Therapy for Adult ARFID

Specialized support for a misunderstood eating disorder

At a work happy hour, you order a Coke and pretend to be full when appetizers arrive.

You’ve learned to navigate these social situations by focusing on conversation, but you’re acutely aware that your relationship with food marks you as different from your peers.

Before bed, you tally up the day: pasta with butter, half a turkey sandwich, and some crackers – maybe 800 calories total across your safe foods. The exhaustion weighs heavy, and you know your body needs more.

During your last doctor’s appointment, your doctor’s words echo in your mind about how ARFID is affecting you: the fatigue you feel daily, the stomach issues, the vitamin deficiencies showing up in your blood work.

You understand the risks, which makes it both more concerning and more frustrating that eating differently still feels a long way off.

You have likely tried to fix your ARFID many times before seeking

professional mental health therapy…

Forcing yourself to eat more or try new foods through sheer determination. You wanted to change your eating habits but you found that willpower alone wasn’t enough to get past the intense physical and emotional responses you have to certain foods.

Your family and partner tried things like reward systems, making eating more fun, or applying pressure for you to try new foods. Perhaps they made comments about hoping you would eventually “grow out of it.”

Going to your doctor for digestive issues, nausea, or stomach problems. You may have tried medications for acid reflux or other GI issues, hoping that fixing the physical discomfort would solve the eating problems.

Using nutritional supplements, protein shakes, or meal replacement drinks to try to meet your caloric and nutritional needs, hoping these could fill the gaps from your limited diet.

Finding communities like r/ARFID where people share their many self-treatment attempts with mixed results. Perhaps you’ve tried keeping a food journal or searching desperately for answers online.

Developing elaborate workaround systems, like eating before social events, bringing your own food everywhere, or avoiding restaurants entirely. You learned to hide your eating difficulties and function in daily life.

While these attempts may have helped you manage day-to-day life, they likely taught you how to work around ARFID, rather than actually resolving it.

This is why you need treatment specifically designed for ARFID. It targets what is actually happening in your nervous system instead of just managing the symptoms.

That’s where I come in.

Specialized ARFID therapy with me is different from what you’ve already tried…

I recognize that your brain’s protective responses around food are trying to keep you safe, even if they’re overactive.

Instead of asking you to override these responses through force or willpower, I help gradually teach your nervous system that eating can be safe through repeated positive experiences at a pace your brain can actually absorb.

In our sessions, we’re not fighting your brain: we are retraining it using approaches specifically designed for how ARFID actually works.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT-AR)

Unlike trying to force yourself to think positively or use willpower, CBT-AR teaches you to work with your brain’s protective responses rather than against them.

For example, instead of telling yourself “just eat it,” you learn to examine the specific thoughts that trigger your nervous system’s alarm (like “this will make me gag”) and gradually test them in tiny, safe ways.

Instead of trying to convince yourself the food is okay, you’re showing your brain through gentle, repeated experiences that eating can be safe.

Exposure-based techniques

This is completely different from the self-exposure you’ve probably already tried, where you forced yourself to eat something and then felt terrible.

Professional exposure starts so small it barely activates your threat system. For example, maybe just having the food in the same room while you do something else you enjoy.

Each step is designed to keep you calm enough that your brain can actually learn, rather than going into survival mode. In other words, you’re not pushing through panic; you’re staying in your “learning zone” where change is possible.

ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy)

Instead of trying to eliminate your anxiety about food (which made you more frustrated when it didn’t work), ACT teaches you that the anxiety itself isn’t the problem – it’s how much power you give it to control your choices.

Rather than waiting to feel brave before trying new foods, you learn to take small steps toward what matters to you even with the anxiety present. It’s the difference between “I can’t eat this because I’m anxious” and “I’m anxious AND I can still take this tiny step.”

Somatic and mindfulness-based strategies

Unlike generic relaxation techniques you may have tried, these approaches specifically target the nervous system patterns that maintain ARFID.

Instead of trying to calm down after you’re already activated, you learn to recognize the early signs of your threat system engaging and intervene before it escalates.

Rather than forcing yourself to ignore your body’s signals, you learn to interpret them more accurately, distinguishing between actual danger signals and false alarms.

What You Can Realistically Expect from ARFID Therapy…

You’ll have enough food variety to live freely – You might go from 5-10 safe foods to 20-30 foods you can eat comfortably, which means you can…

meet your nutritional needs without supplements
find something to eat at most restaurants, and
attend dinner parties without anxiety

…This happens because you learn to gradually expand your comfort zone with foods in a way that feels safe.

Food reactions become manageable instead of overwhelming – That instant panic when you see certain textures or smells becomes more like mild discomfort you can work through.

You might still not love mushrooms, but seeing them on a pizza won’t ruin your entire meal. This shift occurs because you retrain your nervous system’s threat response to food.

You can participate in normal social eating – You’ll be able to go to restaurants and find one or two menu items that work, attend work lunches without bringing your own food, or eat birthday cake at celebrations (even if you scrape off the frosting). This becomes possible because you develop flexibility skills that work in real-world situations.

You’ll trust your body’s signals – You’ll know when you’re genuinely hungry versus anxious, recognize when you’re comfortably full, and distinguish between “this food isn’t for me” and “this food is dangerous.” This clarity develops because you learn to accurately interpret your body’s communication.

Eating becomes a normal part of your day – Meals take 15-20 minutes instead of 45+ minutes, you spend less time planning every food decision, and you have mental energy for things that actually matter to you. This freedom comes because eating stops being a constant source of stress and decision fatigue.

You’ll learn how to handle unexpected food situations with confidence – When faced with a challenging eating scenario, you’ll have specific tools and strategies instead of feeling panicked or helpless. You might not love the situation, but you’ll know you can get through it. This confidence builds because you practice real-world skills in our therapy sessions.

Get Started in ARFID Therapy Today

Sessions are collaborative, compassionate, and paced according to your needs. We’ll begin with a thorough understanding of your eating history, emotional experiences, and current struggles. From there, we’ll create a flexible treatment plan that supports both short-term relief and long-term change.

Our work might include:

Exploring food-related fears, sensory sensitivities, or past experiences
Developing coping strategies for anxiety around food
Building confidence with new food exposures
Addressing the impact of ARFID on self-esteem, relationships, or daily life

Common Concerns

What to Expect

Many clients worry:

“What if I’m not ready to try new foods?”
“What if I get judged or misunderstood?”
“Can therapy really help if I’ve lived this way for so long?”

These are valid questions. Therapy meets you where you are. We’ll move at a pace that feels safe and manageable, focusing first on safety, trust, and understanding. Progress might be slow at times, but it’s built on a solid foundation.

Session Details

I use evidence-based methods tailored to adults with ARFID, including:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT-AR)
Exposure-based techniques
ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy)
Somatic and mindfulness-based strategies

If helpful, I may also coordinate with dietitians or medical providers who understand the complexities of eating disorders. You’re not just receiving therapy—you’re receiving integrated, thoughtful care.

Before and After: What Changes

Before therapy, food may feel like a source of dread or shame. Social events might cause anxiety. You may feel frustrated by how limited your eating feels, or even question whether things can improve.

After consistent work, many clients: