Welcome to West Coast Psychotherapy
John R. Edwards, L.C.S.W.
Certified Brainspotting Practitioner
Certified Gottman Method Couples' Therapist
A Private Counseling Practice
Treatment For
Anxiety | Depression | Addictions & Substance Abuse
Eating Disorders | Trauma | Relationship and Marriage Problems
Oakland | Berkeley | Alameda | San Francisco Bay Area | CA
License No. LCSW 20729
Counseling for Eating Disorders
Oakland | Berkeley | Alameda
San Francisco Bay Area | CA
Are You Struggling With An Unhealthy Relationship With Food?



Do you find yourself constantly thinking about food, calories and/or exercise? Are you highly critical of your body, especially when you compare yourself to others? Are you convinced that life would be better if you were thinner and fitter?
Perhaps you’re fixated on healthy eating or caloric restriction, and you dedicate a great deal of time and energy analyzing what you’re “supposed” to eat. For example, you might have strict rules about “good” food and “bad” food. When you exceed your caloric limit or eat “bad” food, you might decide that you’ve “failed” for the day and continue eating more than you really want to, promising yourself that you’ll start again tomorrow. Despite your best intentions, you may feel trapped in a hopeless cycle of starving, binging, self-criticism and regret.
Whether or not you’ve been diagnosed with one of many types of eating disorders—such as anorexia, orthorexia or bulimia—you might be exhausted by the hold food has on your life. Perhaps your emotions are tightly bound to your diet, weight and appearance. For you, food is more than just food—it’s release and shame, pleasure and guilt, anger and defeat. Each day is defined by the number that appears on the scale or by the sight of your reflection.
Maybe it’s difficult to believe that you have worth or that anyone could respect or love you as you are. Even when others mistreat you, you may blame yourself, certain that you don’t deserve better until you reach the perfect weight.
Are you tired of overwhelming self-hate, but wonder if changing your relationship with food is possible? Do you wish you could find a way to feel good in your body and enjoy life?



There are so many messages that say the way we look defines our worth as a person.
Disordered Eating Is Very Common
If you have an unhealthy relationship with food and your body, you are far from alone. In our image-obsessed society, many people struggle with diet-related shame, blame and guilt.
In fact, in many ways, emotional eating is built into our culture. Traditions often link food with a sense of happiness and belonging. For example, you might celebrate a birthday with cake, or spend the holidays moving from family feast to family feast.
You’re probably surrounded by messages that equate food with emotional comfort. For example, maybe your earliest caregivers offered you a cookie to soothe a tantrum. Among adults, emotional eating is so common it’s a stereotype—pints of ice cream for heartbreak, candy bars for anger, pizza and fries for stress. Unfortunately, these norms don’t teach you how to cope with emotions; they teach how to bury them, as though they are shameful.
When the relationship between food and emotions is so tangled up in shame, it’s common to believe that what you eat reflects your moral character. Like so many others, you might think that eating “bad” food or having a “bad” body means that you have failed as a person. You might even use food as a form of self-punishment or social defiance.
Although countless people struggle with disordered eating and poor body image, these issues are especially common in the LGBTQ+ community. Despite this fact, it can be difficult to find LGBTQ-affirming care. For example, there are many LGBT individuals struggling with anorexia, bulimia, over-exercise, bingeing and over eating but far too few resources dedicated to LGBT eating disorder recovery, especially for gay men with eating disorders.
Thankfully, no matter who you are, if you are longing for a better relationship with food, there is hope and help. As a gay male therapist who specializes in disordered eating, I can help you can better understand the emotions driving your diet and help you make healthy, lasting changes within both the LGBT cultural context and the larger society.