How to Find a Therapist for Obesity

According to the National Institutes of Health, one-third of Americans are obese. Obesity is determined by a person's body mass index (BMI), a ratio of height to weight, being 30 or greater. Although there is a lot of focus on the complications of this serious medical condition, obesity can also leave people with many emotional wounds. Depression, anxiety and stress may be the cause of obesity or may worsen it. By finding a therapist, you can deal with past traumas, your relationship with food and develop better coping mechanisms.

Instructions

• 1

  Make an appointment with your doctor to determine if you are obese. Your doctor can determine your BMI and provide you with medical information about weight loss. In addition, your doctor may have a list of local therapists he can recommend for you to work with to achieve mental well-being and set weight loss goals.

• 2

  Make a list of the attributes you are looking for in a therapist. Many people prefer seeing either a man or a woman therapist. Also consider the type of therapy you would prefer. There are several different kinds of therapy, such as cognitive behavioral, psychoanalytic and dialectical behavioral therapy, that psychologists and therapists use as their therapeutic methodology.

• 3

  Contact your insurance company to get more information about your coverage. Insurance companies have different terms that cover either a certain amount of therapy session costs or a percentage of the cost of one session. Ask them if you will need to pay a deductible and how long they will cover your therapeutic treatment.

• 4

  Find a therapist who specializes in eating disorders. Obesity can be caused by compulsive eating or binge eating, which are two common types of eating disorders. Compulsive eating is an addiction to food, which causes the individual to hide their emotions by eating an excessive amount of high-calorie food. The symptoms of binge eating include eating when you are full, feeling out-of-control and harboring emotions of shame and disgust from your actions.

• 5

  Interview therapists. Set up initial evaluation appointments with several different therapists in your area. Ask them about their professional history in regard to treating people with obesity. Find out what approaches they've used and what kind of goals they typically set. See if you and the therapist "click" and if you feel comfortable confiding in the person.