Alli Spotts-De Lazzer, M.A. - Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist - Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor - Certified Eating Disorders Specialist
Posted by in Blog Gauging progress in eating disorder recovery can be confusing, especially for those watching the process. One day, your loved one seems on track for healing. Then, what happened?! They appear “back to square one.” Parents, caregivers, or spouses (“carers”) tend to panic about that. The stages of change (Prochaska & DiClemente, 1983; Raihan & Cogburn, 2023)…Read more »
Posted by in Blog “I might have a little disordered eating, but I don’t think it’s an eating disorder”(when it is an eating disorder). “I throw up sometimes to manage my weight, but it’s not a big deal.” These types of comments often come up in therapy and in common conversations. A 2023 review by Miskovic-Wheatley and colleagues synthesized a decade’s worth…Read more »
Posted by in Blog Though treatment approaches for eating disorders have been evolving and improving, additional effective treatments are still needed. A recent study reviewing the impact of multifamily therapy on eating disorder symptoms and psychological distress in adolescents offers hope and potential help. Multifamily therapy means that the patients’ families meet because they face similar issues. They support, learn from, and provide…Read more »
Posted by in Blog Research published in the Journal of Eating Disorders on December 24, 2021, “Case Reports of New-Onset Eating Disorders in Older Adult Cancer Survivors,” counters the popularly held belief that young people exclusively suffer from these illnesses. Further, considering the mental and physical dedication it takes to become a cancer survivor, it also spotlights the heartbreaking influence of…Read more »
Posted by in Blog Just in time for the 2021 holiday season, a new study published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders on November 11, 2021, provides in-depth, data-driven feedback on subjective binge episodes. “Lived experiences of subjective binge eating: An inductive thematic analysis” expands our understanding of this binge type. There are two main types of eating binges: objective…Read more »
Posted by in Blog YIKES! Help-seekers beware! As I’ve been going about spreading the word regarding the release of MeaningFULL: 23 Life-Changing Stories of Conquering Dieting, Weight, and Body Image Issues, I have learned some really icky, shocking stuff that has damaged my trust in companies in the fields of psychology, mental health, and eating disorders and their Book…Read more »
Posted by in Blog While reading about treatment guidelines for eating disorders, I ran into this fairly recent study on the duration until recovery from eating disorders. Try to take a breath before you read this next part, the quote from an article, Clinical Approach to Eating Disorders: An Update, by Hay and published in 2020. EXCERPT “Research supports…Read more »
Posted by in Blog Because anyone can state they specialize in eating disorders, this can leave a struggling human in a vulnerable position. Those who advertise that they treat eating disorders need to have received specialized training. Basic higher education is not enough, typically, to work competently with people who have eating disorders. Yet, the public may not know…Read more »
Posted by in Blog Blog on the Fourth of July. Random thoughts, and not of the professional ilk. Though, I will tie in eating and body image issues at the end, since I usually blog about eating disorders/disordered eating. WHY ROAD TRIPS ARE IMPORTANT So on this Fourth, I have a different appreciation of our Country. Just spent DAYS…Read more »
Posted by in Blog We live in a diet-minded culture. The annual revenues of our diet industry exceed $60 billion. About 90 million people in the United States are on a diet each year, which is almost one-third of our nation’s population. Daily, our technology and media offer a relentless flow of messages: we need to “lose weight,” “get…Read more »