to my Services page to learn more about the specific services I offer.