Catherine McNamara-White
RMN, CBT Psychotherapy; BABCP Accredited
CBT therapist offering on-line sessions to adults and teenagers
I work in an all-age specialist NHS eating disorder service and I am currently employed as the Lead of the FREED (first episode early intervention for eating disorders) pathway in Kent and Medway All Age eating disorder service.
I am trained in eating disorder specific therapies including CBT-E (enhanced cognitive behavioural therapy), SSCM, Family Based Therapy.
I employ an empathic, warm and non-judgmental approach in therapy to build a trusting therapeutic relationship and aim for clients to feel listened to and understood.
I provide on-line therapy for eating disorders with specialism in treating the following:
Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia Nervosa is a restrictive eating disorder that is characterised by being severely underweight and having an intense fear of gaining weight.
This results in extreme dietary restriction and having a distorted perception of one’s own body, weight and shape.
Binge Eating Disorder
Binge eating disorder is an eating disorder of
recurrent episodes of binge eating characterised by:
– Eating an unusually large amount of food in a discrete period of time.
– A sense of lack of control over eating during the episode.
– Marked distress regarding binge eating is present.
– The binge eating occurs, on average, at least once a week for three months.
– The binge eating is not associated with the recurrent use of inappropriate compensatory behaviors (e.g., purging) and does not occur exclusively during the course of bulimia nervosa or anorexia nervosa.
Bulimia Nervosa
Bulimia Nervosa is an eating disorder that is characterised by regular bingeing episodes that are followed by unhealthy ways of getting rid of calories, such as making oneself sick, using laxatives, exercising excessively, using diet pills or other medications.
These behaviours are driven by an extreme overconcern with body, weight and shape.
Comorbidity
Specific to an eating disorder, comorbidity is a when a patient is simultaneously suffering with more than one disorder.
OSFED
OSFED stands for ‘Otherwise Specified Feeding and Eating Disorder’. People with OSFED have symptoms that are similar to one or more other eating disorders but are not exactly the same. OSFED is not any less serious than any other eating disorder.
Age
Therapy is offered to age 14 and upwards.
Experience
My services are offered to clients ages 14 and upwards. I cater to a diverse range of eating disorders
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for eating disorders.
- Family Based Treatment for eating disorders.
- (CBT) Guided self-help for Bulimia and Binge Eating Disorder.
- Specialist Supportive Clinical Management (SSCM) for eating disorders.
Specialist Eating Disorder Services
CBT-T
Cognitive Behavioural therapy-TEN is a brief and focused 10-session treatment which supports you to make changes to your eating. It focuses on regular eating, reducing body image concerns, managing emotions that drive your eating disorder behaviours, and developing a plan to support you to maintain the changes you have made. You will be offered a one month follow up appointment after your treatment has finished to support you to manage any challenges or setbacks you have experienced.
CBT-E
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy – Enhanced for Eating Disorders) is typically a 20-session treatment that includes four stages. The first stage focuses initially on developing an understanding of your difficulties. Sessions then concentrate on supporting you to establish changes to your eating which will support your recovery. Later stages address factors that are keeping your eating difficulties going, such as overconcern with your body, shape and weight, restrictive eating behaviours, and emotion or event-related triggers. It may also focus on other areas that keep you stuck, such as relationship difficulties or perfectionism.
SSCM
Specialist Supportive Clinical Management is typically a 20-session treatment for adults with Anorexia Nervosa. It offers supportive therapy techniques to guide people in meeting their own treatment goals. SSCM is a flexible treatment approach which focuses on reducing core eating disorder symptoms and improving quality of life by building on a person’s pre-existing strengths and skills. The key problems are identified and regularly reviewed, the person receives information and advice on nutrition and weight restoration and healthy eating. SSCM is not based on a detailed psychological formulation or model but uses a very practical and supportive approach that allows the person to decide what should be included as part of their therapy and to understand the link between their symptoms and disordered eating behaviours.
GSH-BN
Guided Self Help for Bulimia Nervosa is typically a 9-session treatment which is based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. The aim of GSH is to focus on understanding the maintenance of your Bulimia and think about ways you can reduce binge eating and purging behaviours. The treatment is not focused on weight loss or gain. It looks at topics such as how to manage negative thoughts around weight and shape, body checking and body avoidance behaviours, and considers other areas of your life which may have been affected by your eating disorder. Sessions can be face to face or remote via video call. As the name suggests, GSH sessions will guide you to make the changes you need independently and, as such, there is an expectation for you to try out what you have learnt in between sessions. Motivation and willingness to do this is are an essential component of GSH.
Family Based Therapy for Anorexia Nervosa
Family Based Therapy (FBT) is a systemic therapy recommended as a first-line treatment for children and adolescents with anorexia nervosa. It includes three phases of treatment:
Phase 1 focuses on weight restoration and refeeding and focuses on supporting parents/carers in re-feeding their child.
Phase 2 aims to gradually return control of eating back to the young person. Eating disorder symptoms and weight restoration continue to remain a central focus along with other general family and relationship issues or difficulties that may impact recovery and that may have previously been postponed.
The third and final phase starts when the young person has reached a healthy weight and is no longer in a starved state. The focus of treatment moves to supporting the young person in developing their identity outside of the eating disorder and considers the central issues of adolescence, such as increased autonomy and appropriate parental boundaries.
“Catherine transformed my eating behaviours in a caring, compassionate & understanding way.”
Daisy Frost
Former Client
Contact
Please feel free to contact me.