Eating Disorder Therapy on Big Island
Finding the Right Therapist for Eating Disorders in Hawai‘i
You’ve probably spent years battling with food, your body and yourself. Sometimes, that complicated relationship with eating has been the only constant in your life and changing that feels terrifying... maybe even impossible.
Maybe it’s emotional eating, binge-restrict cycles, constant dieting or the guilt that comes from believing you just don't have enough "willpower."
Spoiler Alert: It has nothing to do with willpower.
No matter how hard you try, the rules and shame keep pulling you back in. Working with an eating disorder therapist based in Kailua-Kona, Hawai‘i gives you a space to untangle what’s underneath the patterns, often trauma, anxiety; and relationship wounds. If you're here, you're ready to heal your relationship with food, find freedom from shame, and reconnect with your body on your terms.
Disordered eating is rarely about food alone—it’s often rooted in trauma, anxiety, and the relationships we’ve had with others and ourselves.
and across Hawai‘i
What Disordered Eating Can Look Like (Even If It’s Felt Normal for a Long Time)
When disordered eating has been part of your life for a long time, it can feel deeply ingrained. Often bringing up shame, hopelessness, and the sense that nothing will ever really change. But disordered eating isn’t defined by a diagnosis, a number, or a label. It’s defined by how food and body control became ways to cope, survive, or feel safe.
Disordered eating often develops in response to trauma, chronic stress, relationship wounds, or long periods of feeling disconnected from your body or emotions. Over time, these patterns can start to feel normal; even when they’re exhausting or painful.
You might be struggling with disordered eating if you:
Feel out of control around food or use eating to manage emotions
Get stuck in binge–restrict cycles, yo-yo dieting, or constant “starting over”
Carry ongoing guilt or shame after eating
Obsess over calories, body size, or “good” vs. “bad” foods
Eat in secret or hide eating behaviors from others
Use food—or restriction—to numb, soothe, or manage stress
Feel disconnected from your body and unsure how to trust its signals
Feel exhausted by the endless cycle of rules, shame, and self-blame
Did you know? Eating disorders aren’t just about food. They’re often connected to deeper survival patterns, unresolved stress, and old wounds. When those root causes are addressed, change becomes more possible and more sustainable. Explore trauma therapy to heal the root causes↗
If food feels like a constant battle, you don’t have to keep fighting alone. Working with an eating disorder therapist on the Big Island and across Hawaiʻi gives you the space, tools, and support to understand what’s driving the struggle—so food can stop feeling like the enemy.
Eating Disorder Therapy That Works With Your Nervous System — Not Against It
Disordered eating isn’t just a "bad" habit or a lack of willpower. It’s a nervous system response. Food, restriction, or control often became ways your body learned to cope with stress, emotions, or feeling unsafe.
That’s why real change doesn’t come from more rules, stricter plans, or trying harder. It comes from helping your nervous system feel safer, more regulated, and less stuck in survival mode—so the urge to use food to cope begins to soften naturally.
In therapy, we focus on:
Understanding how your body learned to protect you
Reducing shame and self-blame around eating patterns
Reconnecting with your body’s signals in a safe, supportive way
Building a sense of trust and steadiness in your mind and body that carries into everyday life
This approach allows change to happen without forcing, fixing, or fighting yourself.
Questions about eating disorder therapy are common, especially if you’re feeling stuck or unsure where to start.
These answers address some of the most common concerns I hear from clients considering support for disordered eating.
How I Approach Eating Disorder Therapy
Eating disorder therapy isn’t about fixing you or forcing change through more control. It’s about understanding how your nervous system learned to cope and how creating enough safety within yourself allows for new patterns to emerge naturally.
This work is compassionate, collaborative, and focused on helping you build a healthier relationship with food, your body, and yourself over time.
We work with your nervous system, not just behavior
We'll help your system feel safe, not in survival, so the urge to control or use food to cope slowly fades.
A pace that feels safe and comfortable
There’s no rushing or pushing. We move steadily, building safety first so change actually lasts.
Curiosity instead of judgment
Real tools, not more rules
We'll explore and make sense of how food helped you survive, so it's easier to change with compassion.
Learn practical skills to rebuild trust with your body so food stops running your life.
You don’t have to spend the rest of your life trapped in cycles of food rules, fear around eating, or feeling like food is the only way to cope. You don’t have to keep carrying the shame and guilt either.
With support from an eating disorder therapist based in Kailua-Kona, serving clients across Hawaiʻi, you can build a relationship with food and yourself. One that feels calmer, more compassionate, and more sustainable. One where food no longer runs your life.