Eating disorders & body image

What this might look like

Struggles with food and body image often run deeper than they first appear. You might recognise some of these feelings:

• Feeling caught in rigid rules or routines around food
• Experiencing guilt, shame, or worry after eating
• Moving between restriction, bingeing, or both
• Body image concerns that begin to take up a lot of mental space
• Feeling disconnected from your body
• Turning to food or exercise to cope with difficult emotions

How Louise works with this

Struggles with eating and body image can feel exhausting. Food can feel stressful or confusing, and thoughts about weight, shape, or eating can take up more space in your day than you would like.

Louise works alongside you to gently understand the patterns that may have developed around food — things like strict rules, avoiding certain foods, cycles of restriction and overeating, or feeling that your self-worth is tied to how your body looks.

Together, you begin making small, practical changes that help bring eating back toward something more regular, flexible, and manageable. Over time, this work also helps reduce the hold that food, weight, and body image can have on how you feel about yourself.

The goal isn't perfection or rigid rules. It's helping you develop a calmer, more balanced relationship with food and your body.

Areas Louise works with include:

• Anorexia nervosa
• Bulimia nervosa
• Binge eating disorder
• Body image and self-worth
• Disordered eating patterns

Are my eating difficulties serious enough for therapy?

Many people wonder whether their struggles with food or body image are serious enough to seek support.

You might still be going to work, studying, caring for your family, or appearing to cope on the outside. Because of that, it can be easy to tell yourself that things aren't “bad enough” to justify therapy.

But eating difficulties don't have to reach a crisis point before they deserve attention.

If food, eating, or body image are taking up a lot of mental space, causing stress, or affecting how you feel about yourself, that is reason enough to seek support.

What is a Eating Disorder Treatment Plan and how can it help?

If you're seeking support for an eating disorder, you may be eligible for an Eating Disorder Treatment and Management Plan (EDTMP) through your GP. You might also hear this called an Eating Disorder Plan or EDP.

An Eating Disorder Plan is designed to help you access a coordinated team of health professionals who can support your recovery. If you meet the Medicare eligibility criteria, the plan can provide Medicare rebates for up to 40 psychological treatment sessions and 20 dietetic sessions over a 12-month period.

Getting started with an EDTMP

Usually, the first step is making an appointment with your GP and letting them know that you're concerned about your eating, relationship with food, body image, or eating disorder symptoms. Your GP will complete an assessment with you to determine whether you meet the eligibility requirements for an Eating Disorder Plan. You don't need to know whether you qualify before you go — that's something your GP can work through with you.

If a plan is appropriate, your GP can prepare it and refer you to the health professionals involved in your care, which may include a psychologist and dietitian. Your GP also remains an important part of your treatment team, particularly in monitoring your physical health.

Psychological treatment is initially referred in blocks of up to 10 sessions. Your GP will review your progress before you access further blocks of treatment. If you need more than 20 psychological sessions, a review with a psychiatrist or paediatrician is also required as part of the Medicare process. This doesn't mean that anything has “gone wrong” with your treatment — it's simply part of how the Eating Disorder Plan is structured.

And if seeing your GP feels like too much right now?

That's okay too.

Talking about eating difficulties can feel incredibly vulnerable, and for some people, arranging a GP appointment and explaining what has been happening feels like a very big first step. You are welcome to book an appointment privately and we can start by talking about what has been happening for you. If accessing an Eating Disorder Plan becomes appropriate, we can discuss this together and I can help you understand the next steps.

You also don't need to be certain that you have an eating disorder, have a particular diagnosis, or feel “sick enough” before reaching out. If food, eating, weight or body image is causing you distress or taking up more of your life than you would like, that is enough to start a conversation.

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