Linda K. Laffey
Marriage and Family Therapist
License# MFC 37134

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Encino  (818) 591-2989         Westlake Village  (805) 375-5860
Eating Disorders and Weight Loss Counseling and Therapy
Has Your Relationship with Food and Your Body Taken Over Your Life?
Perhaps you can relate to one or more of the following:
You DON’T Have to Live This Way Any Longer…
If you identify with any of these feelings and behaviors, you do not need to continue living
with an eating disorder. Whether you are overweight, underweight or close to your ideal
weight, if you have a painful relationship with food, exercise, or the way your body looks,
you can stop the suffering.  You can take steps to change this self-destructive pattern, and
learn to create a healthy, positive relationship with food and your body.
In working with me in therapy you can discover how to overcome your eating
disorder by:
My Counseling Approach Helps You Create Lasting Change with Problems of
Anorexia, Dieting, Binging, Restricting, Exercise, and Body Image
I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with over 12 years of  therapy training and
experience working with people who have eating disorders (anorexia and bulimia) or other
hurtful patterns of relating to food and their bodies.  I have an extensive background as a
therapist, group facilitator, and advocate in the areas of eating disorders, disordered eating,
and healthy weight loss.
My Master’s thesis was a research project that explored the determining factors in the
successful treatment of anorexia nervosa in young women.  An abstract of that thesis was
selected for publication in my graduate school’s annual Progress Journal.
During the earlier years of my therapy practice, I spent close to a year working in a Partial
Hospitalization Program and Intensive Outpatient Program for patients with eating disorders.  
I ran counseling groups and did therapy with individuals suffering from bulimia or anorexia
nervosa and their families during their recovery process.
In September of 2003, I was the featured eating disorders expert in a cover story for the
Ventura County Star.  The story focused on the controversial firing of a ballerina from the
Bolshoi Ballet for being too heavy.
I have always felt passionate about the subject of eating disorders and weight loss, and about
helping people break free from their suffering to create long-term lifestyle changes.  I, too,
once suffered from disordered eating and was able to overcome it with the help of
counseling.  Several of my family members have struggled with obesity, compulsive
overeating, and exercise-resistance, and I have witnessed firsthand just how destructive these
patterns can be.
With my therapy skills, training, experience, and passion for helping people free themselves
from eating and body image problems, along with your consistent willingness, openness and
commitment, we can work together in counseling so that YOU can feel better about yourself
than you ever dreamed possible.
In your therapy with me, I will help you go beyond increased awareness and understanding.  
As you begin to get in touch with painful emotions, you will be discovering new tools to deal
with, manage, and overcome those emotions.  And as you eventually master your emotions,
the painful way you have related to food and your body will become a thing of the past.
Take the First Step…
If you have had enough suffering and want to change it now, please call my voicemail—
805-375-5860 or 818-591-2989—to schedule a no charge 15-minute telephone
consultation.  Let me know the best times to call you back to discuss the problems you are
experiencing, as well as how we can work together to resolve them.

I look forward to hearing from you.
Linda K. Laffey, Marriage and Family Therapist
License # MFC 37134
Linda Laffey provides therapy and counseling to people with anorexia, bulimia, eating disorders and
disordered eating in Encino and Westlake Village, California
Constant obsession with your weight and calorie counting.
Feelings of loss of control when eating.
Guilt or shame after eating.
Repeated and unsuccessful attempts at dieting.
Eating large amounts of food in a short period of time.
Extreme fear of gaining weight, and thoughts about “feeling fat”.
Your weight determines your level of self-esteem.
You feel self-conscious or embarrassed about eating.
You sneak or hide food and lie about your eating habits.
You often fast or severely restrict your calorie intake.
Compulsive exercising or not exercising regularly.
You attempt to compensate for a binge by engaging in self-induced vomiting or by
abusing diuretics or laxatives.
Binge eating when not hungry or to relieve stress or depression.
Eating sensibly in front of others, and then later binging when alone.
Freeing yourself from the obsessive thoughts about food and your body.
Ending the dieting rollercoaster for good, and make choices based on sound
nutritional information, as well as the fulfillment that comes from understanding
what you really want and need.
Feeling confident and in control around food, whether with people or alone.
Identifying and resolving the underlying emotional issues that contribute to your  
disordered eating problems.  Eating disorders are NEVER just about the food or
how your body looks. The residual effects of emotional, social and historical
painful, traumatic or abusive experiences over time are at the root of all eating and
body image problems.
Overcoming exercise-resistance or obsessive exercise, and enjoying a healthy level
of activity, not only because it is good for you, but because you feel and look great.
Making peace with your body, maintaining healthy weight-loss, achieving the ideal
healthy weight for you, and maintaining it for the rest of your life.
Repairing and deepening your relationship with yourself and your body by learning
that you deserve to treat yourself with compassion, love, and respect.