Blog

Category: eating disorder

Moving Toward Recovery

Caroline Leibman, MA, NCC, BC-DMT, SEP Individual Therapist; Dance & Movement, Expressive & Psychodrama Group Therapist Movement is our first language. Before we had access to language we spoke with our bodies. We used gesture, posture and sound to communicate our wants and needs. If you have been around an infant or toddler lately you … Read More

Mindfulness

Beth Shoyer, PhD Clinical Director at McCallum Place Columbia Eating disorders are a way of turning away from what is, from the stresses and distresses of life. But what we resist persists and this turning away can take us down a dark, dangerous, and lonely road. Mindfulness neither pushes away nor grabs onto, but allows … Read More

Choosing to Thrive

Stephanie Bagby-Stone MD Medical Director at McCallum Place Columbia Making the decision to go to eating disorder treatment is sometimes very difficult when you are in college. Especially when you are an excellent student with career goals and worry about what might happen if you take time away from school. That choice can be challenging, … Read More

Treating Trauma and Eating Disorders with DBT and Exposure Therapies

Kathryn J. Brewer, PhD, LCPC, CCTP, Clinical Director at McCallum Place Kansas I began my career over 15 years ago working with adult survivors of trauma. Throughout my career, I have gained interest and experience working with many co-occurring symptoms and diagnoses, including eating disorders. It is common for patients with trauma and eating disorders … Read More

Bulimia Nervosa and Differences Between Genders

Shannon Gartland, NCC, LPC Bulimia nervosa affects 1-1.5% of females and there is a 10:1 ratio of females to males suffering from the disorder (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Some research has been done to determine how risk factors for bulimia nervosa differ between men and women. Even as early as elementary school, differences begin to … Read More

Fertility and Pregnancy in Bulimia Nervosa

Written by Tamara J. Aitken, RN, MSN, Kimberli McCallum, MD, CEDS, FAPA, and Ginger Nicol, MD Bulimia Nervosa: The Basics Individuals who suffer from Bulimia Nervosa (BN) struggle with recurrent episodes of binge eating, followed by compensatory behaviors to reverse or avoid weight gain. Binge eating is defined as consumption of a large amount of … Read More

Ecotherapy with Eating Disorders

Written by Cliff Hamrick, LPC, McCallum Place Austin In his book, Biophilia (1984), biologist E. O. Wilson suggested the biophilia hypothesis, which states that humans have a natural affinity towards other living systems. These living systems include large systems such as forests, oceans, and fields, but can also include smaller systems such as leaves, feathers, … Read More

Male Runners and Eating Disorders

Written by Ron A. Thompson, PhD, FAED, CEDS Eating disorders are more prevalent in “lean” sports than “non-lean” sports. Lean sports have traditionally included weight-class, aesthetic, and endurance sports. Distance running has been included with endurance sports, although the term “endurance” has recently been replaced with “gravitational.” Gravitational sports are those in which moving the … Read More

Self-Soothing Techniques when Feeling Traumatized

Written by Cristina Smugala, LPC When a person experiences trauma, their body decrease the ability to control their emotions. As Mollon’s research suggested, the experience of trauma deregulates the individual’s ability to regulate emotional experience and manage physical arousal (Mollon, 2005). This process may leave the trauma survivor very attune and vulnerable to any emotional, … Read More

Dance Movement Therapy

Written by Daisy Thompson, LMSW, LCDC-I “Dance first. Think later. It’s the natural order.” -Samuel Becket According to the American Dance Therapy Association (ADTA) dance movement therapy (DMT) is a well-established psychotherapeutic intervention which is based on the empirically supported concept that body, mind, and spirit are interconnected, and that the psychotherapeutic use of movement … Read More