Binge Eating Care
We provide specialized telehealth care for binge eating disorder (BED) across Maryland, DC, and Pennsylvania. Our team works with adults and adolescents using CBT-E, DBT, ACT, and trauma-informed approaches, all delivered through a weight-inclusive lens. The goal of BED treatment is not weight loss. It's recovery from binge eating, healing your relationship with food, and ending the cycle of shame and restriction that keeps the disorder in place.
This page is about binge eating disorder specifically. For more on how we work with eating disorders generally (our team, our philosophy, and how we coordinate care with dietitians and medical providers), visit our Eating Disorder Therapy page.
Binge Eating Care at Juniper Blu
Binge eating disorder is the most common eating disorder in the United States, affecting roughly three times as many people as anorexia and bulimia combined. It's also the most under-diagnosed and under-treated, partly because it carries enormous shame, and partly because so many people who have it have spent years being told to "just lose weight" by providers who didn't understand what was actually happening.
BED isn't a willpower problem. It's a treatable mental health condition with clear, evidence-based treatment paths. Our work is to help you understand the cycle that's been keeping it in place, build skills to interrupt it, and rebuild a relationship with food and your body that doesn't run on shame.
The Binge Cycle: How Binge Eating Keeps Itself Going
One of the most useful things to understand about binge eating disorder is that it's almost never just about food. It's a cycle. And once the cycle is established, it tends to feed itself. Recognizing the pattern is often the first relief: it means you're not broken, you're stuck in a loop that has a way out.
Restriction or rule-following
Often this looks like dieting, calorie tracking, food rules, skipping meals, or labeling foods as "good" or "bad." Even people who don't think they're dieting often have subtle restriction running in the background: eating less than they need during the day, avoiding certain foods, or exercising to "earn" food.
Building urges and deprivation
The body and brain respond to restriction by amplifying signals around food. Cravings intensify. Thoughts about forbidden foods become loud and persistent. The harder you've been "good," the louder the pull becomes. This isn't weakness. It's biology and psychology working as they're designed to.
The binge
A binge usually involves eating a large amount of food in a short window, often in secret, with a sense of being out of control. Many people describe it as feeling outside themselves, like watching it happen. The binge can be triggered by hunger, but also by emotions, stress, exhaustion, or simply being near a "forbidden" food after a period of restriction.
Shame, secrecy, and self-criticism
After a binge, the shame can be intense. Many people hide evidence, eat alone, or don't tell anyone what's happening. The internal voice often becomes harsh: "What's wrong with me," "I have no self-control," "I just need to try harder." This shame is often the most painful part of BED, and it's one of the reasons people delay reaching out for help.
Renewed restriction (and the cycle repeats)
In an attempt to "make up for" the binge, restriction often intensifies. New rules. A stricter diet. Exercise to compensate. This sets up the next cycle, and the next. Most people with BED have been through this loop hundreds of times before they reach out for help.
The work of BED treatment isn't about getting "better at" the diet. It's about stepping out of the cycle entirely. That usually starts with adequate, consistent eating, learning what your body actually needs, and building skills to handle the emotions and patterns that have been driving the loop.
Binge Eating vs. Emotional Eating vs. Overeating
These three terms get used interchangeably, but they're meaningfully different. Knowing which one you're experiencing helps you know what kind of support actually fits.
Overeating
Eating past comfortable fullness on occasion, usually without significant distress. Most people overeat sometimes (think: holiday meals, social events, especially good food). Overeating doesn't typically involve a sense of being out of control, secrecy, or shame, and it doesn't form a recurring pattern.
Emotional Eating
Using food to cope with emotions: stress, sadness, boredom, loneliness, anxiety. Emotional eating is incredibly common and isn't always a clinical concern. It becomes problematic when it's the primary or only way you regulate emotions, when it leaves you feeling worse, or when it's tied into a broader pattern with food.
Binge Eating Disorder
A clinical eating disorder marked by recurrent episodes of eating a large amount of food in a short window, with a sense of being out of control, accompanied by significant distress. BED happens at least weekly, doesn't involve regular purging or compensatory behaviors (which would suggest bulimia), and exists alongside the cycle of shame and restriction described above.
If you're not sure which of these fits, that's okay. Many people start therapy without knowing exactly what they're experiencing, and sorting that out together is part of the early work.
BED Treatment Is Not Weight Loss Treatment
This is one of the most important things to understand before starting therapy for binge eating disorder, especially if you've spent years being failed by providers who treated BED as a weight problem.
The goal of BED treatment is recovery from binge eating, not weight change. Research consistently shows that treatments focused on weight loss tend to make BED worse over time, because they reinforce the restriction at the start of the binge cycle. Effective BED treatment focuses on stopping the binge eating, healing the relationship with food, and building skills to handle emotions, stress, and triggers without using food.
Some people's bodies change during recovery. Some don't. Some lose weight, some gain weight, some stay the same. Body changes aren't the measure of recovery. The measure of recovery is freedom from the cycle.
Our care is weight-inclusive. We don't recommend diets, we don't set weight loss goals, and we don't conflate body size with health. If you've been carrying shame about your body alongside the binge eating, that's part of the work too, but it's our work to help you heal that shame, not deepen it.
How We Approach Binge Eating Care
BED responds well to treatment when the approach matches what's actually driving the cycle. Every person we work with is different, so the work is shaped to who you are and what's been happening. Depending on what you need, our therapists draw on:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Eating Disorders (CBT-E): the most well-researched first-line treatment for BED, focused on interrupting the binge cycle, regularizing eating, and addressing the thoughts and patterns that maintain the disorder
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): particularly useful when binge eating is tied to emotion regulation, distress tolerance, or interpersonal patterns
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): for clients who benefit from working with values, defusion from food-related thoughts, and building flexibility around urges
- Trauma-informed care: for the many people whose binge eating developed alongside or after traumatic experiences
- Attachment-based therapy: for the relational and emotional dynamics often driving the cycle
- Art therapy: for clients who benefit from non-verbal processing of body image, identity, and difficult emotions
- Neurodivergence-affirming care: for clients whose binge eating intersects with autism, ADHD, or sensory differences
For comprehensive care, we coordinate with dietitians, primary care providers, and psychiatrists when appropriate. The National Eating Disorders Association recognizes CBT-E as the leading evidence-based treatment for BED.
Other places to look
Binge eating care is part of our broader Eating Disorder Therapy work. It also overlaps often with other concerns. If you want to read about how we work with a related condition, our Anorexia, ARFID, PTSD, and Neurodivergence-Affirming Therapy pages might be useful.
Signs of Binge Eating Disorder
BED can be hard to recognize from the outside because so much of it happens in private. Some of the most common signs:
Behavioral signs:
- Eating unusually large amounts of food in a short window
- Eating much faster than usual during binges
- Eating until uncomfortably or painfully full
- Eating alone or in secret because of embarrassment
- Hiding food, evidence, or wrappers
- Cycles of dieting and bingeing
- Continued eating even when not physically hungry
Emotional signs:
- Feeling out of control during eating episodes
- Intense shame, guilt, or disgust after eating
- Persistent preoccupation with food, weight, or body
- Mood changes around food, including anxiety before eating
- Feeling like food is the only reliable comfort
- Withdrawal from social eating situations
Physical signs (sometimes, not always):
- Disrupted hunger and fullness cues
- GI issues, including bloating, constipation, and reflux
- Fluctuating energy levels
- Sleep disturbance
Notice that body size isn't on this list. People with BED come in every body size. Weight is not a reliable indicator of whether someone has the disorder.
When to Reach Out
If binge eating is happening regularly, if you've been hiding it, if the shame around eating is taking up significant space in your life, or if you've tried to stop on your own and the cycle keeps returning, those are reasons enough to reach out. Many of the people we work with say they wish they'd come in years sooner.
You don't need a formal diagnosis to start. You also don't need to "be ready to quit." Many people start therapy still in the middle of the cycle, and the early work is often about understanding what's been happening, not stopping immediately.
If you've been failed by providers who treated BED as a weight problem, that wasn't your fault. The right care looks different.
Not sure if it's binge eating disorder? Start with our broader guide to signs you might have an eating disorder — written for people who aren't yet certain what they're navigating.
What to Expect from Binge Eating Care
Pattern mapping
The first phase is about understanding your specific cycle. When do binges happen, what triggers them, what's been driving the restriction, and what's been working as a coping strategy. We track patterns together rather than rushing into change. This phase is also where the relationship with your therapist gets built, which matters for everything that follows.
Interrupting the cycle
This is where the work of building consistent, adequate eating happens. Counter-intuitively, regular eating (rather than restricting more) is one of the most effective ways to reduce binge frequency. We also build skills for handling urges, working with emotions that drive bingeing, and noticing the early signs of a binge before it takes over.
Building food flexibility
As the cycle quiets, the work shifts to widening your relationship with food. Bringing back foods that have been off-limits. Letting eating be more flexible. Reducing the mental load food has been taking up. For many people, this is the phase where life starts to feel different in tangible ways.
Long-term maintenance
BED can have flare-ups during stress, transitions, or life changes. The final phase consolidates skills, builds a plan for handling setbacks, and helps you reclaim the parts of life the disorder has narrowed. Many of the people we work with continue with less frequent sessions to stay grounded long-term.
Therapists Who Work with Binge Eating
The clinicians below all have specific training and experience with binge eating and disordered eating. To meet our full team, including therapists who work across our other service areas, visit the Eating Disorder Therapy page.
Jamie L. Jones
Founder · LCPAT, LCPC, ATR-BC
Eating Disorder and Body Image Specialist who founded Juniper Blu in 2013 specifically to support people navigating eating disorders. Brings advanced DBT training and 17+ years of work with adults and adolescents around binge eating, body image, and the cycle of restriction and shame.
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Batya H. Erickson
Licensed Graduate Professional Counselor
Works through the lens of attachment theory to support people with binge eating, with attention to the emotional and relational patterns underneath the cycle. Draws on DBT, mindfulness-based therapy, and solution-focused approaches.
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Stacey C. Cooperman
Licensed Graduate Professional Counselor
Certified Trauma, Mindfulness, and Grief-Informed Professional with specialized training in binge eating and the anxiety, depression, and trauma that often sit underneath the cycle. Bilingual in English and French.
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Malca R. Gottlieb
Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker
C-DBT certified and EMDR-trained, offering relationship-centered psychotherapy for binge eating, particularly when the cycle is intertwined with trauma, attachment wounds, or family dynamics. Works across the lifespan.
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Megan M. Herbets
Licensed Professional Counselor
Specialized eating disorder treatment training combined with advanced DBT, ACT, IFS, and psychodynamic psychotherapy. Works with adolescents and adults to interrupt the binge cycle and address the body image and emotional patterns underneath.
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Michelle R. Scudero
Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Specialized training in eating disorders across the lifespan, including children, adolescents, adults, and individuals with special needs. Licensed in Maryland, DC, and Pennsylvania.
View full bio →Insurance, Cost & Where We Work
We see people via secure telehealth across Maryland, Washington DC, and Pennsylvania. We accept CareFirst directly, and for other insurance plans we offer concierge support to help you get the most out of your out-of-network benefits, including most PPO, HMO, POS, and federal plans.
For full details on insurance, payment, telehealth delivery, and the specific areas we serve, visit our Eating Disorder Therapy page or our Insurance & Payment Options page.
Binge Eating Specific Questions
A few questions that come up specifically about binge eating care. For broader questions about insurance, telehealth, getting started, and our process more generally, those live on our Eating Disorder Therapy page.
Weight loss is not the goal of BED treatment, and we don't recommend it. Research consistently shows that focusing on weight loss tends to make binge eating worse over time, because it reinforces the restriction that often starts the binge cycle. The goal of treatment is recovery from binge eating, healing your relationship with food, and ending the cycle of shame. Some people's bodies change during recovery, in either direction. Body changes are a side effect of healing, not the measure of it.
Yes. Binge eating disorder is recognized by the DSM-5 as a clinical eating disorder, and it's the most common eating disorder in the United States. It carries the same medical and psychological seriousness as anorexia or bulimia, despite being less culturally visible. The fact that BED doesn't always show up in body size has historically meant it's been under-diagnosed and minimized, but it's real, treatable, and worth getting help for.
Most people overeat occasionally without it becoming a clinical issue. Binge eating disorder involves recurrent episodes (usually at least once a week for three months or more), a sense of being out of control during the eating, significant distress about the behavior, and often secrecy or shame. Overeating is occasional and uncomplicated. Binge eating is recurrent, distressing, and connected to a broader pattern.
Because BED isn't a willpower problem. It's a cycle, and willpower-based interventions usually intensify the restriction at the start of the cycle, which makes the binges worse over time. Most people with BED are already extraordinarily disciplined, often more than people without an eating disorder. The work of treatment is stepping out of the cycle entirely, not getting "better at" the diet that's been feeding it.
Yes. We work with people in every body size, and our care is genuinely weight-inclusive. We don't recommend diets, set weight loss goals, or conflate body size with health. If you've been carrying shame about your body alongside the binge eating, addressing that shame is part of the work. We won't deepen it. Our therapists are trained to provide care without the weight stigma that's caused harm in many other treatment settings.
CBT-E for BED typically runs 20 sessions over four to five months. Many people benefit from longer treatment, particularly when binge eating intersects with trauma, anxiety, or attachment work. Recovery isn't linear, and BED can have flare-ups during stress or transitions. Many of the people we work with continue with less frequent sessions to stay grounded long-term.
You're not alone in this, even though it can feel like you are. Most people we work with have spent years carrying BED in silence before reaching out. The first session isn't about disclosing everything at once. It's about meeting your therapist, sharing what you're comfortable sharing, and starting to feel out whether this is the right fit. You set the pace, and nothing has to come out before you're ready.
Start Binge Eating Care with Juniper Blu Collective
If the cycle has been keeping you stuck, you don't have to keep figuring it out alone. Reach out today and we'll talk through what specialized, weight-inclusive care could look like for you.
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