Change your relationship with food without living at war with yourself
Psychological support to understand emotional eating, binge episodes, restriction, guilt, body image and patterns that make sustainable habits difficult.
When eating stops being an everyday need and becomes a constant source of conflict
Assessment is not limited to what you eat. It also considers how, when and why you eat, the emotions involved, the rules you impose and how much space food, weight or body image take up in your life.
Eating to soothe or disconnect
Food becomes a usual response to anxiety, loneliness, boredom, anger, sadness, stress or exhaustion.
Binge episodes or loss of control
Eating quickly, secretly or until uncomfortably full, with a sense of being unable to stop and guilt afterwards.
Rigid diets and food rules
Labelling foods as forbidden, compensating, skipping meals or moving between strict control and loss of control.
Feeling bad after eating
Eating triggers self-criticism, fear of weight gain, promises to compensate or a sense of failure.
Body image controls self-esteem
Constant comparison or avoiding clothes, photographs, intimacy or social situations because of body dissatisfaction.
Food occupies too much mental space
Constant thoughts about calories, weight, exercise, food purity, the next meal or ways to compensate.
A few questions to think through calmly
You do not need to write anything down or have it all figured out. They can simply help you arrive at your first appointment with a bit more perspective on what you want to share.
You do not need an exact date. A rough sense of whether it is recent or has been going on for longer is enough.
Times of day, moods, people or specific contexts you tend to associate with more distress.
Diets, apps, advice, previous therapy or other strategies, and how they have worked for you.
How you would like to feel about yourself, your body, or in situations you currently avoid.
You can share as much or as little as you like in the first session. You set the pace.
The more rigid the rules, the more vulnerable the balance may become
Physical or mental restriction may increase hunger, preoccupation and cravings. When loss of control occurs, guilt leads to new promises of control, reinforcing the cycle.
Start understanding the cycle →Foods are eliminated, meals are skipped or perfect control is demanded.
Attention focuses on forbidden foods or on eating “correctly”.
Fatigue, hunger or an intense emotion breaks the rule.
It is interpreted as failure and answered with more restriction, exercise or control.
Distinguish a difficult habit from an eating disorder
Psychonutrition can help with emotional and behavioural difficulties related to food. When there are signs of anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, ARFID or another eating disorder, a broader clinical and physical assessment is needed.
Regularity, restriction, binges, compensation, avoidance, rituals and triggers.
Mood, anxiety, sleep, concentration, energy, body image and physical symptoms.
Social, family, academic or occupational interference, physical changes and possible medical risks.
Emotions, thoughts, behaviour, body and context
Goals are agreed according to the problem and are not reduced to changing weight. Therapy aims to reduce suffering, expand coping resources and build habits compatible with physical and psychological health.
Find alternatives to eating for relief
Identify needs, tolerate emotions and expand ways of resting, soothing, rewarding, connecting and caring for yourself.
Question rules, guilt and all-or-nothing thinking
Review beliefs about food, the body, control, deservingness and personal worth.
Create regularity without rigidity
Plan for high-risk situations, reduce compensatory behaviours and practise more sustainable responses.
Live with less monitoring and avoidance
Reduce comparison, checking and avoidance, and expand identity beyond weight or appearance.
Psychology and nutrition have different and complementary roles
The psychologist works with emotions, thoughts, behaviour, self-esteem, body image and maintaining factors. The registered dietitian-nutritionist assesses nutritional needs and provides dietary support. Medical care monitors physical health when needed.
Some signs require urgent medical assessment
Call 112 or go to emergency services for fainting, loss of consciousness, chest pain, breathing difficulty, confusion, severe weakness, serious dehydration, vomiting blood or any situation involving immediate danger. The clinic does not replace emergency services.