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Learn more about eating disorders
Eating disorders are serious mental health conditions involving a persistent, distressing relationship with food, eating, body image, or weight. They include anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder, and are recognised in the DSM-5 and ICD-11. Eating disorders are not a lifestyle choice or a matter of willpower, and they affect people of every gender, age, body shape, and background. They often carry significant physical health risks alongside the psychological distress, which is why treatment usually involves medical care as well as therapy. With the right support, recovery is possible.
Eating disorders can be hard to recognise, in yourself or others, because they are often hidden and can occur at any body weight. The signs are emotional and behavioural as much as physical. You might notice:
- Preoccupation with food, eating, body shape, or weight that dominates your thoughts
- A harsh or distorted sense of your own body
- Eating patterns that feel out of control, secretive, or rigidly restricted
- Intense anxiety, guilt, or shame around eating
- Withdrawing from meals, social situations, or people
- Basing your self-worth heavily on weight, shape, or eating
- Physical effects such as fatigue, or changes you feel unable to talk about
Eating disorders are treatable, and therapy works best as part of a wider care team that can include medical and nutritional support. The right therapeutic approach depends on the type of eating disorder and the person.
- CBT: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in its eating-disorder-specific form (CBT-E) addresses the thoughts and behaviours that maintain the disorder. It is among the most established therapies for eating disorders in adults.
- DBT: Dialectical Behaviour Therapy helps with the intense emotions and impulses that can drive disordered eating, teaching skills to manage distress differently.
- Family therapy involves the people around you and is particularly well evidenced for children and young people, where family support is central to recovery.
- CFT: Compassion-Focused Therapy works on the shame and harsh self-criticism that often sit underneath an eating disorder, building a kinder relationship with yourself.
- Psychodynamic therapy explores the deeper emotional roots of the difficulty, useful where an eating disorder is longstanding or bound up with other experiences.
It's Complicated is a therapist-founded mental health platform connecting clients with verified practitioners across Europe and globally, in over 60 languages. We work with over 2,500 vetted therapists, with in-person availability in Berlin, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Lisbon, Vienna, and other major cities, alongside online sessions worldwide. It's Complicated is free to use, and you pay your chosen therapist directly at rates they set.
Finding a therapist for an eating disorder can feel daunting, especially when part of the illness makes it hard to admit anything is wrong. Our matching service is built to remove that friction. You complete a short survey, our psychologists combine data-driven insights with human judgement to identify the right therapists for your situation, and you choose from a shortlist of strong candidates. For eating disorders, therapy works best alongside appropriate medical support, and a good therapist will help you consider the wider care you may need. You can also browse our directory directly if you'd prefer to choose yourself.
Get matched with a therapist who specialises in eating disorders, or browse the directory to choose yourself.
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