I'm so glad you're here

Name: Hayley O'Brien - Psychotherapy & Yoga
Telephone: 202-540-0278

If you're seeking more emotional stability, more connection, and more freedom around food and body image, you've come to the right place

You don't have to tackle your eating disorder alone

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Home: Welcome

Overwhelmed, Tired, Scared

I completely understand. I get you. The road to recovery is so hard, and even you arriving here today is a really big step.

Whether you've gotten treatment for your eating disorder before, or this is your very first time, it's normal to feel conflicted about change. Maybe you want to hold onto your eating disorder but also want recovery. You're ready for change, but you're also terrified of it! I'm here to remind you that you don't have to do this alone.

Maybe traditional treatment hasn't worked for you in the past. The skills, the meal plan, the interventions just weren't sticking. You may have even been labeled as "treatment resistant" and feel like you've failed. Read these next words very carefully—You have not failed. You are not treatment resistant. Treatment has failed YOU. You need something different, and I'm here to help you find out what that different is.

One of my main goals for us is to help you feel accepted and safe, perhaps for the very first time. As a therapist, I value collaboration, trust, and connection. That right there is our therapeutic foundation! We're a team—in the trenches together working to find you a new and better path.

My therapy approach is interpersonal, attachment based, trauma informed care. That's fancy language for — relationships are really important to me! I'm interested in yours and I'll prioritize security and consistency in ours. How do you connect to others, yourself, and your eating disorder? In therapy, we will work to understand your story as well as instilling tools for the here and now. With time, as you access a greater sense of safety, your eating disorder won't have to work as hard. The relationship will start to shift, and you won't need to use it as much. This is what we call recovery.

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Finding the right therapist is a really important step in recovery

We might be a good fit if you struggle with any of the following:

Anorexia
Bulimia
Binge Eating
Complex Trauma
Attachment Issues
Dissociative Behaviors
Fear of Abandonment
Self Harm Behaviors
Fear of Food
Impulsive Behaviors
Compulsive Exercise
Emotional Eating
Emotional Instability
Relationship Issues
Body Image Issues
Low Self Esteem

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Home: About

A Little About Me

Helping people recover from their eating disorders is my life purpose. This work is not only important to me professionally, but also personally

I am licensed psychotherapist and based in Washington, D.C.

I approach my clinical work with a broad perspective—seeking to understand and treat all aspects of the human experience. As both a licensed psychotherapist and registered yoga teacher, I offer a unique framework that allows us to focus acutely on the relationship between body and mind.

I recognize that for a lot of people, the body hasn't always been a safe place. Whether as a result of an eating disorder, self harm behaviors or trauma, there can be a lack of trust and safety in one's own skin. My goal is to help people to have more calm and centeredness within themselves—to help people come home to themselves. Additionally, I strive to help people have more stability and connectedness in their relationships. I place a strong emphasis on building both emotional and physical safety in the therapeutic relationship. In addition to building trust in therapy, we will focus on concrete skills such as grounding, breathing, and interpersonal effectiveness.

Eating Disorders Treatment

We'll work together to deal with the symptoms of your eating disorder – the restriction, the binging and/or the purging, overexercising and constant body evaluation. Beyond that, my hope is to help you understand the emotional function that the eating disorder has played for you and help you to find healthier ways to meet those needs. Often eating disorders are one piece within a larger picture that has to do with not liking yourself, not feeling competent and effective at other things, and not knowing how to get along with other people. I understand this and want to help you to move beyond symptom reduction to true and deep healing.

Trauma Treatment

Because eating disorders and trauma are often so inexorably intwined, I've moved beyond my specialization in eating disorders to study the more global impact of trauma on the body and mind. We might be an especially good fit if your trauma has caused you to have unsteady or unstable relationships, mood swings, numbness or self-harm. I orient myself in attachment based therapy, DBT-informed therapy and Yoga Informed Therapy. I've also acquired specialized training in trauma sensitive yoga, somatic experiencing and very soon will have completed training in EMDR.

Yoga

As a yoga teacher and therapist, I deeply understands the effect of eating disorders, trauma, anxiety and depression on the body and mind. In addition to addressing thought patterns and feeling states, I help to work with these conditions on a body level. I've found that this additional consideration in therapy has been tremendously helpful for the people that I work with, whose difficulties in living are often centered on the body.

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Services

Together, let's decide on a treatment modality that works best for you

Individual Therapy

50 minute one on one sessions to explore your past and build skills for the here and now

Group Therapy

Connect with others who know what it's like to struggle. Learn what it's like to not be alone.

Trauma Sensitive Yoga

Nourish your mind and body through the healing practice of yoga. Regain a sense of body awareness and body acceptance.

Teletherapy

Seek therapy from the comfort of your home. I am licensed in DC, MD, and VA and am able to provide teletherapy to residents in those states

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Frequently Asked Questions

The Answers You Need

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Do you accept insurance?

I am what you call an out of network provider and do not accept insurance at this time. However, I provide the documentation you need should you wish to seek reimbursement through your insurance.

What is your therapy style?

While I pull from a variety of therapy models, I would describe my approach as trauma informed, interpersonal, attachment based care. In other words, the foundation of our work is the therapeutic relationship. Depending on your specific needs, I will often pull from DBT, Internal Family Systems and psychodynamic theory to inform our work.