Eating Disorders

You may feel like you have an unhealthy relationship with your food or your body.  Or, you may feel like the situation has spiraled out of control to the point that your behaviors have become an all-consuming, life-threatening illness. Regardless of the severity of your eating disorder, there is one common theme: you are acting your feelings out on your food. Eating disorders can help patients avoid something painful, comfort themselves, bring others closer (or farther away), or be a way to manage anxiety about some aspect of their world. However, they often appease some inner conflict at the cost of the patient's health, their relationships, and other important aspects of their life (work, school, hobbies).  Therefore, getting appropriate treatment as quickly as possible is critical.

Dr. Sternweis-Yang completed her Postdoctoral Fellowship in Clinical Child Psychology on the inpatient unit at the Center for Pediatric Eating Disorders at Children’s Medical Center Dallas (CMCD). After fellowship, Dr. Sternweis-Yang became the psychologist overseeing the Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) for patients with eating disorders. This role strengthened her ability to work with a variety of different patients (both male and female), across the developmental age span, who presented with a range of diagnoses. It also gave her the opportunity to train across all spectrums of care (both inpatient and outpatient settings), integrating psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral paradigms within a variety of treatment modalities (i.e. individual, family, and group therapy), while collaborating closely with other health professionals. Dr. Sternweis-Yang supervised the incorporation of "The Body Project," which is the only evidence-based prevention program for eating disorders into the intensive outpatient (IOP) curriculum when she was a psychologist at CMCD. Dr. Sternweis-Yang was also actively involved in the supervision and training of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows while at CMCD.  She conducted 1-on-1 supervision with eating disorder practitioners and gave presentations on the field of pediatric eating disorders. After more than five years working intensely and extensively with patients exhibiting all types of eating disorders, Dr. Sternweis-Yang received her certification as an Eating Disorders Specialist from the International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals.  The types of eating disorders that Dr. Sternweis-Yang has experience treating are:

Anorexia Nervosa

  • Caloric restriction leading to significantly low body weight
  • Intense fear of gaining weight OR persistent behavior that interferes with weight gain
  • Disturbance in self-perceived weight or shape

Bulimia Nervosa

  • Recurrent episodes of binge eating
  • Recurrent compensatory behaviors to prevent weight gain
  • Self-evaluation that is unduly influenced by body shape and weight

Binge-Eating Disorder

  • Recurrent episodes of binge eating
  • Binge eating is not associated with compensatory behaviors
  • Marked distress about binge eating 

Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder

  • An eating or feeding disturbance that leads to an inability to meet nutritional needs
  • Usually has been present since infancy/young childhood
  • Not associated with a fear of gaining weight

Other Treatment Specialities: