Bulimia Therapy in Philadelphia and Across Pennsylvania
Specialist bulimia treatment for teens and adults, in every body size. In person in Philadelphia and Devon, virtual throughout Pennsylvania.
Doctoral-level clinicians, every one of whom has worked in higher levels of eating disorder care. Weight-inclusive. Nothing you tell us will shock us.
Bulimia is one of the loneliest eating disorders to live with, because it is built for hiding.
From the outside, life can look completely normal. Work gets done. Friends are seen. Nobody notices anything. And underneath, there is a cycle that takes up an enormous amount of time, energy and mental space, followed every time by a wave of shame that makes it harder to tell…well…anyone.
If you have never actually named what is going on out loud to another person, you are NOT alone. Most of the people we work with carry it silently (sometimes for years) before reaching out. So please hear us when we say-we are honored when someone even considers sharing anything about their hidden relationoship with food with us. And you do not have to have hit any particular point to deserve help, nor do you even have to be ready to stop.
What Is Bulimia?
Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by a recurring cycle of binge eating followed by behaviors intended to compensate for or undo it, alongside a sense of self-worth that has become tightly bound to weight and shape.
The two things that most define it are loss of control and secrecy. The cycle tends to feel automatic and inescapable, and the shame surrounding it keeps it hidden (often even from the people closest to the person experiencing it).
Hear us when we say this nexy part: Bulimia is a serious illness with real medical consequences. AND it is also highly treatable. Recovery is possible at any stage, including after years of illness and after previous attempts that did not hold.
Bulimia Does Not Have a Body Type
People with bulimia can present in all different body sizes. The cruel reality is that when someone with bulimia lives in an average or larger body, it will often go unnoticed and untreated for so long. Friends, family and doctors see nothing "wrong" and conclude that nothing is.
And some people are actively complimented on their appearance while the illness is at its worst.
Wildflower Therapy is a weight-inclusive, Health at Every Size informed practice. We assess what is happening in your relationship with food, your body and your life, NOT what your body looks like. If you have been dismissed, doubted or told you do not look like someone with an eating disorder, you are welcome here. This WILL be a different experience for you.
Why control backfires
Why the Cycle Is So Hard to Break Alone
Almost everyone with bulimia has tried to stop through control: stricter rules, cleaner eating, more discipline, a fresh start on Monday.
The reason that rarely works is that restriction is what powers the cycle. When the body is under-fueled, whether through skipping meals, cutting out foods or living by rules about what is allowed, preoccupation with food rises and the drive to eat eventually overwhelms whatever willpower is holding it back. The compensating that follows restores a sense of control, and it also resets the conditions for the next episode.
Essentially, the harder someone tries to fix bulimia with discipline, the more firmly it tends to lock in. That is not a character failure. It is how the illness works. We believe that effective treatment needs to move in the opposite direction: less control, fewer rules, and adequate, predictable nutrition.
What you might be noticing
What It Can Cost You
You do not need to meet any list of criteria to reach out. But you might recognize some of this:
Food, eating and your body take up far more of your mind than you want them to
A large part of your day, or your week, is organized around the cycle or around hiding it
Eating around other people has become stressful, or something you avoid
Your mood swings with what you did or did not eat
You feel like two different people: the one everyone sees, and the one nobody does
You have made promises to yourself about stopping, many times
Physical symptoms you have not told a doctor about, because you would have to explain them
If any of that is familiar, a consultation call is a low-stakes place to say it for the first time.
Bulimia, OCD and Perfectionism
Bulimia frequently sits alongside obsessive-compulsive patterns and perfectionism: rigid rules about food and eating, all-or-nothing thinking, rituals, and a harsh internal standard that extends well beyond food into work, school and relationships.
Several of our clinicians hold formal training in OCD, including exposure and response prevention. This is particularly helpful because the rigidity and rituals in bulimia often respond to the same approaches, and because a clinician who recognizes obsessive-compulsive patterns will treat them as part of the illness rather than as stubbornness.
Adults With Bulimia
Bulimia most often begins in adolescence or early adulthood, but many of the people we work with are adults who have lived with it for ten, fifteen or twenty years. Some were treated once and relapsed. Many were never treated at all.
Long-standing bulimia does NOT mean untreatable bulimia. It usually means the illness has become woven into daily life alongside jobs, relationships and, children. We treat adults as a core part of our practice, and work alongside of people to carefully address the ways that illnesses like this have become habitual.
Teenagers
For adolescents, we offer Family-Based Treatment, an evidence-based approach in which parents take an active, supported role in their child's recovery.
If you are a parent who has noticed something and is not sure what you are seeing, or who has found something out and does not know what to do next, you are welcome to reach out on your own. We support parents in their own right, and we will help you work out the next step.
How We Work
Treatment begins with understanding your particular cycle, your history and what has and has not worked before.
Your clinician may draw on cognitive behavioral therapy adapted for eating disorders, dialectical behavioral skills for emotional regulation and urges, exposure-based work where anxiety and ritual are driving the pattern, Family-Based Treatment for adolescents, body image work, and trauma-focused approaches where earlier experiences are part of the picture.
Bulimia has physical consequences that need medical attention alongside therapy, so we work as part of a team. We coordinate with your physician, dietitian and psychiatrist so that your medical care and your therapy are connected, and we will help you have that conversation with a doctor if you have been avoiding it.
Stepping down from a treatment program?
If you or your child are leaving residential, partial hospitalization or intensive outpatient care, finding an outpatient therapist who can hold the intensity of early recovery matters enormously. Every clinician on our team has worked inside higher levels of care. We speak the same clinical language as your treatment team, we collaborate closely with dietitians, physicians and psychiatrists, and we are comfortable with clients in earlier stages of recovery than many outpatient practices will accept.
Why Families Choose Wildflower
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Every clinician has worked in higher levels of care
That experience shapes what we can hold.
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Weight-inclusive
We treat bulimia in every body size
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Doctoral-level training
Our founder is a licensed clinical psychologist and published author, and several clinicians hold doctoral degrees.
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OCD-trained clinicians
For the many people whose bulimia is entangled with rigidity and ritual.
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Many of us have been there
In our own recovery or alongside someone we love.
Where we see you
In person in Philadelphia and on the Main Line,
virtual across Pennsylvania
Philadelphia
1315 Walnut Street, Suite 802
Our Philadelphia office is in Center City at 1315 Walnut Street, in the heart of the Gayborhood, easy to reach from anywhere in the city.
Devon, Main Line
237 Lancaster Avenue, Suite 253
Our Devon office serves families across the Main Line, including Wayne, Villanova, Ardmore, Bryn Mawr, Haverford, Radnor, Berwyn, and the surrounding towns.
Do you offer virtual bulimia therapy in Pennsylvania?
Yes, across all of Pennsylvania, which many clients prefer for this work in particular.
We are additionally licensed in NJ, DE, FL, MA, VA, SC, OH and VT, including students living in any of these states even if their parents live elsewhere.
In their words
What colleagues and clients say
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I’ve had the opportunity to collaborate with this practice professionally and have been consistently impressed by their team. Their therapists are incredibly knowledgeable, compassionate, and impactful in the eating disorder space. I always feel confident working with Colleen and her team. If you're looking for an eating disorder therapist, look no further!
– Hannah Pfohl
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Colleen and her team at Wildflower Therapy are experts in eating disorder therapy and truly understand what it means to be neurodiversity affirming. They are also expert at understanding the nuances that come with providing quality care for folks navigating IVF, infertility, and other reproductive care concerns. They are my go-to recommendation for eating disorder therapists in Center City, Philadelphia- relatable, smart, down to earth, kind. You or your family member will be in good hands!
- Katie Fries
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As a Registered Dietitian working in the field of eating disorders, I work with (and refer to!) therapists every day. The entire team at Wildflower Therapy is such a warm, inviting, and talented group of individuals. I love sharing clients with the folks there because I know they are in the best hands possible. Wildflower Therapy is a special place that offers nonjudgmental, human-centered care like no other. If you are a clinician looking to refer (and make great friends in the process) or a client looking for a safe space to share your experiences, look no further!
- Emily Craft
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The team at Wildflower Therapy is incredible! They are so talented, compassionate and true experts in the field of eating disorders and body image. As a therapist myself I have shared clients with them and know first hand how helpful they are. I would absolutely not hesitate to send my own family here.
- Allyson Ford
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Colleen and her team are truly remarkable. Their compassion, competence, and caring when working with therapy clients is unmatched. Highly recommend!
- Nicole McNelis
Our clinicians
Meet Our Bulimia Therapists
Our clinicians bring doctoral-level training, specialized eating disorder experience, and genuine warmth. Get to know each therapist, their specializations, and their credentials on our team page.
Dr. Colleen Reichmann
Psychologist, Founder
Samantha Palmer
LPC
Dr. Ilana Levin
Psychologist, Supervisor
Zia Klein
LCSW
Dr. Yvette Karvay
Postdoctoral Fellow
Casey Harvey
LCSW
Dr. Brooke Schleyer
Postdoctoral Fellow
Erika Zaslow
LPC
Investment and Insurance
We are a private-pay practice, which lets us keep caseloads small and tailor treatment to each client. We provide superbills for out-of-network reimbursement, and many families receive partial reimbursement from their plans. We will explain exactly how this works on your consultation call.
Three steps
Getting started is simple
Step one
Reach out
Contact us through our contact page or call (215) 668-9356 to schedule a free 30-minute consultation.
Step two
We match you
We match you with the clinician whose eating disorder experience best fits your situation.
Step three
Begin
In Philadelphia, in Devon, or virtually from anywhere in Pennsylvania.
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Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder involving a recurring cycle of binge eating and behaviours intended to compensate for it, alongside self-worth that has become tied to weight and shape. It is a serious illness and it is treatable. -
Yes. Most people with bulimia are not underweight, which is one of the main reasons it goes unrecognized. We treat bulimia in every body size.
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No. If your relationship with food is taking over your life or causing you distress, that is reason enough to reach out.
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That is very common, and it is not a barrier to starting. Ambivalence is something we work with rather than something you need to resolve first.
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Often. Rigid rules, rituals and perfectionism are common in bulimia, and several of our clinicians hold formal OCD and exposure and response prevention training.
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Yes. Long-standing bulimia is very treatable. Many of the adults we work with have lived with it for a decade or more.
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Yes. We offer Family-Based Treatment for adolescents and support parents alongside it.
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Yes, and we prefer to. We coordinate with physicians, dietitians, psychiatrists and treatment programmes, including supporting people stepping down from higher levels of care.
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We are a private-pay practice and provide superbills for out-of-network reimbursement. We will explain how it works on your free consultation.
Questions people ask us
Frequently asked questions
Start your journey here
Wildflower Therapy
1315 Walnut Street, Suite 802, Philadelphia, PA 19107
237 Lancaster Ave, Suite 253, Devon, PA 19333
(215) 668-9356
Free 30-minute consultation · Philadelphia, Devon, or virtual across PA