Courage and the Eating Disorder Voice with Mollie Birney

Mollie Birney has worked in the Addiction Recovery field since 2009. She comes by her specialization in Eating Disorder Recovery honestly, having battled her own eating disorder for years, from which she has been in recovery since 2007.  She holds a Masters in Clinical Psychology with a specialization in addiction and eating disorders from Antioch University, Los Angeles, and a BA from Tufts University.

Additionally, she has completed the Certification coursework in Intuitive Eating, the modality she employs most often with clients. Her treatment-oriented and therapeutic experience includes work with the multi-service Eating Disorder Association in Boston, and Primary Therapist/Group Facilitator positions at Axis Treatment Center in West LA, Joie Meal Support, and Breathe Life Healing Center’s Binge Eating Disorder Program in West Hollywood.  

Prior to joining Patrick Hart Consultants in 2015 Mollie also had a private coaching practice focused on eating disorder recovery, providing counseling, coaching and treatment placement. Her extensive experience, both personally and professionally, grants her a unique insight into the battle faced by individuals and families suffering from the full range of eating disorders, including the many forms of Bulimia, Binge Eating Disorder, Orthorexia, Exercise Addiction and Anorexia. She is a frequent speaker at schools, treatment centers, and recovery-focused organizations. Most recently she was the keynote speaker at the 2018 National Conference for the National Council for Addiction and Drug Dependence in Washington DC.

In this episode of Curb the Binge, Mollie and Katya mine Mollie's extensive experience in the field to explore the commonalities and differences between various Eating Disorders, the accuracy and potential usefulness of the term "food addiction," how to reframe our relationship with the "eating disorder voice" into a nurturing one over time, the role of Courage in recovery, and what families of loved ones can do to help neutralize one of the most painful and dangerous elements of ED.