Food or Eating Concerns

When is it time to seek help?

Eating too much or too little can have serious consequences on your physical and mental health. Treatment should be sought as soon as possible to reduce the risks to your health. It’s common for weight management and eating disorder issues to be part of other mental health concerns.

Weight and Eating Disorders Treatment Methods

•  Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) One of the most commonly used treatment methods for addiction and problematic compulsive behaviours is cognitive behavioural therapy. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based approach to treatment that focuses on how people’s thoughts, emotions, and beliefs influence their behaviours and how they perceive themselves, others, and the world. CBT differs from other therapies because of its emphasis on the theory that how you perceive a problem or situation causes negative or dysfunctional emotions and/or behaviours. The goal of CBT in the context of a substance use disorder and/or problematic substance use issues is for the client to understand what drives their problematic behaviours and how these issues are related to other aspects of their lives. Once the client understands what thoughts and/or environmental factors lead to their problematic and/or compulsive behaviours, they are better equipped to succeed in the recovery process and prevent future relapse.

​

• Behaviour Therapy  Behavioural therapy may be used to treat a wide range of problematic compulsive behaviours such as drug and/or alcohol use, food or eating issues, problematic gambling and gaming, pornography and sex related compulsions, relationship dependence, shopping compulsion and smoking. Behaviour Therapy includes the thinking processes, attitudes and values which typically impact an individual. Generally speaking, Behaviour Therapy tends to view human beings and behaviour with the assumption that humans are a product of their sociocultural conditioning and environment. In the context of addiction or a substance use disorder, behavioural therapy focuses on changing self-destructive or problematic behaviours through purposely and systematically applied concepts. Behavioural therapy also looks at your current problems and the factors influencing them. This therapeutic modality emphasizes noticeable and obvious behaviour changes more than your underlying unconscious processes.

​

• Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy may be used to treat smoking, problem gambling and certain food and eating issues. This therapeutic modality allows clients to travel deeper into the unconscious or subconscious to look at and work with issues and ideas perhaps inaccessible otherwise. It’s like guided daydreaming: a form of relaxed concentration. Insight's hypnotherapists in Edmonton are trained to induce a trance-like, altered state of consciousness in individuals by making suggestions and describing pleasant images on which to focus.

​

• Mindfulness Therapy Mindfulness therapy may be used to treat certain substance use issues and/or behavioural compulsions . This approach to treatment focuses on how people’s thoughts, emotions, and beliefs influence their behaviour and how they perceive themselves, others, and the world. The ability to be in the moment, to acknowledge and regulate your emotions helps you to break free from negative thought patterns that lead to substance use issues and/or behavioural compulsions . Mindfulness therapy is an effective form of psychotherapy that can be used on its own or in conjunction with other treatment methods. The goal of mindfulness is to be fully in the present moment by being aware of our thoughts and feelings, without judgement and use that knowledge to positively guide our actions.

​

• Emotionally-focused therapy Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) may be used to treat problematic gambling, shopping, video games, eating disorders, and sex compulsions including pornography. Emotionally focused therapy is an empirically-based approach, which looks at emotions and emotional intelligence, which helps support stronger and more secure relationships by helping better understand how our problematic behaviours impact others, and how our emotions drive our interactions.