Therapy
Recovered:
The person can accept his or her natural body size
and shape and no longer has a self-destructive or unnatural relationship with food or exercise...
When you are recovered, you do not use eating disorder behaviors to deal with, distract from, or cope with other problems.
When recovered, you will not compromise your health or betray your soul to look a certain way, wear a certain size or reach a certain number on the scale.
"Having recovered from my own eating disorder, my approach with all clients is, ...
'If I could do it, so can you.'" -Carolyn
Carolyn was the first to publicly speak out that she was RECOVERED from her eating disorder and that unlike substance abuse people suffering from eating disorders can be fully "recovered" and not always "in recovery" or "recovering."
She has written articles and book chapters, trained professionals, participated in interviews and continues to speak on this subject.
A tireless advocate on this issue Carolyn now has the support of research and has seen many in the field embrace this position.
Carolyn is a World Leader in the Eating Disorder Field
A Marriage and Family Therapist since 1979, her extensive background as a clinician, author, and the founder and
director of several treatment programs, including world renowned Monte Nido, has made her a sought after expert.
Carolyn is available in person, by phone, and video conferencing
to consult with clients, significant others and professionals.
Carolyn's Philosophy With Clients:
I cannot make you give up your eating disorder, but I hope to make you want to.
Your healthy/soul self will heal your eating disorder self.
You can recover, your eating disorder cannot be more powerful than you are.
In order to heal you have to internalize the desire & skills, not just be controlled.
Successive steps...get YOU back in your body and back in control of your life.
You have to reach out to people rather than your eating disorder to get needs met.
Things other than the symptoms need to be healed. ,
It helps to have a reason why...meaningful life...“What are you recovering to?”
Eating Disorder Self /Healthy Self
"The problem is not between your therapist and you
or anyone else and you. It is between you and you."
Carolyn: "At some point during my own eating disorder I
realized I actually had become two selves. Deep down a
healthy part of me knew I was too thin, too controlling around food
and so caught up in following "food rules" that I had lost balance, real choice, and common sense.
But another part of me had hijacked my brain to the point that I was terrified of getting fat, petrified of losing control, and obsessed with self-discipline. This part of me, my eating disorder self, made me feel safe, protected, and successful. Trying to turn it into an enemy and fight it off did not make sense and was not effective.
To become whole, to recover, I had to get the two parts of me communicating with each other. I needed to listen to my eating disorder self, learn what it was doing for me and then strengthen my healthy self so it could take over the job.
What I do is strengthen each client’s healthy self so it can heal their eating disorder self."
Founder of Residential Treatment
After serving as founder and clinical director of several inpatient eating disorder programs in the 80’s and 90’s, Carolyn knew that for thorough, lasting healing to occur, she needed to create something different.
Carolyn brought her successful approach of 15 years in practice to the
first residential eating disorder program.
"In 1996 I opened Monte Nido, turning what had come to me ten years earlier in a dream, into a reality. Ignoring all those who said it could not
be done, I created a home where individuals with eating disorders could come together and heal with recovered staff among those serving as guides. I put the ingredients of a sophisticated hospital program into a home surrounded by nature. It was the first of its kind.
I created Monte Nido as a Soul School that would help people learn to take care of their precious "Earth Suits." I have always felt that the universe blessed Monte Nido with a certain magic and that fairy dust finds its way into everyone who crosses the threshold. It was an amazing, magnificent, challenging, rewarding, and spiritual soul journey."
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Carolyn continues to bring her passion, her successful strategies, her Keys to Recovery, and her personalized collaborative approach to clients and their families