Enhanced Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT-E) is a psychological treatment for eating disorders that explores the connections between eating habits, thoughts, emotions and how you see yourself. It can be used across different eating disorder diagnoses, with treatment guided by the patterns maintaining your difficulties and your individual needs.
For some people, self-worth becomes closely tied to body shape, weight or controlling food. Strict eating rules and behaviours such as restriction, binge eating, purging or driven exercise can become part of a cycle that is difficult to step away from. CBT-E helps you understand how these patterns interact and identifies practical opportunities for change.
Making Changes You Can Build On
Treatment involves working collaboratively with your psychologist to develop a more regular, adequate and flexible approach to eating. You may keep a record of eating patterns, thoughts and feelings to help you notice what is happening and guide your sessions. Together, you can practise responding differently to situations that would usually reinforce eating difficulties.
Where relevant, therapy also addresses concerns such as perfectionism, persistent low self-esteem, difficulties managing emotions or relationship challenges that make recovery harder. As treatment progresses, the focus includes maintaining changes, recognising early signs of setbacks and developing a plan for responding to them.
Changing familiar patterns can feel challenging, especially when they have become a way of coping. Our team can support you with understanding and practical guidance as you work towards a more flexible relationship with food, your body and yourself.
Our clinical psychologists are based in Terrigal but also offer remote sessions to offer CBT-E treatment.