Eating disorders & body image
When does food and body image become something to talk about?
You are so much more than what you see in the mirror.
Maybe it started small: skipping something, counting something, checking the mirror one more time. Somewhere along the way, food or your body started taking up more room in your thoughts than you ever meant to give it.
You don't have to be at a crisis point to talk to someone about it. And you don't have to arrive with the right words for what's happening. That's part of what the first conversation is for.
What are the signs that food or body image is taking over?
- Eating feels like a set of rules you're either following or failing.
- You think about food, weight or your body far more than you want to.
- Someone in your life is worried, and you're not sure whether they should be.
- You compare your body to other people's without meaning to.
- The way you talk to yourself about your body is harsher than you'd talk to anyone else.
- You've lost confidence in situations that used to feel ordinary: meals, mirrors, photos, practice, class.
- Your worth feels tied to a number.
Good for you for reading this far. Either you or someone else has become concerned, and the most useful next step is simply finding out what's actually going on. Knowledge is your friend, even when it's scary.
What happens in a first appointment for eating disorders?
- An eating disorder assessment.
- Collaboration, when appropriate and authorized, with parents, physicians, dietitians or other invested providers.
- Recommendations for next steps and appropriate treatment options to help you rediscover healthy eating patterns.
A treatment-team approach is best practice, and it's what Lori relies on: a team around you rather than one person working alone. Counseling addresses the thoughts, feelings, self-worth and patterns; medical and nutritional care come from the providers who specialize in those. Counseling does not replace them.
For students, that often includes a parent or guardian in appropriate ways. For adult women, it's your call who is involved and when.
What if you're a parent worried about your daughter?
You may be wondering whether you're overreacting, or whether you've waited too long. Both worries are common, and neither one has to be resolved before you call.
Lori works with female students and their families, keeps expectations clear, and will tell you honestly what she sees and what level of care she thinks is appropriate, even when that means recommending more support than counseling alone.
Related: self-worth and confidence and counseling for women and female students.
For rates, insurance and what a first session involves, see counseling information.
Common questions
Does Lori Rasmussen work with eating disorders?
Yes. Eating disorders, disordered eating, food anxiety and body-image concerns are a significant part of Lori's counseling practice with women and female students in Waterloo, Iowa. A first appointment includes an eating disorder assessment and recommendations for next steps.
Does Lori work with body-image concerns even without an eating disorder?
Yes. Many women and students come in because of comparison, negative self-talk, or a relationship with their body that has become exhausting, without meeting criteria for an eating disorder. That work is welcome here.
Does counseling replace medical or nutritional care?
No. Counseling is one part of care. A treatment-team approach is best practice for eating disorders, and counseling may include collaboration, when appropriate and authorized, with parents, physicians, dietitians or other providers. Medical and nutritional care come from those providers, not from counseling.
How do I reach Lori?
Call 319-240-5035 or use the contact page. In-person sessions are in Waterloo; online sessions are available to clients physically located in Iowa.
If you are still deciding whether this applies to you, read When eating has become more than a diet.
Helpful reading
If it helps to read a little before reaching out, these were written with this exact concern in mind.
When eating has become more than a diet
Quiet signs that food, eating or your body has started taking up more room in your thoughts than you want it to.
What does a healthy relationship with food look like?
A gentle description of what peace with food can look like when rules and guilt have run things for a long time.
Body image on the hard days
Practical, non-shaming ways through a day when your body feels unbearable to you.
Reaching out can be the first step.
You don't need to know exactly what to say, or have anything figured out, before you contact Lori.
Or email rasmussencounselingandsd@gmail.com