Linda Riebel, Ph. D.
Brief Therapy for Eating Disorders
Overcoming an eating problem can be a lengthy process, but some focused approaches can make a difference in a discrete period of time.
Cognitive therapy for depression and anxiety
People with eating problems often use food to soothe discouraged moods and deflect anxious ones. Beneath the moods, one usually finds a style of negative thinking that discounts hope, devalues positive evidence, and notices only the scary or the depressing facts of life. Cognitive therapy, a structured short-term method, teaches you to challenge and replace negative thoughts with realistically constructive ones. In my 24 years as an eating disorder therapist and 13 years as a cognitive therapist, I’ve found that there’s one thought in particular that causes more overeating than any other.
Stage-matched intervention
In many areas of life, from changing careers to quitting a habit to completing a creative project, change proceeds according to definite stages. If therapy is accurately matched to your readiness to change, success is more likely. I help you identify your present stage and accelerate your move into the next one.
Communication skills
The ability to speak your mind can free you from a habit of swallowing your feelings with food. Discover what you really think and learn the many options for conveying your meaning with tact and confidence.
The importance of sleep
Recent research shows that insufficient sleep is one of many factors linked to obesity. Bingeing and depression are also connected to poor sleep. Changes to lifestyle and sleep habits can help resolve sleep problems not caused by medical conditions.