Orange County · Telehealth
Binge Eating Disorder Therapy
Specialized outpatient psychotherapy for binge-eating disorder, offered by telehealth where care can lawfully and clinically be provided.
What this can feel like
Binge-eating disorder is defined by recurrent episodes of eating an amount of food that is definitely larger than most people would eat in a similar period, with a sense of lacking control. DSM-5-TR requires that episodes occur, on average, at least once a week for three months, and that they are associated with features such as eating more rapidly than usual, eating until uncomfortably full, eating large amounts when not physically hungry, eating alone because of embarrassment, or feeling disgusted, depressed, or guilty afterwards.
Two points of distinction matter clinically. Marked distress about the binge eating is itself part of the diagnosis. And unlike bulimia nervosa, binge-eating disorder is not accompanied by regular compensatory behavior — which is why approaches built around further restriction tend to intensify it rather than resolve it.
What it can affect
Eating disorders rarely stay in one part of life.
- Eating patterns
- Episodes often follow periods of restriction or rigid rules, so plans that add more restriction tend to intensify the cycle.
- Emotional life
- Bingeing frequently follows distress, numbness, or exhaustion, and is followed by shame that compounds it.
- Self-perception
- Repeated cycles can harden into a belief that something is fundamentally wrong with you.
- Daily life
- Planning around food, avoiding social eating, and managing secrecy can take up considerable energy.
How therapy may help
Understanding the pattern before asking you to change it.
Outpatient psychotherapy targets what maintains the episodes: the dietary and psychological restriction that frequently precedes them, the loss-of-control experience that defines them, and the marked distress that DSM-5-TR includes in the criteria. Treatment does not add a further set of eating rules, because restriction is part of the mechanism being treated.
Where co-occurring depressive or anxiety symptoms are present they are assessed and addressed within outpatient scope. Zehn does not provide weight-loss programming, and treatment is not organized around a weight outcome.
Approach
Treatment is individualized, drawing on cognitive behavioral, dialectical behavior, acceptance and commitment, family-based, narrative, and humanistic approaches. Zehn does not provide weight-loss programming, and treatment is not organized around a weight outcome.
Coordinated care
Working alongside your other providers.
Eating-disorder treatment frequently involves more than one provider. When clinically appropriate and authorized under a signed release, the clinician coordinates with dietitians, physicians, psychiatrists, and treatment programs, and with family members where their involvement is part of the treatment plan.
Related support
Where to go next.
Common questions
Questions about binge eating
Is this a weight-loss program?
No. Zehn provides psychotherapy. Treatment is not built around weight change, and the clinician does not prescribe diets or meal plans. The focus is the relationship with eating, emotion, and self — not a number.
I have tried many diets. Why would this be different?
Because it is not another diet. Restriction is often part of what drives bingeing, so approaches that add more restriction can intensify the cycle. Therapy works on the mechanism underneath rather than on tighter control.
Do you work with people who also have other concerns?
Co-occurring difficulties such as anxiety or depression are common and can be addressed when they are within the clinician's competence and within outpatient scope. Active substance-use treatment is not a service Zehn offers at launch; referral and coordination are available instead.
This page is general education, not individualized clinical advice. Reading it does not create a therapeutic relationship. For guidance about your own situation, speak with a qualified clinician.
Reconnect with yourself beyond the eating disorder.
A complimentary 15-minute consultation is a place to ask questions and find out whether this practice is a reasonable fit.