Specialty · Bucks County, PA & Telehealth
Trauma and Eating Disorders
When food, hunger, and control are carrying the weight of what happened to you, healing has to make room for both the eating disorder and the story underneath it.
Eating disorders and trauma often travel together. Not every eating disorder begins with trauma, and not every trauma leads to disordered eating. But when the two overlap, it can feel like fighting on two fronts at once: the daily reality of food and your body, and an older story your nervous system is still carrying.
This overlap is the heart of my work. I'm a trauma therapist who specializes in eating disorders and disordered eating, and I see the behaviors that worry you as adaptive responses, ways a part of you learned to cope when nothing else was available. Together we get curious about what those behaviors have been protecting, at a pace your system can actually take in.
Why they overlap
When food becomes a way to cope.
For many people, an eating disorder does a job. Restriction can create a feeling of control when life felt out of control. Bingeing can soothe, numb, or fill a space that feels unbearable. Purging or driven exercise can discharge feelings that have nowhere else to go. Rigid rules can make a frightening world feel more predictable.
Trauma, especially trauma that happened early or over and over, can leave the body feeling like an unsafe place to live. Hunger, fullness, and other sensations may feel confusing or even threatening. You may notice:
- Eating patterns that shift when you feel stressed, ashamed, or out of control.
- A body that feels unsafe, foreign, or like something to be managed.
- Numbness around food, or food taking up almost all of your mental space.
- Old memories or feelings rising up when you try to change a behavior.
Why both matter
Treating one without the other.
If therapy focuses only on food, it can miss what the behaviors are protecting. You might follow every plan and still feel pulled back toward old patterns, because the fear, shame, or grief underneath hasn't been touched.
If therapy focuses only on trauma, it can miss the everyday weight of food, hunger, and body image. Working through painful memories while an eating disorder is running your days can feel destabilizing instead of helpful.
Trauma-focused eating disorder therapy holds both. We stay with what is happening around food right now while slowly making room for the experiences underneath it, using the same paced approach I bring to complex trauma and PTSD. Neither one has to wait for the other to be solved first.
How we work
Safety first, then the deeper layers.
We begin by building safety and resources: getting to know your nervous system, what helps you settle, and the parts of you that use food to cope. Nothing is rushed, and you'll always know why we're doing what we're doing.
From there, I draw on what fits you. That might mean somatic therapy to rebuild a felt sense of safety in your body, parts-centered work with the protector that restricts or binges, or experiential practices that let you show rather than only tell. When your system has enough support, EMDR for eating disorders can help with memories that still carry a charge.
This is a weight-inclusive practice. No one here will weigh you, measure you, or ask you to track, and there is no size talk or calorie math. When it helps your care, I'm glad to coordinate with a dietitian and medical provider.
Who this is for
Wherever you are with it.
This work is for adults 21 and older, whether you have a formal diagnosis or have never said any of this out loud. If part of you isn't sure you want to change your relationship with food, that's welcome too. Ambivalence usually makes sense once we understand what the eating disorder has been doing for you.
Sessions happen in person at my office in Doylestown, in Bucks County, or by secure telehealth. If you'd like to do some of this work alongside others, the Free To Be group is a ten-week experiential process for eating disorders and body image.
If you're wondering whether we'd be a good fit, a free consultation is a low-pressure place to start.
Common questions
What people ask.
- Do I need a trauma history to work with you on an eating disorder?
- No. Not every eating disorder is connected to trauma, and you don't need a trauma history or a diagnosis to reach out. We start with what's true for you now. If earlier experiences turn out to be part of the picture, we make room for them carefully, and only when you're ready.
- Will we talk about food, or only about the trauma?
- Both. Food, hunger, and body image are part of the conversation, always alongside what's happening in your nervous system and the experiences underneath. This isn't a meal-plan-first practice, but your daily life with food matters and we won't ignore it.
- Is it safe to work on trauma while I'm still struggling with eating?
- It can be, with careful pacing. Before we approach difficult memories, we build stability and resources so your system has support. If your physical health or eating needs closer attention, coordinating with a dietitian, a medical provider, or a higher level of care may need to come first, and we can talk about that openly.
- Can we do this work by telehealth?
- Yes. Secure video sessions are available for adults located in Pennsylvania or Arizona at the time of the session, and in-person sessions happen at my Doylestown office. All you need for telehealth is a private space where you can speak freely and feel reasonably settled.
Take the next step
When you're ready, let's talk.
A free consultation is a low-pressure conversation about fit, focus, and fees. We'll see whether working together feels right.
New clients begin with a free initial telehealth consultation. Brave Embers Wellness serves adults 21 and older.
Returning client? Log in to the client portal