Improve your Mental Wellbeing & Happiness
Psychological Services
Michelle can help people with a variety of concerns including:
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eating disorder treatment (anorexia nervosa, atypical anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, avoidance restrictive eating disorder)
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improving relationships with food (emotional eating, 'food noise', guilty feelings / thoughts about food)
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improving body image
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treatment of clinical depression
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treatment of anxiety disorders
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personality and emotional regulation difficulties ​
- relationship difficulties
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coping with life or work stressors / events / grief and loss
“Although you may not always be able to avoid difficult situations, you can modify the extent to which you can suffer by how you choose to respond to the situation.”
– Dalai Lama
Eating Disorder Treatment
Michelle is trained in a variety of evidence-based treatments to help people with eating disorders, disordered eating, poor body image, poor relationship with food and exercise, etc.
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Michelle has advanced training and experience within this area, predominantly in the use of CBT-E (Cognitive Behaviour Therapy Enhanced) and Schema Therapy. She also has additional training in: CBT-AF (CBT to treat Avoidance Restrictive Food Intake Disorder), FBT (Family Based Treatment) and MANTRA (Maudsley Model of Anorexia Treatment for Adults). Michelle's preferred framework for treating people with eating disorders is schema therapy, CBT-E or a combination of the two treatments.
Eating disorders often arise from emotional pain that standard treatments like CBT-E do not always address. Schema therapy provides a deeper, more compassionate approach to recovery. It is particularly helpful for individuals whose eating disorder is linked to:​
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trauma and attachment wounds
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chronic shame or self-criticism
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perfectionism and identity confusion
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comorbid personality difficulties
Recent studies show that schema therapy can reduce emotional dysregulation and eating disorder behaviours / thoughts, making it a powerful option when traditional treatments have failed.
Michelle is currently completing the final stages of the advanced accreditation in schema therapy. Her extensive experience in treating eating disorders, combined with the intensive training of the advanced schema therapist accreditation uniquely positions her to support clients with eating disorders who also have other complex mental health needs, including trauma, chronic anxiety, depression, and personality difficulties. Michelle's compassionate and skilled approach is ideal for clients who have not responded to traditional methods such as CBT / CBT-E and are seeking deeper, longer-lasting healing.
"Lesser inner thigh doesn't necessarily equate to more inner peace" - Dr. Rick Kausman
Eating Behaviour & Body Image Concerns
Michelle is passionate about a Health At Every Size (HAES) and the Non-Diet approach to health and wellbeing. HAES and the Non-Diet approaches are evidence-based, weight-neutral, size-inclusive, and body-positive perspectives to health and wellbeing.
Michelle completed her doctoral thesis exploring the psychological reasons why we eat (non-hungry eating) and the psychological explanations for yo-yo dieting / weight cycling. She helps people understand the psychological and physical effects of dieting and why dieting can cause eating disorders, disordered eating (including binge eating), excessive guilt, compulsive thoughts about food and eating, and paradoxically, future weight gain.
Through therapy, people are able to achieve an improved relationship with food and with themselves. This is often attained through body acceptance, intuitive eating / mindful eating, reducing guilt about eating, and exploring reasons for emotional eating / binge eating / over eating / compulsive eating.
"And I said to my body, softly 'I want to be your friend.' It took a long breath and replied,
'I have been waiting my whole life for this.'" - Nayyirah Waheed