DR MARIANNE MILLER
CARING EATING DISORDER TREATMENT IN SAN DIEGO AND THROUGHOUT CALIFORNIA, TEXAS, AND WASHINGTON D.C. FOR ADULTS & TEENS
Introducing San Diego Eating Disorder Dietitian Christina Gaunce, RDN, CEDRD
Hi everyone! I want to introduce you to an eating disorder dietitian in San Diego who is new to Scripps Ranch—in fact, she now shares my office suite! Christina Gaunce is a Certified Eating Disorder Registered Dietitian and a wonderful individual who loves helping people recover from eating disorders. She embraces the intuitive eating approach and the Health at Every Size (HAES) perspective. Christina also offers video sessions. In this interview, she shares about her own recovery from an eating disorder. All in all, Christina is a caring, compassionate individual who is very skilled in nutritional healing in many areas. I’m excited for you to get to know her!
Five Tips for Managing Overwhelming Emotions in Eating Disorder Recovery
Have you ever felt so filled with emotion that it was almost unbearable? Do your mind and body feel flooded with feelings such as fear, anger, disgust, frustration, irritability, anxiety, or sadness—to the point at which you feel almost paralyzed? Having an eating disorder in San Diego and elsewhere is so hard. Sometimes the overwhelming emotions can be triggered by things such as discomfort with food and with your body, negative interactions with others, and work and family stress. At such times, it seems like the emotions take over both your brain and your body, and you would do anything thing in the world to make them stop. It is so so hard. Thankfully, there are a few coping strategies that can help you navigate such situations. These coping skills come from dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), which is an approach I integrate in my work with people struggling with eating disorders in San Diego.
Interview with Addiction Specialist and Haven Hills* Director Dr. Reya Kost, LMFT
It’s so hard to be in San Diego and appreciate the beauty while you can’t stop thinking about food and your body. It’s even harder to be grappling with eating disorder behaviors AND drinking or drug use. It can feel at times like your life is spinning out of control. Not sure where to turn for help? I have a great San Diego resource who provides treatment for both eating disorders and substance abuse, which is often called co-occurring disorders. The co-occurring guru in San Diego is Dr. Reya Kost, and she is the director of Haven Hills Recovery Center for women. She is a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) who has a doctorate in psychology. PLUS, she’s a former doctoral student of mine who is definitely a star! Reya is incredibly intelligent and has over 10 years of experience in treating addictions. I especially appreciate her acknowledgement that addressing trauma history is such an important part of recovery. She also has a great sense of humor! :)
Introducing Center for Discovery Eating Disorder Therapist Christine Capuano, APCC
Happy Friday, everyone! I want to introduce you to Christine Capuano, APCC (associate professional clinical counselor). She is a San Diego eating disorder therapist who works for Center for Discovery’s (CFD) partial hospitalization program (PHP) and intensive outpatient program (IOP) in Del Mar. Christine is a very talented therapist who does great individual, family, and group work. She also works part-time in a private practice in La Mesa, California.
Four Tips to Navigating Triggering Family Situations in Eating Disorder Recovery
Do you ever struggle with all of the focus on “family” and “togetherness” this time of year? Does it seem as though you can barely get through family events without feeling like you want to run out of the room screaming? Holidays can be such a challenge if you have an eating disorder. A lot of family-focused activities center around food, which can trigger a lot of anxiety and other uncomfortable emotions. It is hard when parents, spouses, grandparents, great-aunt Petunias, or whoever comment about your body and what you are (or aren’t) eating. Especially in San Diego, when in December you can be wearing tank tops, shorts, or a skirt as you take family trips to the beach. It can feel as though your body and how you eat is on display. It may seem that loved ones have free reign to comment on it. It really, really sucks. As an eating disorder therapist, I love helping people navigate family situations that can be tricky and triggering, so I’m here to help you get started.
Diving Deeper into Spiritual Healing: Part 4 of Finding the Spiritual in Eating Disorder Treatment—A 5-Part Series
Sometimes when you feel overwhelmed by your spiritual pain, you can think that there is no hope. It is at these times when you need to dive deep into your pain to let yourself experience spiritual healing. If you struggle with disordered eating, you know how painful it can be . . . emotionally, psychologically, physically, and spiritually. Becoming acutely aware of all aspects of your pain as you go about your daily life in San Diego lets you open yourself to healing. It’s like when you have an infection in your arm—you need to open it up and clean out all of the gunk and then put the medicine on it so it can heal. Spirituality can be your medicine—the balm for your soul.
Starting Your Journey to Spiritual Healing: Part 3 of Finding the Spiritual in Eating Disorder Treatment—A 5-Part Series
You’ve recognized that you’ve got some spiritual pain. Congratulate yourself for the awareness—it’s a hard thing to acknowledge. You may be thinking, is spiritual healing even possible. Do I even want it? I feel so far away from God or my higher power in my life in San Diego that it just seems like too big of a gulf to bridge. I understand that it can feel overwhelming. I want to encourage you that all you have to do is take the first, small step. Sometimes you have to walk before you run, and sometimes you have to tiptoe before you walk. Let’ go ahead and stick that foot out there and start the journey.
Filling Your Spiritual Cup: Part 1 in a 5-Part Series on Finding the Spiritual in Eating Disorder Treatment
What brings you peace in your life in San Diego? When do you feel most connected to the world around you—to other people, to animals, to nature? When do you feel a sense of well-being? These are some of the questions I might ask my clients when getting them to focus on what feeds them spiritually in San Diego. In eating disorder recovery, so much of the focus can be on food and our bodies, but what often is a missing piece in treatment is nourishing our souls.
Three Steps to Start You on the Path to Body Acceptance
Body image. Do I hear a collective sigh? Groan of frustration? Chorus of “I don’t wanna think about it?” And yet, we live in San Diego, where it feels like it is bikini season 90% of the year. And where wearing tiny shorts and a bikini top inside the store or a restaurant isn’t considered completely inappropriate. You don’t need to have an eating disorder or low self-esteem in San Diego to have issues with accepting your beautiful body as it is!