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Why Seeing a Therapist and a Dietitian Is Key to Healing Disordered Eating

  • Writer: rachel parker
    rachel parker
  • Apr 29
  • 4 min read

Struggling with disordered eating in Vancouver, WA? You're not alone and healing is possible with the right support system. If you’ve tried diets, meal plans, or willpower without lasting change, it might be time to explore a more comprehensive approach to recovery: working with both a licensed therapist and a registered dietitian.


In this blog post, you’ll learn:

  • Why a therapist and dietitian make a powerful team for recovery

  • How this team can support you emotionally and nutritionally

  • Where to find eating disorder support near you



What Is Disordered Eating?


Disordered eating includes behaviors like chronic dieting, emotional eating, binge eating, food guilt, and restriction. These patterns can impact your mental health, self-esteem, and physical well-being even if they don’t meet the full criteria for an eating disorder.


Whether you struggle with food obsession, food noise, guilt after eating, or a toxic cycle of bingeing and restricting, odds are you don't need another influencer diet-plan or fitness regime. These are struggles a therapist can help you navigate to repair your relationship with food and your body, so that you don't waste another day worrying about food.


Why Work with a Therapist AND a Dietitian?


1. Get Holistic Support


A therapist can help you uncover the emotional and psychological roots of disordered eating. Many people use food to cope with anxiety, shame, perfectionism, trauma, or low self-worth. Therapy helps you get to the core of the problem, so that you can have lasting change rather than a quick fix.


It's important to work with a therapist that has experience working with clients who struggle with disordered eating. Not every therapist understands the complexity of disordered eating patterns and how they can impact other areas of a client's life.


For example, having an unhealthy relationship with food can impact someone's social life, including their relationships with friends and romantic partners. Many people will try to avoid social situations entirely, because they are worried about the food at the event.


Having an unhealthy relationship with food can make you feel stuck in the cycles of bingeing and restricting, which leaves you feeling ashamed and helpless. These are difficult challenges to understand and navigate without the proper experience and training.


Eating disorders don't look like one body type or shape. A person with a higher weight can struggle with anorexia & a person with a low weight can struggle with binge eating disorder.

A registered dietitian (RD) trained in disordered eating can help you:

  • Rebuild hunger and fullness cues

  • Challenge food rules and myths

  • Create sustainable, balanced eating habits


Together, this team supports both your mind and your body.


2. Break Free from Diet Culture


So many of us grow up learning that thin equals attractive, or that some foods are "good" and some foods are "bad." These beliefs create food guilt and contribute to disordered eating cycles. A HAES-aligned or Intuitive Eating dietitian and an eating disorder-informed therapist can help you replace harmful beliefs that keep you stuck.



Disordered eating can be difficult to detect, because it's glorified in American culture.

3. Prevent Relapse and Build Lifelong Skills


Working with a therapist and a dietitian doesn’t just help you stop the behaviors—it helps you understand why they started and what to do when you’re triggered. This approach:

  • Supports long-term healing

  • Helps prevent relapse

  • Rebuilds trust with your body and food


Instead of going from diet to diet, you can finally find peace with food and freedom from yo-yo dieting. You can celebrate a holiday without game planning how you're going to fit in the extra calories into your weight loss plan. You can go on vacation without obsessing about the way your body looks. You can go out for ice cream without it sparking a binge later. You can enjoy cooking a homemade meal without calculating how many calories you'll need to burn at the gym later.


You can finally start embracing your life and stop waiting

for you to get your eating under control.



How to Find Help in Vancouver, Washington


If you’re in Vancouver, WA and looking for disordered eating treatment, start by contacting:


If you're looking for personalized support, reach out to my practice. I specialize in helping clients rebuild their relationship with food and body through compassion, clinical support, and evidence-based approaches.


You don’t need to wait for things to get worse. If you're feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or ashamed about your eating patterns, it's time to reach out.


Contact me today at (360) 207-5598 or email Rachel@rparkercounseling.com to schedule a free 15 minute consultation or learn more about our services.



Recovery is possible. I wouldn't do this job if I thought that it wasn't. I have seen recovery happen and you could be next.



References



Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional therapy, diagnosis, or treatment. Please seek help from a qualified mental health professional for personalized support.

 
 
 

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