Finding an eating disorder therapist feels harder than dealing with the eating disorder itself sometimes. I keep finding people who aren’t taking new clients, don’t accept my insurance, or say they have experience but can’t explain what kind. By the time I sort through all of that, I’m exhausted and usually end up putting it off again.
There’s something especially frustrating about needing help with trust and control, then having to repeatedly tell strangers personal details just to find out whether they’re actually qualified. I know finding the right fit matters, but the process can feel like another test I’m failing.
How did you find a therapist who genuinely understood eating disorders?
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The part about having to retell personal details just to find out if someone is qualified sounds exhausting. You shouldn’t have to prove how much help you need before getting a clear answer about their training.
What helped me was sending a short message with very specific questions: what eating disorders they treat, what training they’ve had, whether they use a team approach with a dietitian or doctor, and whether they’re accepting clients with my insurance. A few never replied, but it saved me from having the same full conversation over and over.
And putting it off doesn’t mean you’re failing. The search itself can take a lot out of you, especially when trust and control are already difficult.
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The short message idea helped me too, especially asking about their actual eating disorder training instead of just accepting “I work with food issues.” It made the first contact feel more like screening them, rather than having to explain myself and hope they understood.
I also started keeping the questions in a note on my phone so I could copy and paste them when I was tired. That small bit of structure made it easier to keep trying after a few no replies.
The copy-and-paste message is a smart idea. Asking about the team approach seems especially useful, since someone can claim they treat eating disorders without having much experience with the medical side.
I’ve definitely put things off after getting vague or unhelpful replies. Keeping the questions in one note would make it feel less like starting over every time.