Therapy for Brown Girls with Eating Disorders
Because you don’t need to punish your body to belong.
For the Brown Girl who had to hide Her Eating Disorder
Who was told, “You’ll be happy once you lost the weight”, or “No one will want you because you’re too fat” or too dark. Who skipped meals, stopped eating your favorite cultural foods, ate the same meal over and over, or felt guilty for skipping the gym.
Just because you don’t look like someone who has an eating disorder doesn’t mean you don’t have one. It’s okay to name what you’ve been taught to suppress.
Myths and Facts About Eating Disorders
Common myths about eating disorders are:
“Only white girls have eating disorders”
“Eating disorders are about weight loss”
“You don’t have an eating disorder if you’re not skinny”
According to a 2014 study in the UK, disordered eating patterns are prevalent among Brown women. Some studies suggest that South Asian women and girls in the West are actually more at risk than any other ethnic group of developing an eating disorder.
Maybe it’s not about the weight loss, it’s about the freedom. The freedom to finally be left alone. The freedom to get mom off your back.
It’s not about WHAT you’re striving for. It’s about your WHY.
Who I am
Hey there! I’m Tracy and I’m The “Bad Indian” Therapist.
I’m a licensed therapist who helps Brown women in New York, New Jersey, and California stop betraying themselves in the name of “culture” through evidence-based and culturally affirming therapy (without the guilt-trip)!
I help Brown women like you who feel ashamed and disgusted with yourself feel whole again—even if it doesn’t mean loving your body or where you come from.
What I offer
I know that your eating is rarely about your eating, and that your body image is rarely about your body. Here’s my process:
Narrate your story: Here, we get a good, no-holds-back, nonjudgemental understanding of what your body means to you.
Get to the root: Then, we unpack what your eating disorder is actually about.
Embrace the nuances: Here, we unpack the rigid cultural scripts you’ve inherited and rediscover who you are.
Gently approach, not avoid: This is where we do things differently, and learn the tools to approach a new relationship with yourself.
What Makes Me Different
Most therapists think healing means body positivity, and don’t think culture has any influence on your eating disorder. But for Brown women, it’s so much deeper than that. I’m not here to shove toxic positivity down your throat.
You already have family members hounding you about the way you look and why you’re single. I’m not here to be another adult telling you what to think or how to feel. Your body belongs to you. Your life belongs to you.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about how I approach eating disorders:
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An eating disorder is a condition of anxiety or fear around food that results in restrictive eating patterns or excessive exercise. Sometimes the eating disorder is a fear of gaining weight. Sometimes the eating disorder is a fear of sensory experiences, like choking. If you have an eating disorder, you may engage in certain strategies to avoid your worst fear, such as skipping meals, vomiting, taking laxatives, or avoiding certain foods.
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If you find yourself skipping meals, working out for hours on end, and thinking a lot about losing weight, you may have an eating disorder. The EAT-26 Assessment is a screening measure that can help you determine if you’re at risk of an eating disorder. A consultation with an eating disorder specialist to determine your diagnosis is recommended.
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Body Dysmorphia is a type of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). You might find yourself being fixated on physical flaws that no one else can notice, and engage in checking behaviors, such as pinching parts of your body, picking your skin, or checking your mirror frequently. This screening questionnaire can help you determine whether you might have BDD, but you should schedule a consultation to determine a diagnosis.
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I attend regular trainings at the Renfrew Center for Eating Disorder Treatment and utilize the Unified Treatment Protocol. The UT approach combines approaches like CBT, mindfulness, Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) with cultural competency. With the UT approach, I collaborate with you to find a mix of approaches that work for you.
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I understand your main reason for coming here may not have anything to do with your eating disorder or body image, even if you struggle with these issues. It’s OK if this isn’t something you’re ready to discuss. You might find that by focusing on other things in therapy, that the topic of eating and body naturally come up. It’s all connected.
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Not necessarily. I practice from a body neutrality and body autonomy approach. I don’t believe that focusing on weight is always helpful. Depending on the severity of your condition, I may recommend you work with a nutritionist or a medical provider who practices from a Health at Every Size (HAES) approach, or a program that can better attend to your needs at this time.
Stop punishing yourself for the culture.
Your body belongs to you! Let’s work together to be kinder to yourself. Book a call to get started.