We believe in treating the whole person, not just their symptoms or diagnosis.  This entails understanding a person’s thoughts, feelings and behaviors in the context of their family, job, school, social life, spirituality and health status.  Situations experienced in the past can affect why various problems exist in the present.  As a result, it is important to understand the impact life experiences could be having on a person’s current medical and/or emotional condition.

Our expertise with eating disorders underlies our non-diet approach to the treatment of both medical and psychiatric issues.  Dieting can exacerbate anxiety and depressive disorders, is a main cause of eating disorders and is shown to increase mortality in those with medical problems.  The vast majority of those who try to diet cannot maintain the artificial expectations for eating and exercise that dieting promotes.  Repeated episodes of losing and regaining weight usually results in weighing more than before diets were started, thereby negatively affecting both physical and emotional health.

We advocate a non-diet approach that focuses on eating based on appetite, hunger and fullness.  When dietary intake is normalized based on adequate consumption of protein, carbohydrates and fat and when regular physical activity is based on preference and pleasure, overeating does not occur and there is no need for dieting.  Weight will often decrease without dieting when intake and activity levels are adequate.  More than 10 years of research shows that physical activity levels and quality of intake are much more predictive of good health than is weight.