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At a Glance
Co-Occurrence
~70–80% also have mood/anxiety ¹
Our Scope
Co-occurring care, not standalone ED
Approach
DBT-informed — + CBT + ERP
Program
IOP or PHP
Co-Occurring
Eating Concerns.
When disordered eating travels with anxiety, depression, OCD, or trauma, we treat it as part of integrated care — using DBT-informed skills, CBT, and ERP to address the emotions and symptoms underneath. ¹
How We Treat Eating Concerns
Disordered eating rarely travels alone
Eating disorders and disordered eating almost never exist in isolation. Research shows roughly 70% of people with binge eating disorder and about 80% of people with bulimia also live with a co-occurring mood or anxiety disorder — and disordered eating is very often a way of coping with painful emotions, anxiety, trauma, or a relentless inner critic.
That's the lens we work from. Innerspace Counseling is not a standalone or medical eating-disorder program — we don't provide specialized refeeding, medical stabilization, or weight-restoration care. What we do treat is the disordered eating that co-occurs with a primary mental health condition we specialize in: anxiety, depression, OCD, or trauma.
Using DBT-informed skills, CBT, and ERP, we help people understand the emotions driving the eating behaviors, build healthier ways to cope, and treat the anxiety, depression, or trauma underneath — the part that so often keeps disordered eating going.
For most people, disordered eating isn't really about food — it's about emotion. Treating the anxiety, depression, or trauma underneath, and building skills to feel and cope, is what loosens food's grip.
If your or your loved one's primary need is specialized eating-disorder treatment — particularly for anorexia or any situation requiring medical monitoring — we'll help connect you with an eating-disorder-specialty program, and we're glad to provide the co-occurring mental health care alongside it. ²
Inside the Experience
The emotion–eating loop.
Treatment may include DBT-informed strategies to strengthen emotional regulation and distress tolerance, alongside Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) when fears, avoidance, rituals, or OCD-related patterns are maintaining the eating concern.
Treatment interrupts the loop at the emotional level. DBT skills build other ways to tolerate and regulate distress. CBT addresses the thoughts and beliefs that fuel the behaviors. And treating the co-occurring anxiety, depression, or trauma removes the fuel underneath.
If this pattern feels familiar, talk to someone who treats it.
What It Looks Like
Signs and symptoms.
Disordered eating shows up in many forms, and it often hides alongside anxiety, depression, or trauma. These are patterns worth talking through with a clinician — not a checklist or a diagnosis.
These patterns can reflect disordered eating or several other conditions, and they often co-occur. This is not a diagnostic tool — only a licensed clinician can determine what's going on. If you're worried, please reach out.
From Our Clinical Team
We’re honest about how co-occurring mental health concerns affect eating and recovery. Our approach may combine DBT-informed care, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) when anxiety, avoidance, or compulsive patterns are part of the picture. Treatment is individualized, collaborative, and designed around the whole person.
Ira Hays, Director of Clinical Services
LCSW · Specialty: Co-Occurring Mental Health Care
Who We Treat
Specialized care at every stage of life.
Disordered eating can co-occur at any age. We treat it as part of integrated mental health care for children, teens, and adults — and coordinate referral when specialized eating-disorder or medical care is the priority.
Children’s Program
Ages 8 — 13
When eating concerns appear early
Eating concerns in children are often tangled with anxiety. We address them within family-involved mental health care — and coordinate specialized or medical referral when that's the priority.
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Adolescent Program
Ages 14 — 17
When food becomes about control or emotion
Adolescence is a common time for disordered eating to emerge alongside anxiety or depression. We treat the co-occurring condition with DBT-informed skills, with family involvement and academic support.
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Adult Program
Ages 18+
When food carries the emotional load
For adults, disordered eating is often a long-standing way of coping with anxiety, depression, or trauma. We treat those conditions and build the skills that loosen food's grip.
our approach
From your first call to lasting change.
Every client follows the same four-step process — with the third step tailored to the condition we’re treating.
01
Free Screening
A confidential 15-minute conversation to understand what’s going on and determine whether our program is the right level of care. No pressure, no diagnosis.
02
Personalized Assessment
Meet with a clinician and psychiatrist for a thorough evaluation. We build a treatment plan around your specific condition, history, and goals — not a generic protocol.
03
Immersive Treatment
Engage in your tailored program — in-person, virtual, or hybrid. For co-occurring eating concerns, a plan built on DBT-informed skills and CBT that treats the anxiety, depression, OCD, or trauma underneath — with referral to specialized eating-disorder or medical care coordinated when needed.
04
Lasting Change
Coordinated care with families, outpatient providers, and schools ensures progress continues beyond treatment. We help you build a maintenance plan that lasts.
Treatment Structure
Two levels of intensive care.
For co-occurring eating concerns, we recommend the program tier that matches the severity of the underlying mental health condition and its impact on daily life. Your free screening determines the right starting point — and whether specialized eating-disorder care is also needed.
Partial Hospitalization
PHP (Co-Occurring Care)
5–6
hrs/day
Daily structured individual and group therapy — DBT skills, CBT, and ERP for the co-occurring condition
5 days per week, 25–30 hours weekly
Psychiatric evaluation and medication management for co-occurring symptoms as needed
Family involvement for children and teens
Coordination with eating-disorder-specialty or medical providers when needed
Available for: children (8–13), teens (12–17), and adults
Not a substitute for specialized or medical eating-disorder treatment
Intensive Outpatient
IOP (Co-Occurring Care)
3
HRS/DAY
Structured group + individual therapy — DBT skills, CBT, and ERP for the co-occurring condition
3–5 days per week, 9–15 hours weekly
Medication management for co-occurring symptoms as needed
Family involvement as appropriate
Coordination with eating-disorder-specialty or medical providers when needed
Available for: children (8–13), teens (12–17), and adults
Not a substitute for specialized or medical eating-disorder treatment
The Evidence
Why treating the whole picture works.
Because disordered eating so rarely occurs alone, treating the co-occurring anxiety, depression, or trauma — and building emotion-regulation skills — is central to lasting change. ¹ ³
80
%
Have a Co-Occurring Condition
About 80% of people with bulimia and roughly 70% with binge eating disorder also have a co-occurring mood or anxiety disorder. Treating both together — not the eating alone — is what addresses the root. ¹
DBT + CBT + ERP
Built for Emotion Regulation
DBT-informed care and CBT help clients regulate emotions, build healthier coping skills, and address unhelpful thought patterns, while ERP can help reduce avoidance, fear-based behaviors, and compulsive patterns when clinically appropriate.
1
Integrated Plan
Rather than treating eating concerns in a silo, we fold them into one coordinated plan alongside the anxiety, depression, OCD, or trauma they accompany — and refer out for specialized or medical eating-disorder care when that's what's needed.
Comorbidity figures from peer-reviewed research and the National Alliance for Eating Disorders; DBT-for-eating adaptations per Safer/Telch and subsequent studies (preliminary but accumulating support). Individual outcomes vary. See References.
Why It Matters
The impact of proper treatment.
Treatment isn't about controlling food — it's about needing food to do less emotional work. Building other ways to cope, easing the anxiety or depression underneath, and finding a steadier relationship with yourself.
Outcome 01
Skills Instead of
Coping Through Food
Emotion Regulation
DBT skills give people real alternatives for handling distress, so food no longer has to carry the emotional load.
Outcome 02
Relief from
the Conditions Underneath
Anxiety, Depression & Trauma
Treating the co-occurring anxiety, depression, OCD, or trauma removes much of the fuel that keeps disordered eating going.
Outcome 03
A Steadier
Relationship with Yourself
Self-Worth & Stability
As emotions become more manageable and the inner critic quiets, people often find a calmer, less punishing relationship with food, body, and self.
In a mental health crisis right now? Call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or call 911 in case of emergency. For non-urgent screening, the form below or 732-332-8270 are the right starting points.
Ready to Begin
You don't have to sort it out alone. Reaching out is the first step.
Reach out and a licensed clinician will respond within one business day to begin your free screening — no pressure, no diagnosis required.
Phone line open 24/7 — call any time
One business day response from a licensed clinician
Or call us directly: 732-332-8270
Common Questions
Questions about eating disorders treatment.
Direct answers to what people most often ask before reaching out.
We treat disordered eating when it co-occurs with a primary mental health condition we specialize in — anxiety, depression, OCD, or trauma — using DBT-informed skills and CBT. We are not a standalone or medical eating-disorder program.
If your primary need is specialized eating-disorder treatment — especially anorexia or anything requiring medical monitoring or weight restoration — we'll help connect you with an eating-disorder-specialty program, and we're glad to provide the co-occurring mental health care alongside it.
Because they're connected. Roughly 70–80% of people with binge eating or bulimia also have a mood or anxiety disorder, and disordered eating is often a way of coping with those feelings. Treating the root is what creates lasting change.
DBT builds distress tolerance and emotion regulation — concrete alternatives to using food to manage painful emotions. It's been adapted specifically for binge eating and bulimia.
Innerspace is in-network with most major commercial plans including Aetna, BCBS, Cigna, United Healthcare, Horizon BCBS, Amerihealth, and Oxford. We do not accept Medicare or Medicaid.
Yes — children (8–13), teens (14–17), and adults, with family involvement and academic support, always within our co-occurring scope.
Yes. Telehealth IOP and PHP are available statewide for the co-occurring mental health care.
The National Alliance for Eating Disorders offers a helpline and referral support at allianceforeatingdisorders.com. We're glad to help coordinate specialized care alongside treatment with us.
Sources
References & Citations
All statistics on this page are sourced from peer-reviewed clinical research and authoritative healthcare organizations. Individual outcomes vary; figures reflect population data, not predictions for any individual.
1
National Alliance for Eating Disorders. Eating disorders and co-occurring conditions: about 70% of people with binge eating disorder and ~80% with bulimia also have a co-occurring mood or anxiety disorder. | https://www.allianceforeatingdisorders.com/
2
Hudson JI, et al. & national comorbidity data. Eating disorders show high rates of co-occurring depression and anxiety, supporting integrated treatment of the underlying condition. | https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1892232/
3
Safer DL, Telch CF, Chen EY. Dialectical Behavior Therapy adapted for binge eating and bulimia; accumulating evidence supports DBT skills for these presentations. | https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6897497/
Clinical Review: This page was last clinically reviewed on June 12, 2026, by the Clinical Director of Innerspace Counseling (PsyD). For specialized eating-disorder support, we also direct people to the National Alliance for Eating Disorders.
Recognized By
