DR MARIANNE MILLER
CARING EATING DISORDER TREATMENT IN SAN DIEGO AND THROUGHOUT CALIFORNIA, TEXAS, AND WASHINGTON D.C. FOR ADULTS & TEENS
Interested in Culturally Sensitive Treatment? Meet Eating Disorder Therapist Dr. Jennifer Douglas
Hello all! I’ve recently gotten to know eating disorder therapist Dr. Jennifer Douglas. She is a clinical psychologist who has worked at some of the top eating disorder treatment centers in the United States, including University of California at San Diego Eating Disorders Center and Stanford University Eating Disorders Program. One thing I really appreciate about Jen is that when treating folks with eating disorders, she takes a culturally sensitive approach. She loves working with people of diverse body sizes, genders, religions, abilities, ages, countries of origin, and sexual orientations. She used to live in San Diego and now resides in San Francisco. She can provide Telehealth anywhere in California. Enjoy getting to know her!
Top Five Reasons to See an Eating Disorder Therapist
Ever wonder WHY it is important to work with an eating disorder therapist instead of a therapist who works with with more general issues, such as anxiety, depression, and couple/family challenges? I’ve asked three San Diego eating disorder therapists for their thoughts on the matter: Clinical Psychologist Dr. Jennie Wang-Hall, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Christin Conkle, and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Liz Bisarya. All three psychotherapists specialize in eating disorders in their San Diego private practices, and they have experience at higher level of care eating disorder treatment centers. I think you’ll find their responses very helpful!
Five Details on Dodging Depression in Eating Disorder Recovery
Struggling with getting out of bed in the morning? Crying a lot and feeling lethargic? Struggling with finding pleasure in activities that you used to love? You may be suffering from clinical depression. The sun can be bright, and the palm trees swaying in the wind as you go about your life in San Diego, but you still feel sad. It can really, really suck—especially when you’re recovering from an eating disorder.
Depression is very typical in people with eating disorders. It is a common co-occurring or co-morbid mental disorder in individuals struggling with anorexia (AN), bulimia (BN), binge eating disorder (BED), and other specified feeding or eating disorders (OSFED). Having depression when you’re living in such a stunning location like San Diego can be especially challenging, as the disparity between what you’re feeling and the “beautiful life” others seem to be living can be hard to bear.
Interview with North County San Diego Eating Disorder Therapist Crystal St. John
Hello all! I hope you had a Happy Fourth of July with loved ones. I wanted to introduce you to Crystal St. John, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, who works with eating disorders in the Carlsbad area of San Diego County, as well as in Temecula. Crystal formally worked with Center for Discovery eating disorder intensive outpatient in North County San Diego. She is a really nice person and has a unique approach to treatment that I think you’ll find interesting.
Interview with UCSD Eating Disorder Psychologist Dr. Jennie Wang-Hall
Hi everyone! In the past few months, I’ve gotten to know Dr. Jennie Wang-Hall. Jennie is a gifted eating disorder therapist who works in the adult eating disorder treatment program the University of California San Diego (UCSD) Eating Disorders Center. She also has a private practice in Oceanside. When I first met Jennie, I totally connected with her because she lived in Colorado (my home state!), loves dogs (ditto!), and who works in the adult eating disorder treatment program the University of California San Diego (UCSD) Eating Disorders Center really smart (like me! ;) ). She is an overall authentic, genuine person who really cares about people recovering from eating disorders. Plus, Jennie is fun to hang out with, and so I’m so glad she is both my colleague AND my friend. I’m looking forward to you getting to know her. I also think that my interview with her will give you more information on adult eating disorder treatment at a partial hospitalization program (PHP) and intensive outpatient program (IOP).
Interview with San Diego Eating Disorder Dietitian, Dr. Megan Holt Hellner, RD
Hi everyone! I’m starting a blog series interviewing various eating disorder professionals in the San Diego area. I’m beginning with one of my favorite eating disorder dietitians to work with in San Diego—Dr. Megan Holt Hellner, RD. She and I have collaborated on many client cases, and she is conscientious, caring, compassionate, and thorough. One thing I love about Megan is that she has two advanced degrees in public health, and so she is especially good at working with people with challenging physical aliments. She also specializes in working with athletes.
Tapping into Mindfulness: Part 5 of Finding the Spiritual in Eating Disorder Treatment—A 5-Part Series
Has your soul ever ached? Is it difficult to reconcile living in such a beautiful place as San Diego and feeling such pain? Have you ever felt so far away from God that it hurt? Have you ever questioned your belief in God, or in any sort of higher power? Have you ever wondered how God can exist if there is such pain in the world? Have you felt angry with God? Have you ever felt hurt, shamed, disappointed, or discriminated by spiritual leaders? Many of these emotions and experiences can lead to spiritual pain. Spiritual pain is a soul-deep ache that is beyond depression or grief. Spiritual pain is an existential crisis in which the deepest parts of ourselves are crying out, “Is there a God or higher power out there?” “If so, how could this God or higher power let such pain and suffering happen?”
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.