Acceptance Path Counseling
Eating disorder therapist for adults
Food, eating and your body can take up more of the day than you want them to.
Weekly sessions with an eating disorder therapist, for adults whose relationship with eating has become hard to live with, whether or not you have a diagnosis, and whether or not you are ready to change anything yet.
for you.
- Select insurance plans accepted
- Self-pay $100–$150 per session
- For adults in Houston-Willowbrook, The Woodlands, and Katy
- Online across Texas
In crisis or thinking about suicide? Call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, any time.
If someone is in immediate danger, call 911. Counseling here is not an emergency service.
Who you might work with
Licensed counselors, matched to what you need
You are matched with a counselor based on what you need and who is available. These are some of the team.
Tell us that eating is what you want to work on and we will take that into account when we match you.
AJ Huynh
Director · LPC
Works with ACT, CBT and mindfulness-based approaches, with a focus on what matters to you rather than symptoms alone.
Brenda Resendez
Clinical Director · LPC
Blends ACT, CBT and motivational interviewing, adapting the approach to where you are rather than a fixed program.
Ricardo Alvarez
LPC
Draws on mindfulness, IFS and ACT, and offers EMDR at The Woodlands. A gentle, flexible approach that meets you where you are.
Cost and coverage
Know the cost before you begin.
For insured sessions, we verify your benefits and share an estimated out-of-pocket cost before the first session. That estimate is separate from the self-pay rates below.
Self-pay, per session
- Fully licensed clinician
- $150
- Associate clinician
- $100
Matching may include an associate clinician. Tell us if cost is a concern so we can discuss the options available to you.
Plans we currently work with
Coverage, cost, and availability depend on your plan, your eligibility at the time of service, and the clinician you see.
- Aetna
- Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Texas
- UnitedHealthcare
- Cigna
- Oscar
- Oxford
- Horizon BCBS
- BCBS of Massachusetts
- Original Medicare
- UHC Medicare Advantage
- Quest Behavioral Health
- Carelon Behavioral Health
Do not see your plan? Ask our team: consultations are free, and a limited number of sliding-scale openings may be available.
Daily life
It takes up room you would rather spend on something else.
Planning around a meal before you get there. Doing the arithmetic afterwards.
Turning down the dinner because you do not know what will be served. Feeling fine about a day and then not.
You can talk about all of that without being asked to change it that week. What you want to work on, and how fast, is yours to set.
What you might work on
- The rulesNoticing the ones you follow, where they came from, and what they cost.
- The moment afterWhat to do with guilt, and how not to let it set up the next day.
- Eating with peopleMeals out, holidays, and the conversations that come with them.
- The body partHow you talk to yourself about your body, and what would have to change.
You can try something between sessions, then talk about what fit and what got in the way.
Understanding eating disorders
They do not all look the same
These names describe different patterns. They are a starting point for a conversation, not a test you have to pass to deserve help.
You can have a hard relationship with eating and not fit any of them.
Anorexia nervosa
Restricting what you eat, alongside a strong fear of gaining weight or a view of your body that others do not share. It occurs at any body size.
Bulimia nervosa
Episodes of eating a large amount in one go, followed by something meant to undo it, and often by shame that keeps the cycle private.
Binge-eating disorder
Repeated episodes of eating past comfort with a sense of losing control, without the behaviours that follow bulimia. It is the most common eating disorder.
ARFID
Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder: avoiding food because of texture, taste, or a fear of choking or being sick, rather than because of body image.
“Orthorexia”
An everyday term, not a formal diagnosis, for eating “clean” becoming rigid enough to narrow your food, your time, or your social life.
Disordered eating
Patterns that do not meet a diagnosis and still take up real room: chronic dieting, food rules, eating to manage feelings.
What can contribute
- Family history
- Trauma or chronic stress
- Anxiety, depression, or low self-worth
- Dieting and weight stigma
- Perfectionism or a need for control
- Puberty, illness, or a major life change
Eating disorders rarely have one cause, and none of this is anyone’s fault. Understanding what sits underneath is part of the work, not a prerequisite for starting it.
How we work
How eating disorder counseling works here
This is weekly individual counseling with one therapist. Three things do most of the work, mindfulness runs through all of them, and nobody is asked to change what they eat on day one.
You can ask about the approach in the first session and change your mind later.
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Working out what it does for you
Early on you and your counselor map what the eating, the restricting or the rules are doing, what they quiet, what they give you control over, and what they cost. That is ordinary CBT, and it changes one thing straight away: the pattern stops looking like a character flaw and starts looking like a job it has been doing, and a job can be handed to something else.
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Acceptance and commitment therapy
ACT is the approach every counselor here works from, alongside motivational interviewing for the part of you that is not sure it wants this to change. It does not argue with the thought about your body or the number; it loosens the thought’s grip so it can be there without running the day, and puts the time you get back into what you actually value.
Some counselors also draw on IFS when what is underneath the eating is older than the eating, and two, Ricardo Alvarez and Maria Landa, offer EMDR at The Woodlands and Katy.
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The people beside us
Counseling is the talking part, and it is the only part we provide. We do not weigh you, set meal plans or manage your physical health, and we do not run a day, intensive or residential program.
Eating disorders can affect the body at any size, so we ask that a physician follows your health alongside counseling, and many people also work with a dietitian; if you have neither, say so and we will help you find them. If weekly sessions are not enough, your counselor will tell you plainly and help you look for more rather than keep you here.
Getting started
A person to talk to. A place to begin.
Matching starts with what matters to you. You have a say in your goals and in whether the therapist feels like a fit.
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Tell us what you need
Use the matching form to share what brings you here and whether you prefer an office or online sessions.
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Explore your match
We suggest a counselor based on what you shared, who is available, and whether you want an office or online. You can ask about their approach before you decide.
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Start where you are
In your first session, talk about what feels hard. You do not need to have decided what you are willing to change.
Before your first session
If it helps, you might jot down:
- One recent day that was harder than the rest
- What was going on around it
- What you would like to be different in a year
These notes are optional. You do not need numbers, a food diary, or a tidy history: bring whatever you can say that day.
The Reset Guarantee
If the fit is wrong, tell us and we will match you with a different counselor. Your first session with them is free.
Near you, or online
Choose where you meet
Meet in person at one of our three Houston-area offices, or choose telehealth anywhere in Texas.
Houston-Willowbrook
12807 Haynes Rd, Building C1
Houston, TX 77066
The Woodlands
2219 Sawdust Rd, Suite 1204
The Woodlands, TX 77380
Katy
21715 Kingsland Blvd, Suite 105
Katy, TX 77450
Online across Texas
Prefer to meet from home? Explore telehealth counseling in Texas.
Think about where you could talk with some privacy and fewer interruptions. If that is hard to arrange, ask our team about meeting at an office instead.
A few questions
Before you start
Have a different question? Ask our team when you get matched.
Do I need a diagnosis to start?
No, many people come here with food rules, dieting, or body image worries that have never been given a name. If it is taking up room in your life, that is reason enough.
Am I “bad enough” for this?
Eating disorders occur at every body size, and nothing has to have gone badly wrong for counseling to be worth having. You do not need to prove anything to book a first session.
Will I be weighed, or asked to change what I eat?
Not here: we do not weigh you, set meal plans, or supervise eating, because that is medical and dietetic work. Counseling is the talking part, and what you change is yours to decide with your therapist.
Do I need a doctor or a dietitian as well?
We ask that a physician follows your physical health alongside counseling, because eating disorders can affect the body at any size, and many people also work with a dietitian. If you do not have either, tell us and we will talk about how to find them.
What if I need more support than weekly counseling?
Some people need a day program or inpatient treatment, which we do not provide. If that is what the situation calls for, your counselor will say so and help you look for it rather than keep you in weekly sessions.
What kind of therapy do you use?
Most often acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and mindfulness-based work, chosen with you rather than assigned.
Can I meet with a counselor online?
Yes. Secure video sessions are available across Texas, with the same therapists you would see at one of our offices.
What if my therapist is not the right fit?
If the fit is wrong, tell us and we will match you with a different counselor. Your first session with them is free.
Your next step
You do not have to be ready to change anything yet.
Tell us what has been hard, and we will help you find a counselor.
In crisis? Call or text 988 any time.
Counseling here is not an emergency service.
We provide diagnosis, assessment and therapy. Our clinicians are licensed in Texas as professional counselors, clinical social workers or marriage and family therapists, and none of them prescribe medication; if you see a prescriber, counseling runs alongside that.
This is talk therapy, not medical care, so we ask that a physician follows your physical health as well.