The Connection Between Trauma and Eating Disorders: How EMDR Therapy in Rockville, Maryland, Can Help

By: Olivia Kline, EDC Administrative Assistant ​

Content Warning: This blog post discusses trauma. Please practice self-care in whatever way works for you. 
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Experiencing trauma looks different for everyone-No matter what event or events contributed-ALL experiences of trauma are valid and can be highly impactful. Our bodies and brains respond to trauma differently, which can lead to differing outcomes or presentations of symptoms. For some, trauma can co-occur with other mental health disorders such as anxiety, depression, and eating disorders. Research suggests that those who have experienced trauma throughout their lives are more likely to develop eating disorders (Tagay, 2010). 

EMDR therapy is a powerful evidence-based therapy for helping folks to heal from trauma. Traditional talk therapy is not usually the approach of choice for trauma-and EMDR therapy can truly lead to powerful results and healing from trauma related symptoms. In addition to providing EMDR for trauma and PTSD, it can also be helpful in the treatment of anxiety, depression, and eating disorders. 


What’s the process of EMDR treatment?

EMDR therapy is an 8-phase process between a client and clinician. The earlier phases involve the clinician assessing the client’s current distressing memories and ways they handle these stressful moments. Then, the middle phases involve the client reprocessing these memories by having the client recount aspects of the traumatic material while engaging in bilateral stimulation (tapping, eye movements, or auditory tones on two sides of the body). This allows for the distress associated with the traumatic material to decrease. In the last phase, the clinician evaluates the client’s well-being in relation to the memory/traumatic material and ensures self-care and calming techniques are being utilized. 

We offer EMDR therapy for trauma in Rockville, Maryland, also serving Bethesda, Gaithersburg, Potomac, Olney, Maryland, Montgomery County and virtually throughout Maryland.
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EMDR therapy in the treatment of eating disorders:

EMDR therapy can also be used to treat eating disorders. Individuals may have unwanted distressing memories associated with eating and body image, and EMDR therapy can be used to treat those memories. In addition, for those who have experienced trauma and also have an eating disorder, EMDR therapy can help target these trauma-based memories and help in promoting resilience in eating disorder recovery. 


Looking for help for an eating disorder and trauma?

The Eating Disorder Center offers eating disorder therapy alongside EMDR therapy for trauma in Rockville, Maryland and virtually throughout Maryland. While our clinician is trained to help those struggling with an eating disorder and past traumatic experiences, we can also help those who are struggling with trauma without any food or body image concerns.

Schedule a free 15 min consult for eating disorder and trauma therapy-or either one stand alone in Maryland.
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Click here.

The Eating Disorder Center is a premier outpatient eating disorder therapy center founded by Jennifer Rollin. We specialize in helping teens and adults struggling with anorexia, binge eating disorder, bulimia, OSFED, and body image issues. We provide eating disorder therapy in Rockville, MD, easily accessible to individuals in Potomac, North Potomac, Bethesda, Olney, Silver Spring, Germantown, and Washington D.C. We also provide eating disorder therapy in Arlington, Virginia and virtually throughout Virginia. Additionally, we offer eating disorder therapy virtually in New York (NYC), Florida, and California. We provide eating disorder and EMDR trauma therapy in Rockville, Maryland and virtually throughout Maryland. We provide eating disorder recovery coaching via Zoom to people worldwide. Connect with us through our website at www.theeatingdisordercenter.com

References: 
Tagay, S., Schlegl, S., & Senf, W. (2010). Traumatic events, posttraumatic stress symptomatology and somatoform symptoms in eating disorder patients. European eating disorders review: the journal of the Eating Disorders Association, 18(2), 124–132. https://doi.org/10.1002/erv.972