Eating Disorder Therapist Near Me in Seattle
Recovery is not about becoming more controlled. It is often about becoming less at war with yourself.
A Trauma-Informed Approach to Eating Disorder Recovery
Many people seeking support with food or body image feel exhausted by rules, anxiety, shame, confusion, or a constant sense of not getting it "right."
Others appear functional on the outside while privately struggling with eating, body distress, rigidity, or disconnection from internal cues.
Therapy can be a place to rebuild trust with your body, your needs, and the signals that may have been ignored, overridden, or feared for a long time.
My approach is HAES-aligned (Health at Every Size®), anti-oppressive, and grounded in understanding eating disorders as meaningful adaptations to life experiences, not personal failures.
I work with a range of eating disorder presentations, including ARFID, OSFED, restrictive patterns, bingeing, compulsive exercise, and body image distress.
You Might Be Here Because...
You feel disconnected from your body or unsure how to trust it.
Eating feels stressful, confusing, or emotionally charged.
Food choices feel ruled by fear, guilt, or rigid rules.
Body image takes up lots of mental space.
You feel disconnected from hunger, fullness, or body signals.
Sensory sensitivities, low appetite, or avoidance make eating hard.
You are tired of trying to "fix" yourself through control.
You don't need a diagnosis or a clear way to explain your experience to begin.
What to Expect
This work moves at a pace that respects safety and nervous system capacity. We explore how your relationship with food and body developed over time, including the roles of stress, identity, family messages, trauma, culture, and survival strategies.
Eating disorder counseling Seattle clients access through my practice does not center weight or body control. As a HAES-aligned eating disorder therapist, I focus on relationship with food, body trust, flexibility, and wellbeing rather than weight as a measure of worth or health.
Sessions may include understanding patterns without shame, reconnecting with body cues gradually, reducing rigidity and all-or-nothing thinking, working with anxiety around food or body image, building flexibility, self-trust, and sustainable coping, and making space for emotion beneath eating behaviors.
The goal is not perfect eating — it is to create a more peaceful and workable relationship with food and your body.
I especially enjoy supporting clients with ARFID. This may include work around sensory sensitivities, low appetite, food avoidance, fear responses, and the frustration of feeling misunderstood by providers who only recognize more stereotypical eating disorder presentations. If you are searching for ARFID therapy near me, we work with both practical realities and nervous system responses.
Outdoor sessions or telehealth can be incorporated when helpful. For some clients, being outside reduces shame, increases embodiment, and creates gentler access to body awareness than office-based settings. We may work with movement, sensory experience, grounding, and reconnecting to the body as something to listen to with curiosity rather than battle.
Session Format
Eating disorder recovery often benefits from a team-based approach. For many clients, I require concurrent work with a dietitian, especially when eating disorder symptoms are a primary treatment focus or nutritional support is clinically important. If you do not already have a dietitian, I can provide referrals to trusted providers.
When appropriate, I collaborate with dietitians, primary care providers, psychiatrists, and other supports to help create coordinated, wraparound care. I provide outpatient therapy. If a higher level of support becomes clinically indicated, I will discuss referrals openly and thoughtfully.
I have worked across multiple levels of eating disorder care, including residential, partial hospitalization, and outpatient settings. My background includes individual and group therapy alongside multidisciplinary teams, including dietitians and psychiatric providers. This experience helps me bring both depth and realism to outpatient recovery work. I continue ongoing training and consultation through local and national eating disorder education resources.
Body image and food concerns often intersect with gender, identity, oppression, and belonging. I make space for the complexity of experiences such as gender dysphoria, body dysmorphia, and the ways cultural expectations can shape embodiment. These experiences deserve nuance, not oversimplification. Whether you are looking for therapy for body image issues or body image therapy near me, this work holds space for the full picture.
Begin Eating Disorder Recovery in Seattle
Serena Stark Therapy offers eating disorder recovery support in Seattle with outdoor sessions in the Washington Park Arboretum and telehealth across Washington State. Whether you are working through ARFID, body image concerns, or recovery more broadly, reach out to explore whether this work feels like a fit.
FAQ
Recovery does not have to begin with control. It can begin with curiosity, support, and learning to trust yourself again.
Will you give me a meal plan or tell me what to eat?
No. I do not prescribe meal plans. I often collaborate with dietitians and can refer you to trusted providers when helpful.
Do I need a dietitian?
Often, yes, especially when eating disorder recovery is a primary focus. We can discuss what level of support would best serve your recovery.
