DR MARIANNE MILLER
CARING EATING DISORDER TREATMENT IN SAN DIEGO AND THROUGHOUT CALIFORNIA, TEXAS, AND WASHINGTON D.C. FOR ADULTS & TEENS
Meet Equip's Dr. Megan Hellner, San Diego Eating Disorder Dietitian and Head of Nutrition and Physical Activity Research
I’m so excited for you all to meet my good friend Dr. Megan Hellner, who is an AMAZING eating disorder dietitian in San Diego. She has been working with Equip, the online eating disorder treatment program startup that is taking the country by storm! I’ve collaborated with Megan on countless cases, and she loves helping people recover and really knows eating disorders inside and out. She’s especially gifted in working with eating disorders in San Diego athletes. Enjoy learning more about her (and her dry sense of humor—love it) and what she does at Equip!
Social Justice in Eating Disorder Treatment--The Renfrew Center's Paula Edwards-Gayfield, LPC
Today’s blog highlights how eating disorder treatment centers can integrate social justice. Whether in San Diego or elsewhere, it’s vital to acknowledge how racism, homophobia, transphobia, ablism, sexism, fat phobia, etc., intersect to make eating disorder recovery more difficult. I’ve interviewed Paula Edwards-Gayfield, LPC, who is in charge of the The Renfrew Center for Eating Disorders in Los Angeles. She also is the co-chair for the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Taskforce. I’m excited for you to get to know her and what Renfrew offers with eating disorder treatment.
Food in Eating Disorder Treatment: Meet Alsana's Director of Culinary Services Jennifer Batchelor
Food is a big part of eating disorder treatment. Whether you receive eating disorder care in San Diego or elsewhere, it is important to work with people and programs that have an intentional nutrition philosophy that integrates with their overarching approach to eating disorder treatment. I had the great experience of interviewing Alsana’s National Director of Culinary Services Jennifer Batchelor. She described how Alsana, an eating disorder treatment program, provides diverse eating experiences that help people recover from eating disorders.
Three Steps to Start Your Eating Disorder Recovery in 2024
Dealing with an eating disorder in San Diego and beyond in 2024 is so challenging. The last two years have been especially difficult for San Diego adults and teens grappling with binge eating, restrictive eating, compulsive exercising, picky eating, as well as anorexia and bulimia. There’s something about the various waves of COVID pandemic that has pushed people past their tolerance limits. You may have called numerous San Diego eating disorder therapists and multiple San Diego eating disorder treatment programs. They all have weeks-long waiting lists or may even not treat your particular type of eating disorder. It’s so hard to know where to turn. I’ve outlined three steps to get you started on your pathway to eating disorder recovery, waiting list or not.
Top Five Reasons to See an Eating Disorder Therapist
Ever wonder WHY it is important to work with an eating disorder therapist instead of a therapist who works with with more general issues, such as anxiety, depression, and couple/family challenges? I’ve asked three San Diego eating disorder therapists for their thoughts on the matter: Clinical Psychologist Dr. Jennie Wang-Hall, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Christin Conkle, and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Liz Bisarya. All three psychotherapists specialize in eating disorders in their San Diego private practices, and they have experience at higher level of care eating disorder treatment centers. I think you’ll find their responses very helpful!
Interview with San Diego Eating Disorder Intervention and Treatment Consultant Jennifer Tarzia
Happy Thanksgiving week, everyone! I want to introduce you to Jennifer Tarzia, who is an amazing eating disorder professional in San Diego who is incredibly passionate about intervening with and supporting families with help when their loved one is struggling with an eating disorder. Jennifer’s company, Doyen Consulting Groups (formerly CBI Healthcare), works with individuals and families in finding the best fit for eating disorder treatment and care. She works virtually as well. Jennifer really has a heart for helping people, and she’s a wonderful person to boot!
Seeking Teen Eating Disorder Treatment? Meet UCSD Adolescent Admissions Clinician Andi Fessler
Is your teen suffering from an eating disorder? Seen pediatrician after pediatrician and not gotten a straight answer on what your child needs? It can be so heart-wrenching to watch your teen struggle and not know how to help them. In San Diego, you just want your kid to be having fun with friends, going to the beach, sitting around bonfires, and living a happy life. One wonderful resource we have is the University of San Diego Eating Disorders Center (UCSDEDC). They have an amazing adolescent program that uses the gold standard of evidence-based treatment for teens—Family Based Treatment (FBT). Andi Fessler is the adolescent admissions clinician for this program. I’ve known Andi for a few years (she actually used to work with one of my former doctoral students!). She is a compassionate, caring person who really empathizes with the challenges families face when a teen has an eating disorder. In this blog, she provides key information about the first steps families will take when they call UCSDEDC for help.
Confused About Eating Disorder Treatment? Two San Diego Eating Disorder Therapists Explain
Considering eating disorder treatment and not sure where to turn? Confused as to what type of treatment you need? Not sure what Residential/PHP/IOP/Outpatient levels of treatment all mean? Well, I HAVE THE ANSWERS FOR YOU! :) I’ve asked two San Diego eating disorder therapists to detail all the options of eating disorder treatment, explain how you progress through each level, and discuss how treatment can help you recover. Eating disorder therapist Edie Stark, LCSW, and eating disorder psychologist Dr. Jennie Wang-Hall are outpatient providers in private practice in Bankers Hill and Oceanside, respectively. Both of these amazing women have worked in multiple levels of eating disorder treatment, and so they have provided excellent explanations so you can make an informed decision. I’m so excited for you to read what these amazing women have to offer!
Five Tips for Managing Overwhelming Emotions in Eating Disorder Recovery
Have you ever felt so filled with emotion that it was almost unbearable? Do your mind and body feel flooded with feelings such as fear, anger, disgust, frustration, irritability, anxiety, or sadness—to the point at which you feel almost paralyzed? Having an eating disorder in San Diego and elsewhere is so hard. Sometimes the overwhelming emotions can be triggered by things such as discomfort with food and with your body, negative interactions with others, and work and family stress. At such times, it seems like the emotions take over both your brain and your body, and you would do anything thing in the world to make them stop. It is so so hard. Thankfully, there are a few coping strategies that can help you navigate such situations. These coping skills come from dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), which is an approach I integrate in my work with people struggling with eating disorders in San Diego.