Food Addiction Therapy in Toronto | Expert Treatment
Expert Treatment That Addresses the Root Cause
Overcome out-of-control eating with Brian Baumal, RP- Chair of the International Sugar and Food Addiction Professionals Network (SFAPN) and one of Canada's leading experts who permanently lost 100 pounds. We address the root cause of the cycle in 10–12 sessions using the exact strategies that made our own recoveries successful.
Free 30 min discovery call to explore a sustainable approach for you.
In-person sessions in Toronto. Virtual therapy across Ontario.
Treatment with our lived expereince, validated CBT and addiction principles lasts for 10-12 sessions.
Covered by most extended insurance plans.
*If residing in Ontario
food addiction Therapy
Food Addiction Can be difficult to treat.
We Do It in 10-12 Sessions.
Experts agree that the treatment for severe food addiction is… Take a deep breath… abstinence from trigger foods, which are usually processed sugar and flour! Now before you go screaming-off to another website to find a better solution, just read-on.
Many people who are heavily addicted to food truly know that deep down, this is the answer for them. Moreover, abstinence from trigger foods is only recommended for extreme food addicts, which experts call late-stage food addicts, or those who suffer from volume addiction. Volume addiction is when a person has no satiety cues at all and only stops eating because all the food available is gone.
If you are a mild or moderate food addict, we may work with moderation, and may recommend a proven CBT-based approach to help you manage the intake of your trigger foods. SO DON’T WORRY – WE DON’T RECOMMEND ABSTINENCE TO EVERYONE. THAT IS WHY ASSESSMENTS ARE CRITICAL!!!!
If we recommend abstinence, we do it in a way that is creative, empathetic, supportive, rational, measured, metered, slow and sustainable. If necessary we provide full text support to help with cravings. Our abstinence approach monitors your food noise and eating volume to ensure it goes down over time.
Our main goal in treating any food addiction is to ensure that your cravings, food noise and binge frequency actually decrease. You cannot fight a food addiction with willpower or supportive therapy. WE MUST REDUCE YOUR FOOD NOISE TO BE SUCCESSFUL. Targeted, rational and measured consumption of trigger foods will either eliminate food noise or bring it down to a manageable level. That is our main treatment goal – and we have been quite successful with it.
Aliva is one of the few psychological providers that assesses for the severity of food addiction and/or binge eating disorder, and recommends customized treatment based on severity. If you think you may have a food addiction, let's talk and get your relationship food back on the right track.
Food Addction?”
Meet Our Specialists
Danielle Watson
Registered Psychotherapist,
RP
- Virtual Sessions
Specializing in Eating disorders and grounded in her own recovery journey, Danielle provides expert ongoing care.
Brian Baumal
Registered Psychotherapist, RP, CRPO#3731
- In-Person & Virtual Sessions
Expert Brian built Aliva from his own lived experience, having permanently overcome an eating disorder and sustained a 100-pound weight loss.
Julie Lewis
Registered Psychotherapist, RP, MACP. CRPO#11014
- Virtual Sessions
Food Addiction Therapy
What are some signs i need therapy for food addiction?
Some things we commonly hear from people with food addiction:
- “One is too many.... and 10,000 is NEVER ENOUGH!"
- “I have food noise that is constant and so loud can be deafening.”
- “I eat in secret, or when I am alone.”
- “Sometimes I go to the drivethru three times.”
- “I feel like I am on autopilot when I eat my addictive food. There is no stopping me, until all the food is gone..”
- “I do not have sateity cues. Sometimes I never feel full, continue to eat past full, or eat minutes after I think I have finished a meal.”
Aliva is one of the few providers in Canada who has a solid knowledge of how to treat food addiction in a short period of time.
If You Have A Food Addiction
You Have a Lot of Questions!
Why can’t I just stop? If you have a food addiction, it is like you eat some foods on auto-pilot, as if you lose awareness of what you are doing.
People with food addictions question not only the way they eat, but why they eat the way they do. They know that large amounts of carbs or sugar are unhealthy for them – yet every day, you give in to the food noise in your head.
It’s all made worse by the fact that your trigger or addictive foods are everywhere. If you live with others, they may want to keep your danger foods in the house for their own consumption. Other times, people push food on you even when you tell them no. These same people tell you to “just stop” after one serving of your food, and you know you can’t.
Oh, and let’s not forget that there are fast food places on every street corner, and Uber Eats has now weaponized our phones against us. You could have 5,000 calories ordered to your house faster than it takes to prepare a healthy meal!
Therapy for weight management, eating disorders*, and food addiction issues – minus the shame, embarrassment, or fear—online sessions across Ontario. Serving downtown Toronto in-person or online.
Who we are
Why Work With Aliva Psychotherapy
Issues with food and body are serious. At Aliva, the first thing we do is just listen because few people truly understand eating issues, including other therapists. Our therapy is approachable, affable and effective. It may even put a smile on your face.
At Aliva Psychotherapy, we don’t give “tips”; we dive deep to uncover the psychological barriers preventing you from seeing results. From fear to procrastination, we’ve seen it all, and we’re here to help you laugh, cry, and work your way through the toughest food challenges.
If you’ve hit your lowest point with your struggles, or are sick and tired of endless cycles, we offer compassionate guidance and support. Let’s turn your past attempts into valuable lessons, and make this time different together.
We would like to show you how therapy with Aliva can be the most powerful, fun experience you’ve ever had.
Aliva was founded by Brian Baumal, RP, after he permanently lost 100 pounds and recovered from exercise bulimia and binge eating. He’s now Chair of the Sugar and Food Addiction Professionals Network and has been featured on The Food Junkies Podcast and The Kick Sugar Coach Podcast. Danielle Watson, RP joined the team grounded in her own recovery.
Every therapist who works here has done their own recovery with food, weight, or body. That’s the foundation under everything that happens in session.
Our Approach
How Our Food Addiction Therapy Works
We Fully Assess
for Food Addiction
Few providers of therapy for eating issues understand food addiction, and virtually none have a formal assessment for it. At Aliva we have been successfully assessing food addictions for years.
We Help You
Feel Supported
Often times treatment begins just by being fully understood. Many people with food addiction are incorrectly treated for binge eating disorder, and many other medical providers and loved ones do not understand it at all.
Food Addiction
Treatment Protocol
Food addiction treatment involves eliminating trigger foods, setting very strong food rules. deploying strategies to manage the addictive voice, and creating a stronger purpose in life than feeding the addiction.
The Therapy Lasts 10-12 Sessions
Over this time you will learn to understand how the addiction operates, and how you can stand-up to it. You will understand the dynamics of your addiction - like how it talks to and manipulates you. You'll learn how to avoid future relapses.
Aliva Psychotherapy
How To Get Started
Take the first step toward living freely as you. Get started with Aliva Psychotherapy in Toronto.
Please email, call us, or send an inquiry via our contact form to request an appointment. We will be in touch within 24 business hours.
Have a question before booking? Send us a message below.
food addiction Therapy
Aliva Psychotherapy
Helping you rewrite your relationship with food and live as your happiest, most confident self!
