Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) can have a big impact on daily life, making it challenging to enjoy meals, maintain nutrition and even socialise around food. For those with ARFID, finding the right therapy is essential to making meaningful and lasting change.
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ARFID Therapy Types
There are three main approaches to ARFID therapy; exposure therapy, food chaining and my gentle therapy, which centres around logic and relaxation. To have the best shot at overcoming ARFID and SED, you need to find the therapy that works for you.
1. Traditional Food Exposure Therapy
Food exposure therapy is a gradual, step-by-step approach where you work with a therapist to slowly increase your tolerance to avoided foods. Starting with minimal exposure, you progress to small tastes and, eventually, eating these foods.
While exposure therapy can be effective, it requires sustained effort, patience and a lot of sessions. The process can be anxiety-inducing, especially as each exposure session involves direct interaction with foods that trigger fear or discomfort. The time and stress involved in exposure therapy make it challenging to stay engaged.
2. Food Chaining
Food chaining builds on the principles of exposure therapy but with a more targeted approach. You begin with foods that have similar textures, flavours or appearances to the foods you already tolerate. For example, if you’re comfortable eating crackers, you might try a new food with a similar crunch, but a slightly different taste. Gradually, you’re introduced to foods that take you further from your comfort zone.
While food chaining is slow and often less overwhelming than broad exposure therapy, it still involves a lengthy process and can be stressful if you struggle with sensory sensitivity or anxiety around new foods. It can take months or even longer to see significant progress with food chaining.
3. My Gentle Therapy
In contrast to the time-intensive, direct approaches of exposure therapy and food chaining, the quick and gentle therapy I use provides a fresh alternative. My approach focuses on the root causes of ARFID – which often stems from subconscious fears or associations related to food – and works to resolve these underlying triggers without direct food exposure. By addressing the internal blocks causing food aversions, you can begin to experience relief without the need for repeated exposure to specific foods.
The major advantage of this approach is its speed and reduced anxiety, with many clients noticing a shift in their relationship with food after just one session. Unlike food chaining or exposure therapy, there is no pressure to confront feared foods directly. Instead, my therapy empowers you to shift your perception and decrease your anxiety around eating, creating a safer, faster path to improvement.
Why My Approach is Often the Best Choice for ARFID
If you’re looking for a solution that brings fast, noticeable results without the stress of exposure sessions, my therapy could be just what you’re looking for. I help you to feel at ease with eating in general, not just with specific foods, and I do so in a flexible, relaxing and logical way. Get in touch to find out more.
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