MY APPROACH

You’re not in this alone anymore.

A lot of men struggle in silence with body shame for years before they ever bring it into a therapy room, convinced no one would really understand or know how to help. I know because that was me. When I was struggling with my own eating disorder, I couldn't find an eating disorder specialist who had real experience treating men, let alone one with any depth of understanding about what it's like to be a gay man navigating this. That gap is a big part of why I opened this practice.

It's still true today: most eating disorder professionals have limited experience working with men, let alone a nuanced understanding of the cultural context gay men are navigating. Working with a straight therapist often means filtering what you share, like the details of your sex life, leaving out anything that might make them uncomfortable, or steering clear of certain topics entirely to avoid potential judgment. You won't have to deal with any of that here. We can just dive in, no filtering required. I bring a specific combination of doctoral-level research on body image in gay and bisexual men, clinical training in eating disorders, and lived experience as a gay man.

That background doesn't just mean I understand your world, it shapes how we actually work together. I'm warm, engaged, and direct. You'll get honest reflections and real observations from someone who actually cares how things go for you. Most of what we’ll do involves understanding where your patterns came from, whose acceptance felt conditional, what you learned early on about what was safe to want or feel, and how those experiences still shape your relationships and your sense of yourself today. Once that becomes clear, you have a choice you didn't have before: to keep responding the old way, or to do something different.

We'll also pay attention to how you show up with me in session, since the ways you relate, hold back, or protect yourself here often mirror what's happening in your relationships outside of them. A lot of clients tell me this relationship becomes one of the most meaningful parts of the work, often the first place they feel truly known and safe enough to be fully vulnerable. I draw primarily from psychodynamic and interpersonal process approaches, along with IFS, CBT, ACT, and EFT when it fits.