The Importance of Trauma Informed Care in Eating Disorder Recovery

By Megan Samuels, MSW, LMSW, Outreach Coordinator

Content Warning: This blog post discusses trauma.  Please take care of yourself, in whatever way that looks like for you.

There is often a high prevalence of people who struggle with an eating disorder and symptoms of trauma.  There are some overlapping symptoms, such as changes in eating habits and changes in mood, just to name a few.

I define trauma as any experience that overwhelms one’s self or nervous system to the point where they are unable to cope effectively.  There are so many examples of trauma, as every human responds to situations differently.  When we think of trauma, we tend to think of abuse, neglect, natural disasters, adoption, etc.  

However, I think it’s important to expand our definition of trauma, to include diet culture, racism, colonialism, sexism, ableism, transphobia, the COVD-19 pandemic, bullying, and not having a secure attachment style with a primary caregiver.  These are just a few of the many examples of trauma that people experience.

I also believe that having an eating disorder can be seen as a trauma.  When we think about eating disorder symptoms, such as restricting, purging, or binge eating - those can have health impacts on our bodies that can be seen as a trauma to our bodies.  Part of eating disorder recovery can include healing our relationship with our bodies in a way that our bodies can trust ourselves to work with, instead of against, our bodies.

As eating disorder therapists and coaches, there is a high likelihood that our clients have experienced trauma.  Here are some reasons why having trauma-informed care in eating disorder recovery is important:

• Everyone’s story is different.  
  • No two people have an identical story about the origins of their eating disorder or what their goals are for recovery.  Part of being trauma-informed includes letting clients tell their stories with their voices, on their own terms.
• Attachment is vulnerable.
  • Healing from an eating disorder often means a client forming many new attachments.  This may include with a therapist, dietitian, recovery coach, doctor, support group members, etc.  Being trauma-informed includes understanding that not every client is ready to connect with another human who was a stranger 10 minutes ago.  Attachment takes time, trust, patience, and willingness on both the client and the clinician’s behalf.  
  • Oftentimes, as clinicians, it is our job to model how a secure attachment may look.  This may include discussions about boundaries, modeling healthy communication, and the ability to tolerate distress and regulate our emotions during sessions.
  • This emphasizes the importance of clinicians doing their own healing work!  
• Trauma is everywhere.
  • The world that we live in is chaotic and traumatic at times.  It can be hard to watch the news or look on social media and not see something that is going on in the world that is sad, confusing, or scary.  It is important that clinicians acknowledge and hold space for these experiences with clients and work to understand our nervous system reactions to these traumas.  
• Treatment planning is collaborative and ongoing.
  • Being trauma-informed means being able to create goals WITH your clients, instead of creating goals for them.  This can create trust in the therapeutic relationship and also is meeting clients where they are, acknowledging that not all clients have the goals of fully reducing or eliminating eating disorder symptoms.

The bottom line: Trauma-informed care in eating disorder recovery is something that I am very passionate about, and that I think it critical in the treatment of eating disorders.  

Here are some questions to ask your providers to assess if they are trauma-informed:

• What is your definition of trauma?
• Can you discuss with me your experience working with people who have experienced trauma?
• How do you incorporate trauma work into eating disorder recovery?

Looking for more?  The therapists and coaches at The Eating Disorder Center are trauma-informed providers for the treatment of eating disorders.  Our center acknowledges that trauma is a wide spectrum and we are continuously receiving further training and supervision on how to support our clients in a trauma-informed way.

Schedule a free 15 min consult for eating disorder therapy in MD, DC, VA, NY, FL, or recovery coaching worldwide.

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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), Washington DC, Florida, and California. We provide eating disorder recovery coaching via Zoom to people worldwide. Connect with us through our website at www.theeatingdisordercenter.com