Short answer: yes, absolutely.
Research has found that teletherapy can be just as effective as in-person therapy for many mental health concerns, including eating disorders. And beyond the research, I’ve experienced this personally too - much of my own therapy and treatment has been virtual, so I know firsthand that meaningful, deep, and effective healing can happen through a screen.
While teletherapy isn’t the right fit for every person or every situation, it offers some unique advantages that can make eating disorder treatment more accessible, supportive, and effective for many people.
Getting to therapy isn’t equally accessible for everyone.
Transportation has historically been a major barrier to accessing mental health care. Commuting to appointments can be difficult because of finances, time constraints, disability, chronic illness, caregiving responsibilities, executive functioning challenges, or simply the stress of trying to fit one more thing into an already full day.
Teletherapy removes the commute entirely. No driving. No parking. No rushing across town after work. No needing to figure out transportation logistics. For many people, that can make therapy significantly easier to access and sustain.
One of the biggest advantages of teletherapy is that you’re not limited to seeing someone local. Finding an eating disorder therapist with the specific experience, expertise, or identity awareness you’re looking for can be really challenging depending on where you live.
This can be especially true if you’re looking for a therapist who understands intersections such as:
In my practice, I work with many people who spent a long time struggling to find a therapist locally who truly understood these intersections. Teletherapy can dramatically widen the pool of providers available to you, making distance much less of a limiting factor.
A common question I hear is: “But what about medical care?”
Medical monitoring is an important part of eating disorder treatment. Eating disorders can affect physical health in serious ways, and appropriate medical assessment can help evaluate potential impacts.
Receiving therapy remotely doesn’t mean you have to navigate that alone. Telehealth therapists can collaborate with your local medical providers so you can receive in-person labs, vitals, screenings, or other testing in your area when needed. Those results can then help inform your treatment and care planning.
Teletherapy doesn’t mean care happens in isolation - it can still be collaborative, coordinated, and medically informed.
One thing I work hard to cultivate in therapy is a space that is as free as possible from judgment around appearance, particularly body size or weight.
I do not view weight or size as indicators of eating disorder severity, suffering, or recovery progress.
My focus is your internal experience: your symptoms, your distress, your relationship with food and your body, and the ways the eating disorder is impacting your life. I also want clients to be able to validate their own struggles without needing external numbers or visible markers as “proof” that they deserve support.
Interestingly, teletherapy can sometimes reinforce this. On video, there’s naturally a limit to how much can be seen. It can help firmly underscore an important truth: I cannot tell how “sick” you are by looking at you.
The most meaningful assessment of eating disorder severity is not how you look. It’s your symptoms and the impact they’re having on your life.
Therapy can be vulnerable. It can be anxiety-provoking. That’s understandable.
Many people find it easier to open up when they’re in familiar surroundings. Doing therapy from home can feel more comfortable, less intimidating, and more grounding. You might have:
For many neurodivergent clients and clients with trauma histories - both of which overlap significantly with eating disorders - these supports can make a meaningful difference in reducing anxiety and increasing comfort in session.
And yes… sometimes you may get to meet your therapist’s pets too. Click here to learn about my cats, who may join our sessions from time to time!
Support systems can play an important role in eating disorder recovery. Sometimes it’s helpful for friends, partners, parents, or family members to join sessions to learn things like:
In in-person therapy, coordinating schedules and getting everyone into the same room can be difficult - especially when loved ones live far away.
Teletherapy can make this much easier. Family members or friends in different locations can join sessions more easily, which can increase access to collaborative support.
And to be clear, in my practice, this is always approached collaboratively. We explore who, if anyone, you want involved in your treatment and how you want that to look. It’s not about pressure, forced disclosure, or sharing things you don’t want to share. It’s about supporting your goals and helping create the kind of support system that feels useful and safe for you.
Remote therapy can absolutely work for eating disorders. For many people, it can increase accessibility, expand treatment options, support collaborative care, reduce appearance-focused dynamics, create greater comfort, and make involving support systems easier.
At the same time, some people genuinely prefer in-person therapy - and that is completely valid. In-person therapy has its own advantages, and there isn’t one universally “best” format for everyone. What matters most is finding the approach that feels supportive, effective, and sustainable for you.
My practice is currently telehealth-only, and I deeply believe in the effectiveness of virtual care. But I also recognize that treatment fit is highly individual. If we were to find after working together that in-person therapy might better meet your needs, I’m happy to help connect you with an in-person therapist, with full support for finding the format that works best for you.
I’m not here to argue that teletherapy is the right choice for every person or every situation.
I am here to say that healing doesn’t only happen in an office.
Sometimes it happens from your couch, wrapped in a blanket, with your dog next to you, your favorite fidget in your hand, and a therapist who understands your experience - even from miles away.
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