Disordered Eating Therapy in New Jersey
Colleen Makowsky, LPC offers disordered eating support for adults across New Jersey — by secure video, for body image, food guilt, restrictive habits, and binge cycles at a non-medical level of care.
Disordered eating support at Colleen Makowsky LPC works with adults whose relationship with food and body has been hard — body image, food guilt, restrictive patterns, binge cycles, exercise compulsion, the long aftermath of chronic dieting. Online statewide across New Jersey. Adults only.
When disordered eating support is the right call
Scope: I work with disordered-eating patterns in adults — body image, food guilt, restrictive habits, binge cycles — at a non-medical level. For active eating disorders that require medical monitoring, dietitian coordination, or a higher level of care, I can refer you to a colleague who works at that level.
Disordered eating isn’t always the dramatic version that gets media attention. Most of what adults bring into this work is quieter — years of food guilt, body shame that won’t quit, restrictive habits that look like “healthy eating” from the outside, binge cycles that nobody else sees. This page is about that work — at a non-medical level, adult-to-adult.
Body image work
The mirror moment. The photograph reaction. The clothing-store dressing-room spiral. Body image isn’t just “self-esteem” — it’s a relationship with your own physical self shaped by decades of media, family, comparison, and culture. CBT addresses the thought patterns. ACT addresses what you actually want to live for, separate from how you look.
Food guilt
The “I shouldn’t have eaten that” loop. The pre-meal anxiety. The post-meal moralizing — good food, bad food, clean eating, cheat days. Food guilt is exhausting in a way that’s hard to explain to people who don’t carry it. CBT plus ACT helps separate eating decisions from moral self-judgment.
Restrictive habits
Skipping meals, food rules (“never after 8pm,” “only on weekdays”), shrinking the list of “allowed” foods, exercise to “earn” eating. Restriction is socially praised in ways binge eating isn’t — which is part of what makes it hard to see as the problem it is. At a non-medical level, I work with the thought patterns underneath. For medically-monitored restrictive disorders, I refer.
Binge cycles
Restrict, binge, shame, restrict. The cycle is exhausting and isolating. CBT for the cognitive distortions (“I already broke the rule, may as well finish”), ACT for the values-work, trauma-informed care for the patterns underneath. At a non-medical level — for medically-supervised eating-disorder care, I refer.
Exercise compulsion
Exercise has gone from “I want to” to “I have to.” Rest days create anxiety. Missing a workout creates guilt. The relationship with movement has become a coping mechanism, not a choice. We work with the thought patterns, the function the exercise is serving, and what would be different if movement could feel optional.
Disordered eating after weight loss
You lost the weight. The “after” was supposed to feel different. Instead, the relationship with food got more controlling, more rule-bound, more anxious. This is more common than the “success story” framing acknowledges. We work with the patterns that got you here, separate from the weight-loss story.
Chronic dieting fatigue
Twenty years of diets. Five years of macros. Three years of “intuitive eating” that became a new set of rules. You’re tired. The relationship with food has become a job, not a part of life. ACT helps clarify what you actually want this part of your life to feel like — separate from the weight-loss industry’s framing.
When you want non-medical support, not a treatment team
You don’t need vitals monitoring. You don’t need a dietitian on the team. You want one-on-one work on the patterns — body image, food guilt, restriction logic, binge cycles — with someone who’ll be honest if your situation does cross the medical line. That’s the work here.
Evidence-based disordered eating support in New Jersey
Disordered eating support at this practice is grounded in three evidence-based approaches — Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) as primary, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for values-work, and trauma-informed care for the patterns underneath. The work is practical: you leave each session with something to try, not just an insight to take home and forget.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT for disordered eating targets the thought patterns underneath the behaviors — moral framing of food (“good” vs “bad”), all-or-nothing rules, post-eating self-judgment, body-image cognitive distortions. Practical, structured, week-by-week. Strongest evidence base for the patterns I work with at a non-medical level.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
ACT helps clarify what you actually want this part of your life to be — separate from diet-culture framing, separate from the weight-loss industry’s promises. Values clarification, willingness work, and committed action around food and body. Useful when the goal is “feel like a person again,” not just “fix the symptom.”
Trauma-informed care
For a lot of adults, disordered eating sits on top of something older — childhood food messaging, family-of-origin dynamics, control-related trauma. The CCTP credential (Certified Clinical Trauma Professional) means trauma-informed care is built into how I work — we don’t drop the eating work to address trauma, we hold both at a pace you can handle.
I’m not trained in EMDR or DBT. If a clinician has recommended either for your eating work, I can refer you to a colleague who specializes in that. What I offer is CBT, ACT, and trauma-informed care — practical, structured, at a non-medical level.
How disordered eating support actually works
People often arrive expecting protocols — food plans, meal logs, scales. That’s not what happens. What happens is slower and more useful: we look at the patterns from your side first, name what you actually want food and body to feel like, and build the next step from there.
CBT is the strongest evidence base for the patterns I work with
Decades of clinical trial data show CBT reduces binge frequency, lowers cognitive distortion around eating, and improves body-image distress for adults at a non-medical level of care. The work is practical and structured — not insight-only, not vague.
CBT for eating patterns isn’t about willpower. It’s about interrupting the thought-and-impulse chain before behavior locks in.
Scope honesty — what non-medical level actually means
Active eating disorders involving medical risk — vitals monitoring, re-feeding, electrolyte work, coordinated dietitian care — need a treatment team. What I do is work with the thought-and-behavior patterns underneath: body image, food guilt, restriction logic, binge cycles. If your situation crosses the medical-monitoring line, I refer.
Non-medical level isn’t a softer kind of help. It’s a different kind — the kind that works for the adults whose situation hasn’t crossed the medical line.
Weight-inclusive, non-stigmatizing — the HAES question
I work weight-inclusively and non-stigmatizingly — I don’t moralize body size, prescribe weight loss, or treat thinness as the goal. I’m not a HAES-certified practitioner and I don’t prescribe the HAES framework as a protocol. What I do is work with your relationship to food and body without using weight as the success metric.
Good therapy is practical. You should leave each session with something you can use — not just insight that stays in the room.
How we start — your first three steps
Reach out
Send a quick note through the contact form or call (551) 305-3742. The form is two fields — name and best way to reach you. Don’t include health details; we’ll talk through what’s going on verbally.
15-minute call (free)
We get on the phone for fifteen minutes. You tell me what’s bringing you in. I tell you whether support at a non-medical level is the right fit — or whether you need a treatment team. No charge. No pressure either way.
First session, then ongoing work
Sessions run 38 to 53 minutes, by secure video, weekly. Most clients work runs three to twelve months — it varies. You’ll know inside three or four sessions whether the fit is right.
WHAT A SESSION LOOKS LIKE
What a disordered eating session looks like
Practical sessions, by secure video. Here’s what we cover — and what you leave with.
What’s underneath the eating
Disordered eating rarely sits alone. Underneath there’s usually trauma, anxiety, depression, or a family-of-origin food culture that’s shaped how the patterns settled in. We hold both layers — the eating work and what’s underneath — at the pace you can manage.
Trauma underneath disordered eating
Childhood food messaging, family-of-origin food dynamics, control-related trauma, body-related comments that landed hard. For a lot of adults, the eating patterns are the visible part of something older. The CCTP credential means trauma-informed care is built into how I work — at the pace you can hold.
Anxiety and eating patterns
Eating to soothe anxiety. Restricting to feel in control of anxiety. The loop is exhausting. CBT plus ACT works for both — the cognitive distortions and the values-work, alongside.
Depression and eating patterns
Some adults eat to feel something. Others restrict to feel less. Behavioral-activation framing (inside CBT and ACT) helps separate “I’m depressed because of my eating” from “I’m eating this way because I’m depressed” — usually it’s a loop.
Family-of-origin food culture
Grew up with a parent on a permanent diet. Or a household where food was love. Or where bodies were commented on relentlessly. Now you carry the patterns. Adult co-recovery work isn’t blame work — it’s pattern work. We look at what got modeled and what you want differently now.
When to reach out for disordered eating support
Most people wait too long. The signs you’re past the “I’ll fix this on my own” line — even if you don’t want to say it out loud — usually look like this.
If active medical monitoring, dietitian coordination, or a treatment team is what you actually need, the free 15-minute call is where we figure out the right referral.
Colleen Makowsky offers disordered eating support across New Jersey
Colleen Makowsky
MA · LPC · NCC · CCTP · CAIMHP
Licensed counselor in Fort Lee, NJ. Adults across all of New Jersey by secure video.
MA in Community Counseling, Montclair State University. Trauma-informed (CCTP) — weight-inclusive, non-stigmatizing approach to food and body work.
CBT · ACT · trauma-informed care for disordered eating at a non-medical level.
OUR LOCATION
Online disordered eating support across New Jersey
I’m a service-area provider — I work with adults statewide by secure video. My base is Fort Lee, NJ (Bergen County), but you can see me from anywhere in New Jersey.
Hours
Mon–Fri by appointment
Sat & Sun: Closed
Phone
(551) 305-3742
EXPLORE OTHER SERVICES
Other counseling Colleen Makowsky offers in New Jersey
Substance-Use Counseling · Self-Esteem & Life Transitions · Anxiety Therapy · Depression Therapy · Individual Therapy
Common questions about disordered eating support in New Jersey
Do you treat eating disorders?
Active eating disorders — especially ones involving medical risk, vitals monitoring, re-feeding, or coordinated care with a dietitian — need a treatment team, not a solo counselor. What I do is work with the patterns underneath: body image, food guilt, restrictive habits, binge cycles. If you’re not sure whether your situation is “disordered eating” or something that needs a higher level of care, we can figure that out together on the free 15-minute call.
Do you work with HAES, Health At Every Size?
I work weight-inclusively and non-stigmatizingly — I don’t moralize body size, prescribe weight loss, or treat thinness as the goal. I’m not a HAES-certified practitioner and I don’t prescribe the HAES framework as a protocol. What I do is work with your relationship to food and body without using weight as the success metric. If you’re looking for a clinician who works strictly within the HAES protocol, I’m happy to refer.
What’s the difference between counseling with you and a treatment program?
An eating disorder treatment program — residential, IOP, PHP — is structured care with a medical team, a dietitian, group work, and (where relevant) medical monitoring of weight, vitals, and labs. What I offer is one-on-one outpatient counseling with a single counselor (me), 38 to 53 minutes per session, typically weekly. It works well for adults whose patterns don’t require medical monitoring, or as ongoing support after a treatment program.
What modalities do you use?
CBT for the thought-and-impulse patterns. ACT for values-work and what you actually want food and body to feel like. Trauma-informed care, CCTP-credentialed, for the patterns underneath. I’m not trained in EMDR or DBT — if a clinician has recommended either for your eating work, I can refer you to a colleague who specializes in that.
What does insurance cover?
I accept Aetna, Cigna/Evernorth, Optum/UnitedHealthcare/Oxford, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, Oscar, and Medicare. Medicaid is not accepted. Out-of-network billing is available — I can provide a superbill on request. For details, see insurance and cost.
How long are sessions?
38 to 53 minutes, online by secure video. Sessions are scheduled weekly to start, then we adjust based on what the work needs.
How long does counseling take?
Most clients work with me 3 to 12 months — varies by client. Disordered eating work often involves a focused initial phase, followed by a longer maintenance phase at reduced frequency.
What happens on the free 15-minute call?
You tell me what’s bringing you in. I ask a few questions about the patterns. I tell you whether disordered eating support at a non-medical level is a fit, whether one of the other services would suit better, or whether I’d refer you to a treatment team. No charge. No pressure either direction.
RELATED SPECIALTIES
Substance-Use Counseling in NJ · Self-Esteem in NJ · Anxiety Therapy in NJ
READY TO START?
Schedule your free 15-minute consultation
No symptom checkboxes. No food log required. Just a 15-minute call to figure out whether what I offer at a non-medical level is the right fit — or whether you need a treatment team.