Eating Disorder Counseling in Utah
Recovery is possible — and you don't have to figure it out alone. Compassionate, evidence-based therapy for your relationship with food, your body, and yourself.
Need immediate support? The National Alliance for Eating Disorders helpline is available at 1-866-662-1235. If you or someone you know is in medical danger, please call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.
Your Relationship with Food Is About More Than Food
Eating disorders are among the most serious and most misunderstood mental health conditions. They are not about vanity, willpower, or a phase — they are complex psychological conditions with real physical consequences that require professional care.
At Willow, we provide compassionate, evidence-based counseling for eating disorders across the full spectrum — from restriction and avoidance to binge eating and purging behaviors. Our approach is non-diet and weight-neutral, focused on healing your relationship with food, your body, and your emotions — not on achieving any particular size or appearance.
We work with adolescents, young adults, and adults, and we offer family therapy alongside individual work when appropriate. Recovery is real, and it begins with reaching out.
You may benefit from therapy if you're experiencing:
- Fear or anxiety around eating, food, or meals
- Restricting food intake beyond what feels safe
- Episodes of eating that feel out of control
- Using exercise, purging, or restriction to compensate for eating
- Intense distress or preoccupation with your body or appearance
- Avoiding social situations involving food
- Using food to manage difficult emotions
- Recovery maintenance after completing a higher level of care
Types of Eating Disorders We Treat
Eating disorders present differently in different people. Here are the conditions we commonly work with at Willow — each with its own emotional underpinnings and treatment approach:
Eating Disorder Therapy for All Ages & Stages
Eating disorders do not discriminate by age, gender, body size, or background. We provide therapy for:
- Adolescents and teens experiencing disordered eating for the first time
- Young adults navigating college, body image, and identity
- Adults with long-standing eating disorder patterns
- Men and boys — often underdiagnosed and underserved
- LGBTQ+ individuals, who experience elevated rates of eating disorders
- Athletes struggling with disordered eating and body pressure
- People in eating disorder recovery maintaining progress after a higher level of care
- Family members seeking guidance on how to support a loved one
You do not need to look a certain way or have a formal diagnosis to deserve support. If your relationship with food is causing you distress — that is enough.
What Eating Disorder Therapy Addresses
Sessions are personalized to your specific disorder, your history, and what recovery means for you. These are the core areas we work on:
Healing Your Relationship with Food
Moving from fear, avoidance, or compulsion toward a flexible, peaceful relationship with eating — guided by internal cues and values rather than rigid rules or anxiety.
Body Image & Self-Worth
Challenging the distorted beliefs about your body that maintain the disorder — and building a kinder, more grounded relationship with yourself that isn't tied to appearance or size.
Many eating disorders have roots in trauma, abuse, or adverse experiences. Trauma-informed therapy addresses these connections directly — without the eating disorder having to carry the full weight of them.
Eating disorders are often driven by anxiety, a need for control, or perfectionism that extends well beyond food. Addressing these underlying patterns is central to lasting recovery.
Emotional Regulation
Building the skills to identify, tolerate, and process difficult emotions without turning to food-related behaviors as a coping mechanism. This is often where the deepest recovery work happens.
Shame & Secrecy
Eating disorders thrive in shame and secrecy. Therapy provides a non-judgmental space to bring these patterns into the open — which is often the first step toward dismantling them.
Helping families understand eating disorders, communicate effectively, and support their loved one's recovery without enabling the disorder or creating additional pressure.
Recovery Maintenance
Ongoing therapy after completing residential, partial hospitalization, or intensive outpatient treatment — maintaining progress, preventing relapse, and continuing to build a sustainable life in recovery.
Evidence-Based Therapy Approaches for Eating Disorders
Your therapist will tailor the approach to your specific diagnosis, history, and goals. These are the methods most commonly used in eating disorder therapy at Willow:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy — Enhanced (CBT-E)
The gold-standard psychological treatment for eating disorders. Addresses the specific thought patterns, beliefs, and behaviors that maintain the disorder — including perfectionism, low self-worth, and control issues.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Highly effective for binge eating, bulimia, and eating disorders driven by emotional dysregulation. Builds skills in distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and mindfulness that directly reduce disordered eating behaviors.
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Helps you build psychological flexibility around food, body, and emotions — reducing the struggle against difficult thoughts and feelings while committing to values-based action in recovery.
Addresses traumatic memories and adverse experiences that underlie the eating disorder — processing the emotional imprints that drive avoidance, shame, and loss of control.
Explores how early relational experiences shape your relationship with your body and food — particularly relevant when family dynamics or early attachment wounds are part of the picture.
A warm, non-directive approach centered on unconditional positive regard. For many eating disorder clients, simply experiencing consistent care without judgment is a profoundly healing part of recovery.
Eating Disorders in Utah County — A Particular Pressure
Utah County presents specific cultural pressures around bodies, appearance, and "wellness" that affect eating disorder risk and recovery. High rates of social media use, strong community emphasis on physical appearance, and religious or cultural messaging around the body can all contribute to disordered eating — particularly among young women, but not exclusively.
In LDS communities specifically, themes of self-discipline, worthiness, and the body as a "temple" can become entangled with eating disorder thinking in ways that complicate both the disorder and the recovery. Our therapists understand these dynamics and provide culturally sensitive care that meets you in that context without reinforcing harmful patterns.
We also recognize that for teens and young adults, adolescent therapy alongside family therapy often produces the best outcomes — and we offer both. Telehealth is also available statewide for those who prefer the privacy of attending from home.
A note on level of care: Willow provides outpatient therapy for eating disorders. If you or a loved one requires medical stabilization, residential care, or a higher level of clinical support, we will help connect you with appropriate resources — and are happy to provide ongoing outpatient therapy alongside or after higher-level care.
Find the Right Therapist for Your Recovery
Our therapists bring both clinical expertise and genuine compassion to eating disorder work. Browse our full roster or use these filters to find a strong fit:
Eating Disorder Counseling Near You in Utah County
Pleasant Grove Office
233 S Pleasant Grove Blvd
Suite 201, Pleasant Grove, UT 84062
Virtual — Anywhere in Utah
Secure, HIPAA-compliant video sessions statewide — helpful for those managing busy schedules, transportation challenges, or who prefer the privacy of home.
Learn about telehealth →