Eating Disorder Therapy in Massachusetts, Washington, and Vermont

Embrace food freedom and honor your here-and-now body.


Is your relationship with food and your body getting in the way of your life?

Maybe food thoughts take up more space than you want them to. Maybe you find yourself caught in cycles of body checking, comparing, restricting, bingeing, purging, over-exercising, or questioning every food choice.

Maybe plans around food feel rigid, and when something changes, your anxiety spikes. Maybe part of you wants recovery, while another part feels terrified of letting go of the eating disorder behaviors that have helped you cope.

Living with an eating disorder can feel exhausting, consuming, and hard to explain to other people. You may look like you are “functioning” on the outside while internally feeling overwhelmed by rules, guilt, shame, fear, and constant mental negotiation.

You are not alone. And you do not have to be “sick enough” to deserve support.

Eating disorders are not just about food.

For many people, eating disorder behaviors are connected to deeper emotional pain, trauma, anxiety, perfectionism, body shame, relationship wounds, or a need for safety and control. These behaviors may have served a purpose. They may have helped you feel grounded, protected, numb, capable, distracted, or in control when other parts of life felt overwhelming. That does not mean you are broken. It means your nervous system has been trying to help you survive.

Recovery is possible.

Therapy can help you move toward a more peaceful relationship with food and your body.

Right now, eating disorder recovery may feel far away or difficult to imagine. That makes sense. Recovery often happens in small, meaningful steps, and those steps do not have to be taken alone.

My approach to eating disorder therapy is grounded in:

  • Health at Every Size principles

  • Anti-diet care

  • Body respect

  • Trauma-informed therapy

I support clients navigating:

  • Anorexia nervosa

  • Bulimia nervosa

  • Binge eating disorder

  • OSFED and other specified eating disorders

  • Disordered eating

  • Chronic dieting

  • Compulsive or compensatory exercise

  • Body image distress

  • Food guilt, fear, or anxiety

  • Body checking and body avoidance

  • Fear of weight gain

  • Shame around eating

  • Perfectionism and control around food

  • Eating disorder recovery after past treatment

A person wearing a light denim jacket and a gray shirt, sitting with their hands clasped, engaged in eating disorder therapy with another person whose hands are visible. The background is blurred.

You do not need a formal eating disorder diagnosis to begin therapy. If food, exercise, body image, or fear of weight change are interfering with your life, support is available.

Abby Behar, offering eating disorder therapy in Needham, MA and throughout Massachusetts

What we’ll work on together

Eating disorder therapy is not about judgment, shame, or forcing you to change before you feel ready. Our work will be collaborative and paced with care.

Together, we may work on:

  • Understanding the role the eating disorder has served in your life

  • Untangling from harmful food, body, and weight narratives

  • Rebuilding connection with your body and internal cues

  • Exploring trauma, anxiety, perfectionism, or emotional pain connected to the eating disorder

  • Developing tools to manage and feel emotions without relying on eating disorder behaviors

  • Reducing shame, secrecy, and isolation

  • Moving toward more flexibility, self-trust, and presence in your life

This is not one-size-fits-all work. Eating disorder recovery looks different for each person, and our work will be shaped by your needs, goals, history, and readiness.

HOW I WORK

Collaborative care for eating disorder recovery

Effective eating disorder treatment often benefits from a collaborative treatment team. Depending on your needs, your team may include:

  • A therapist

  • A registered dietitian

  • A medical provider

  • A psychiatrist or medication prescriber

  • Family members, partners, or other support people when appropriate

If you are unsure whether you need a treatment team or how to begin building one, we can talk through this together. You do not have to navigate eating disorder recovery or treatment decisions on your own.

Online Eating Disorder Therapy in Massachusetts, Washington, and Vermont

A woman holding a gray mug on a white table, with another person offering a similar mug. In the background, a small black vase with dried flowers can be seen.

I offer virtual eating disorder therapy for clients located in Massachusetts, Washington, and Vermont. I also offer in-person therapy in Needham, Massachusetts.

Whether you are navigating anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, OSFED, disordered eating, compulsive exercise, or body image distress, therapy can offer a place to slow down, feel supported, and begin moving toward recovery.

Frequently Asked Questions

More questions? Visit my Fees & FAQs page.

ready to get started?

You don’t have to stay stuck.