When food and your body start to feel like a prison…
Eating Disorder & Chronic Dieting Therapy in Chicago, Illinois
Services Available Throughout Illinois and Indiana
If food takes up way too much space in your brain, you are not alone and eating disorder therapy in Chicago could help today.
Maybe you are constantly thinking about what you ate, what you are going to eat, or what you “shouldn’t” have eaten. Maybe you promise yourself you will start over Monday. Maybe you do “good” all day and feel out of control at night. Maybe your mood depends on the number on the scale.
You might look disciplined, health-conscious, or high-achieving.
But… your life feels obsessive, rigid, and exhausting.
I provide eating disorder therapy in Chicago and virtual therapy throughout Illinois and Indiana for teens and young adults who are ready to step out of food obsession and body shame and into something steadier, freer, and actually sustainable.
Does This Sound Like You?
You might be struggling with:
Constant calorie tracking or macro counting
Fear of weight gain that drives your daily decisions
Binge eating followed by guilt and restriction
Cutting out more and more foods “just to be safe”
Body checking, mirror checking, or avoiding mirrors altogether
Comparing your body to everyone else
Thinking about food more than you want to admit
Feeling like your worth depends on your body or willpower
You might have a diagnosed eating disorder. Or you might say, “It’s not that bad, I just have no control around food” or “I’m just trying to be healthy.”
If food feels chaotic, controlling, or all-consuming, that is enough.
Eating disorder therapy in Chicago can help.
The Quiet Struggle
Many of my clients are teens, college students, or young adults who are doing well academically or professionally. They are responsible. Driven. Insightful.
And completely exhausted.
You might be the one who follows the rules, sets high standards, and prides yourself on discipline. Restriction can feel like control. Dieting can feel productive. Tracking can feel safe.
Until it doesn’t.
Eating disorders and chronic dieting thrive on perfectionism, anxiety, and black-and-white thinking. They convince you that if you just try harder, restrict more, or find the “right” plan, everything will click.
But instead, your world gets smaller.
You skip events because of food.
You cannot focus because you are thinking about the next meal.
You avoid dating, traveling, or spontaneity.
You feel behind in life because so much energy goes toward managing your body.
You deserve more than that.
Chronic Dieting and Eating Disorder Therapy in Chicago Can Take You From Food Obsession to Food Freedom
Let’s go from:
Negotiating with yourself in front of the fridge
→ Eating consistently without spiraling
Starting over every Monday
→ Building sustainable, flexible habits
Feeling out of control around food
→ Trusting your hunger and fullness cues
Treating your body like a project
→ Treating your body like your home
Avoiding pictures, mirrors, or social events
→ Showing up fully in your own life
That shift is possible! Maybe not overnight or through another rigid plan, but through intentional, evidence-based eating disorder therapy.
How Eating Disorder Therapy Can Help in Chicago, Illinois
In our work together, we focus on more than just food.
Yes, we address behaviors like restriction, binge eating, purging, or compulsive exercise. But we also explore what is underneath them. Anxiety. Control. Perfectionism. Fear of not being enough.
I use evidence-based approaches including:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for eating disorders
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to build psychological flexibility
Exposure work to reduce fear foods and body image avoidance
Intuitive Eating principles to rebuild trust with your body
This is not about “just love yourself” or “just stop dieting.” It is structured, skill-based, and collaborative.
You will learn how to:
Normalize eating patterns
Reduce food guilt and black-and-white thinking
Tolerate body image distress without spiraling
Challenge intrusive food and weight thoughts
Build coping strategies that are not based on control
Most importantly, we anchor the work in your values.
This is not just about eating differently.
It is about living differently.
Chicago Eating Disorder and Chronic Dieting Intensive Coming Soon!
Are you tired of thinking about food all. the. time?
Maybe you’ve spent years bouncing between dieting, “starting over Monday,” tracking what you eat, feeling guilty after meals, or trying to follow the perfect food rules. Maybe you’re technically eating more, but you still feel anxious around food, uncomfortable in your body, and stuck in the same patterns.
Or perhaps you’re in eating disorder recovery and know what you’re “supposed” to do, but actually doing it feels a whole lot harder.
Instead of trying another diet plan, let’s see what life can feel like if you break free from the cycle.
A More Focused Approach to Eating Disorder Recovery in Chicago
Coming soon, I’ll be offering eating disorder and chronic dieting intensives for teens and young adults who want more focused support around food, eating, body image, and recovery.
These intensives will provide dedicated time to work on the things that can feel difficult to tackle during a typical therapy session, including:
Meal support and navigating anxiety before, during, and after eating
Building practical intuitive eating skills
Challenging rigid food rules and chronic dieting patterns
Reducing food guilt, shame, and fear
Learning to tolerate uncertainty and discomfort around food
Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to build psychological flexibility
Identifying avoidance patterns that keep eating disorder behaviors going
Reconnecting with your values and building a life that isn’t organized around food, weight, or your body
Developing skills to handle triggering situations, social eating, restaurants, and everyday meals
Moving toward eating disorder recovery without waiting to feel 100% comfortable first
I’m not going to help you become “better at dieting.”
My goal is to help you stop needing to diet in the first place.
Intensives will offer a more concentrated space to practice the skills that help you move from knowing what to do to actually doing it.
Coming Soon to Chicago | Join the Waitlist
I’m currently preparing to launch eating disorder and chronic dieting intensives in my Chicago practice. If you’re interested in learning more or want first access when spots become available, reach out to inquire or join the waitlist. In your inquiry, please mention your interest in the eating disorder and chronic dieting intensives.
A Note About Payment
These intensives will be self-pay only. Insurance companies place limitations on the structure, length, and type of services they will reimburse, which makes it difficult to offer the focused, flexible format that intensives are designed to provide.
Self-pay allows us to use our time more intentionally and focus the intensive around your specific goals and needs, rather than designing treatment around insurance requirements. It also gives us more flexibility to incorporate focused meal support, skills practice, and deeper work that may not fit neatly into a traditional therapy session.
If you’re curious about whether an intensive could be a good fit for you, reach out to learn more - no pressure and no commitment.
Learn More About Your Chicago Eating Disorder Therapist
Hi! My name is Beatrice Pacyga and I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor specializing in the treatment of eating disorders and disordered eating in the Chicagoland area. I am a passionate believer in Health At Every Size and Intuitive Eating Principles. I believe in body-acceptance and respect and that food should be a part of our life, but not all of it. Our relationships with food and our body are so intricate and complex, and easily muddled and influenced by outside forces. I teach clients to tune out the diet culture noise and start making choices that truly support their health values and make them actually feel GOOD in their mind, body and soul.
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If you are a teen, food and body image struggles often overlap with social pressure, academic stress, and identity development. Therapy gives you a space that is fully yours, where you are not being judged, monitored, or graded.
If you are a college student or young adult, you might feel like you “should be over this by now.” You might feel embarrassed that food still has this much power.
You are not behind. You are not dramatic. You are dealing with patterns that are deeply reinforced by anxiety and culture.
And they can change.
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Recovery does not mean never having a negative thought about your body again.
It means:
Thoughts about food take up less space
You can eat regular meals without intense fear
Social plans are not dictated by calories
You feel more present in your relationships
Your goals are about your life, not just your weight
Eating disorder therapy in Chicago and virtual therapy in Illinois and Indiana can help you move from rigid and consumed to flexible and grounded.
You do not have to wait until it gets worse. You do not have to prove that it is “bad enough.”
If you are tired of negotiating with yourself every day, we can start there.
You deserve a life that is bigger than food. And I would be honored to help you build it.
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If you are tired of the constant cycle of dieting, feeling overwhelmed by conflicting food rules, or struggling to feel at peace in your own body, you might benefit from meeting with a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor for therapy.
As a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor (CIEC), I have completed specialized, evidence-based training to help you heal your relationship with food and your body. Think of me as your compassionate guide on a journey back to yourself. Together, we will work to quiet the noise of diet culture, dismantle food guilt, and help you reconnect with your body’s natural wisdom.
Using the 10 Principles of Intuitive Eating, I provide a safe, weight-inclusive, and judgment-free space where you can learn to trust your internal cues of hunger, fullness, and satisfaction again. My goal is to help you rediscover the joy of eating and cultivate a sense of ease, respect, and peace with your body. You don't have to navigate this path alone, I am here to support you every step of the way!
Chicago Therapy Services
Always Blooming Counseling is proud to offer many different therapy services in Chicago. Visit each service page to learn more.