You are bringing to light a most important, valuable and sensitive topic. When adults are in denial about their own eating disorder, they can be in a position to deny the eating disorder symptoms in their child or children.

One of the powerful and moving moments that occur in my work as a psychotherapist is when a woman, who never sought treatment for her own eating disorder, comes in for psychotherapy for the sake of her child. She couldn’t rally her strength for her own well being.

But when she is pregnant or has a young child she finds courage and determination to do her own work in order to protect her child from developing an eating disorder.

Often, a child has already begun to develop symptoms, but often too, not always, but often when the mother works on her own healing she is in a better position to support healing in her child.

Thank you for bringing this important topic to the public. I hope your work helps parents in denial to face the eating disorders in the family and move to get necessary treatment.

warm regards,

Joanna Poppink, MFT
Los Angeles, CA