The Joys of Dating for the ED Client

ED’s at their core are a disorder of Relationships, Intimacy, and Connection. So this Valentines week we welcomed an Eating Disorder as well as experienced dating expert, Dr. Christie Tcharkhoutian, LMFT to VFED. We looked at Love and Relationships for Clients Struggling with Eating Disorders and Christie made this daunting task seem doable.

We studied Attachment, Avoidance and the role Shame plays in connection. (When did we stop feeling we belonged and when did our ED emerge?)

Christie broke down Sex & Intimacy issues including sexual appetite, underlying trauma, body consciousness, love languages, and barriers to joy/pleasure that the ED is trying to contain. We were encouraged to ask before and after questions to clarify how marriages, relationships and sex used to look and how a client wants it to look. And to set the stage by asking early, ourselves about the hard stuff.

Excellent Recommended Resources - see handout. Thanks so much, Christie, and to all who joined.