The Balanced Practice

The Balanced Practice The Balanced Practice is a multidisciplinary team specialized in eating disorder recovery across ON thoughts, beliefs, feelings).

The Balanced Practice was created to fill in the gap between nutrition, psychology & overall health! We believe you can't address nutrition without the whole psychological aspect (e.g. Can you imagine not having any negative thoughts towards food? Not overthinking everything about what you ate or what you are about to eat? Knowing exactly what to eat to have the most energy throughout the day without the downs and cravings? Having more mental focus and energy to spend on the things that truly matter to you? We are committed to helping women heal their relationship with food and fuel their bodies for optimal health & maximize energy so they can live up to their full potential. The Balanced Practice offers:
-Individualized Nutrition Counselling
-Online Group Programs to learn at own pace and finally stop dieting and start living! GET MORE INFO: www.thebalancedpractice.com/services

Exploring emerging approaches in eating disorder treatment ✨This month, our team gathered for a professional development...
02/26/2026

Exploring emerging approaches in eating disorder treatment ✨

This month, our team gathered for a professional development sessions led by our own therapists Sarah and Krista on Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) in eating disorder care.

Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy can support neuroplasticity, emotional access, and nervous system regulation when thoughtfully integrated with therapy.

In ED treatment, KAP may:
• Soften rigid defenses

• Reduce dissociation and control patterns

• Increase emotional access

• Lessen the emotional charge around shame, fear responses, and longstanding identity narratives

When integrated with approaches like Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT), and grounded in thorough preparation, collaboration, and strong integration practices, KAP can help create space for deeper healing work.

Professional development like this allows us to:

✔️ Stay informed on emerging adjunctive treatments

✔️ Deepen our understanding of neurobiology and memory reconsolidation

✔️ Strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration

✔️ Offer care that is both evidence-informed and compassion-centered

When clients feel safe, deeper work becomes possible. And we’re committed to continually learning how to support that process. 💛

Want to learn more about our approach to care? Reach out today! Link in bio.

-Assistedtherapy

Navigating Vicarious Trauma as ED Providers 💛Last month, we had the privilege of learning from Amanda Rocheleau (RSW) in...
02/18/2026

Navigating Vicarious Trauma as ED Providers 💛

Last month, we had the privilege of learning from Amanda Rocheleau (RSW) in a session focused on navigating vicarious trauma as providers.

This session invited us to reflect on how trauma exposure, through witnessing, hearing, or holding others’ stories, can impact our bodies, thoughts, and nervous systems over time.

It reminded us that vicarious trauma is very real and something we can meet with curiosity rather than judgment.

By building awareness and tending to our own wellbeing, we strengthen our ability to show up for our clients in ways that feel safe, present, and human.

Interested in learning more about our approach to care?

Book a connection call through the link in our bio 📲





OSFED treatment doesn’t follow a single roadmap and that’s exactly why it works. Care is based on patterns, risk, and li...
02/06/2026

OSFED treatment doesn’t follow a single roadmap and that’s exactly why it works.


Care is based on patterns, risk, and lived experience, not just labels.
Some foundations of OSFED treatment are always essential:
medical and nutritional safety
adequate nourishment
reducing shame
addressing fear and rigidity
using a weight-inclusive approach.


These matter even when symptoms are intermittent or don’t appear “severe.” Other parts of treatment depend on how OSFED shows up.


It’s also important to name what many people experience along the way: symptoms may shift before they settle, fear can increase before it decreases, and progress is often non-linear. Insight and motivation frequently grow after support begins, not before.


A harm-reduction approach recognizes that stopping all behaviours isn’t always immediately possible, and that safety, dignity, and access to care still matter. Supporting incremental change, reducing risk without shame, and honouring autonomy are not “giving up” on recovery, they are part of ethical, effective treatment.


At The Balanced Practice, we treat OSFED with clinical rigor, flexibility, and compassion, because people deserve care that adapts to their needs, not the limits of diagnostic categories.


Treatment can work. And recovery is possible with the right support. 💜


Need Support ? How .balanced.practice can help👇
1️⃣ 1:1 Nutrition Counselling
Virtual and in-person sessions. Supporting you in having a great relationship with food, managing health conditions, and understanding your body’s needs 💜

2️⃣1:1 Psychotherapy 🌱
Virtual and in-person sessions. Helping you overcome your mental health challenges 💪🏼

3️⃣Family Support for Eating Disorder Recovery
If you are a parent or loved one of someone living with an eating disorder, we offer courses and weekly support sessions to help you navigate recovery and help your loved one!

Want more info?
👩‍💻https://www.thebalancedpractice.com/
📧 info@thebalancedpractice.com
📞 613-696-0306

OSFED doesn’t look one way and that’s exactly why it’s often missed. ⬇️ OSFED includes eating disorder presentations tha...
02/06/2026

OSFED doesn’t look one way and that’s exactly why it’s often missed. ⬇️


OSFED includes eating disorder presentations that don’t fit neatly into diagnostic categories, because often times diagnostic systems rely on rigid thresholds.


Some common OSFED patterns include:
• Recurrent purging behaviours without binge eating
• Binge–purge or binge eating patterns that occur below diagnostic frequency cutoffs
• Distressing night eating patterns with sleep disruption and loss of control
• Eating disorder driven behaviours that don’t align with a single diagnosis, yet carry real medical and psychological risk


Lower frequency, atypical presentation, or diagnostic ambiguity does not mean lower severity. ❌


Many people with OSFED experience:
• significant distress around food and body
• shame, secrecy, and self-doubt
• medical risk related to restriction, purging, or metabolic instability
• disruption to relationships, work, and daily life
• delayed or denied care after being told they’re “not sick enough”


OSFED reflects the limits of diagnostic systems, not the legitimacy of someone’s suffering.


OSFED is real.
It is serious.
And recovery is possible. 💜✨




OSFED the most common eating disorder yet, the least commonly known. Here’s what you need to know ⬇️ OSFED (Other Specif...
02/06/2026

OSFED the most common eating disorder yet, the least commonly known. Here’s what you need to know ⬇️


OSFED (Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder) is used when someone meets most criteria for an eating disorder, but not every requirement of a specific diagnosis like anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating disorder.


➡️ This reflects the limits of diagnostic categories, not the severity of distress or risk.


Many people with OSFED experience restriction, bingeing, purging, fear of weight gain, rigid food rules, and significant psychological distress, often alongside being told they’re “not sick enough” for care.


It’s also important to name the difference between disordered eating and OSFED.
Disordered eating refers to concerning eating patterns that may be distressing, but do not meet diagnostic criteria for an eating disorder.
OSFED, on the other hand, involves clinically significant impairment and medical and/or psychological risk, and requires specialized eating disorder treatment.


Confusing the two can delay care, increase shame, and push people to feel they need to get worse to be taken seriously. ❗


💜At The Balanced Practice, we approach OSFED with the same compassion and weight-inclusive care as any other eating disorder, because people deserve support based on need, not how neatly they fit a label.


OSFED is real.
It is serious.
And recovery is possible. 💜


Ways we support recovery .balanced.practice:
• 1:1 Nutrition Counselling
• 1:1 Therapy
• Family Support for Eating Disorder Recovery


Anorexia recovery is not about willpower, insight, or “just eating.” Anorexia nervosa is a complex, whole-system illness...
02/05/2026

Anorexia recovery is not about willpower, insight, or “just eating.”


Anorexia nervosa is a complex, whole-system illness. Effective treatment must address medical safety, nutritional rehabilitation, fear and rigidity, nervous system functioning, body image distress, and the psychological and social factors that keep the disorder in place.❗


Recovery often looks different from what people expect.
Ambivalence is common.
Fear may increase before it decreases.
Insight and motivation frequently improve after nourishment begins, not before.
Progress shows up gradually, through increased safety, flexibility, clarity, and engagement in life.


Because anorexia impacts brain function, body systems, and self-awareness, care must be nutrition-forward, weight-inclusive, and compassionate. Treating anorexia as a choice, compliance issue, or weight problem delays healing and causes harm.


💜At The Balanced Practice, we approach anorexia with clinical expertise and deep respect for the human behind the diagnosis. We believe recovery requires understanding, collaboration, and care that treats the whole person, not just the symptoms.


Anorexia is serious, and recovery is possible.


Need Support ? How .balanced.practice can help👇
1️⃣ 1:1 Nutrition Counselling
Virtual and in-person sessions. Supporting you in having a great relationship with food, managing health conditions, and understanding your body’s needs 💜

2️⃣1:1 Psychotherapy 🌱
Virtual and in-person sessions. Helping you overcome your mental health challenges 💪🏼

3️⃣Family Support for Eating Disorder Recovery
If you are a parent or loved one of someone living with an eating disorder, we offer courses and weekly support sessions to help you navigate recovery and help your loved one!

Want more info?
👩‍💻https://www.thebalancedpractice.com/
📧 info@thebalancedpractice.com
📞 613-696-0306


Anorexia impacts far more than body weight and food intake.Understanding the full picture is crucial because adequate ca...
02/05/2026

Anorexia impacts far more than body weight and food intake.
Understanding the full picture is crucial because adequate care must address the brain, body, mental health, and overall quality of life, not just eating or weight.
 
➡️ Anorexia nervosa affects the entire system. Prolonged restriction alters fear and reward processing, increases rigidity and habit-based behaviours, disrupts internal body signals, and can limit awareness of illness severity. These are brain-based effects of undernutrition, not a lack of insight or motivation.
 
At the same time, undernutrition affects nearly every bodily system, including cardiovascular, hormonal, digestive, skeletal, immune, and metabolic. Many of these changes occur before the weight appears “severe.” Medical risk is driven by nutritional deprivation, not body size.
 
The impact also extends beyond physiology. Many people experience heightened anxiety and obsessive thinking, low mood or emotional blunting, reduced concentration, and a shrinking quality of life marked by isolation, rigid routines, and loss of spontaneity.
 
This is why anorexia cannot be treated by focusing on food or weight alone and why weight-based assumptions delay care and increase harm ❗
 
✨ Next in our Anorexia Deep Dive: Treatment & recovery, and what actually helps.
 
If this resonates, support is available. 💜
 
How .balanced.practice can help👇
1️⃣ 1:1 Nutrition Counselling 
Virtual and in-person sessions. Supporting you in having a great relationship with food, managing health conditions, and understanding your body’s needs 💜
 
2️⃣1:1 Psychotherapy 🌱
Virtual and in-person sessions. Helping you overcome your mental health challenges 💪🏼
 
3️⃣Family Support for Eating Disorder Recovery
If you are a parent or loved one of someone living with an eating disorder, we offer courses and weekly support sessions to help you navigate recovery and help your loved one!
 
Want more info?
👩‍💻https://www.thebalancedpractice.com/
📧 info@thebalancedpractice.com
📞 613-696-0306 
 

Anorexia: the most researched eating disorder, yet still often misunderstood. ❗Despite decades of research, anorexia ner...
02/05/2026

Anorexia: the most researched eating disorder, yet still often misunderstood.


❗Despite decades of research, anorexia nervosa is still frequently misunderstood in practice. ❗


Not because the science is lacking, but because stereotypes, weight bias, and narrow diagnostic assumptions shape how the disorder is recognized and treated.


Clinically, anorexia is a serious eating disorder marked by persistent restriction, intense fear around weight or body change, and significant impact on brain and body functioning. Folks living with anorexia often experience rigid food rules, high anxiety around eating, disconnection from body cues, and a deep internal conflict between wanting recovery and fearing it.


Anorexia also presents in different ways.


Restricting and binge–purge subtypes can look different on the surface, and symptoms can shift over time, but severity is not determined by subtype or appearance.


One of the most harmful misconceptions is that anorexia only affects a specific “type” of person. ✖️ Anorexia impacts people across genders, body sizes, ages, and identities.
Risk for anorexia increases when biological vulnerability intersects with factors like

➡️ dieting

➡️perfectionism

➡️anxiety

➡️trauma

➡️identity-based stress

➡️weight-centric environments

No single factor causes anorexia; it emerges in context.



💜 At The Balanced Practice, we approach anorexia through a weight-inclusive, trauma-informed, and socially aware lens, because effective care requires understanding both the clinical reality and the systems people are navigating.



Anorexia is serious. It is treatable.
And recognition should not depend on appearance. 💜


✨ Next in our Anorexia Deep Dive: the impact of anorexia on the brain, body, and nervous system.


Ways we support recovery:
• 1:1 Nutrition Counselling
• 1:1 Therapy
• Family Support for Eating Disorder Recovery
• Courses & programs


Bulimia recovery isn’t about just stopping behaviours. It’s about changing the conditions that make the binge–purge cyc...
02/04/2026

Bulimia recovery isn’t about just stopping behaviours.


It’s about changing the conditions that make the binge–purge cycle necessary in the first place.


Effective treatment for bulimia addresses more than what we can see. 👀


It looks at restriction, shame, body image distress, nervous system overwhelm, and the ways people have learned to cope in a world shaped by weight stigma and control-based narratives.


✅Recovery is not linear.
✅Urges often soften before they disappear.
✅Setbacks are part of learning, not proof of failure.
✅ Progress shows up as increased safety, flexibility, reduced urgency, and a life that feels less organized around the disorder.


This is why care that focuses only on behaviour change often falls short. 🙅‍♀️


People don’t need more discipline or pressure; they need support that understands the full picture.


At The Balanced Practice, we approach bulimia recovery through weight-inclusive, trauma-informed, and compassionate care because healing requires dignity, safety, and collaboration.


Bulimia is serious, and recovery is possible.💜


Need Support ? How .balanced.practice can help👇
1️⃣ 1:1 Nutrition Counselling
Virtual and in-person sessions. Supporting you in having a great relationship with food, managing health conditions, and understanding your body’s needs 💜

2️⃣1:1 Psychotherapy 🌱
Virtual and in-person sessions. Helping you overcome your mental health challenges 💪🏼

3️⃣Family Support for Eating Disorder Recovery
If you are a parent or loved one of someone living with an eating disorder, we offer courses and weekly support sessions to help you navigate recovery and help your loved one!

Want more info?
👩‍💻https://www.thebalancedpractice.com/
📧 info@thebalancedpractice.com
📞 613-696-0306

Bulimia doesn’t just affect eating, it reshapes how the brain, nervous system, and body respond to stress. When distress...
02/04/2026

Bulimia doesn’t just affect eating, it reshapes how the brain, nervous system, and body respond to stress.


When distress is high, the brain’s reward system becomes more sensitive to food, while control systems become less accessible.


Binge eating can bring short-term relief, and compensatory behaviours can reduce panic. This teaches the brain to rely on the cycle when emotions feel overwhelming.


Over time, this pattern impact
1️⃣ Learning
2️⃣ Emotional regulation
3️⃣ How different brain regions communicate.


These changes are linked to behaviour frequency, not body size which is one reason bulimia is so often missed or minimized.


This isn’t addiction. It isn’t lack of discipline. And it isn’t about “trying harder.”


It’s a brain–body system adapting under pressure in a culture that normalizes restriction, praises control, and stigmatizes distress.


At The Balanced Practice, we take the full impact of bulimia seriously because understanding what’s happening at a biological, emotional, and systemic level is essential for real recovery.


✨ Next in our Bulimia Deep Dive: Treatment & recovery, what actually helps.


If this resonates, support is available. 💜


Need Support ? How .balanced.practice can help👇
1️⃣ 1:1 Nutrition Counselling
Virtual and in-person sessions. Supporting you in having a great relationship with food, managing health conditions, and understanding your body’s needs 💜

2️⃣1:1 Psychotherapy 🌱
Virtual and in-person sessions. Helping you overcome your mental health challenges 💪🏼

3️⃣Family Support for Eating Disorder Recovery
If you are a parent or loved one of someone living with an eating disorder, we offer courses and weekly support sessions to help you navigate recovery and help your loved one!

Want more info?
👩‍💻https://www.thebalancedpractice.com/
📧 info@thebalancedpractice.com
📞 613-696-0306


-Diet

Bulimia is one of the most missed eating disorders and that oversight causes real harm. Bulimia nervosa isn’t just about...
02/04/2026

Bulimia is one of the most missed eating disorders and that oversight causes real harm.


Bulimia nervosa isn’t just about bingeing and purging. It’s about living inside a cycle that’s shaped by food rules, body expectations, shame, and constant pressure to “fix” or control the body.


Many people with bulimia spend long periods appearing “fine” or “high functioning,” while quietly struggling with intense distress around food, weight, and shape.


Because weight may go up, down, or fluctuate our weight-centric healthcare often misses, minimizes, or dismisses this altogether.


Bulimia has a lot of maintaining factors, which makes detection and treatment more challenging. It’s the combination of:
1️⃣ Restriction that’s normalized and even praised
2️⃣ Powerful cultural pressure around bodies and weight
3️⃣ Shame and secrecy that make it harder to reach for support
4️⃣ Patterns that offer short-term relief, sense of control and safety, despite long-term harm


This is why advice like “just stop purging”, “stop binge eating”, “have more control,” or “try a diet” doesn’t help and often makes things worse.


At The Balanced Practice, we approach bulimia with a weight-inclusive, trauma-informed, and socially aware lens. We don’t treat behaviours in isolation. We look at the full picture : food, emotions, beliefs, identity, access to care, and the systems people are navigating.


Bulimia is a serious eating disorder. It’s not “fine” and you folks living with bulimia deserve better care.


✨ Next in our Bulimia Deep Dive: What’s happening in the body and brain.


If this resonates, support is available. 💜


Need Support ? Read how .balanced.practice can help in the comments.

Address

2211 Riverside Drive
Ottawa, ON
K1H7X5

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 8pm
Tuesday 9am - 8pm
Wednesday 9am - 8pm
Thursday 9am - 8pm
Friday 9am - 6pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm

Telephone

+16136950306

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Meet Marie-Pier

Marie-Pier always had a passion to teach and help others. She started her journey in psychology, graduating with B.Sc. Psychology and continued her studies in nutrition to become a Registered Dietitian.​

Her interest to help others heal their relationship with food and their bodies came from her own struggles. After graduating from her first bachelor's, Marie-Pier develop an eating disorder. She is no stranger to fearing foods, feeling out of control and hating her body. After battling her ED for several years, Marie-Pier recovered and found her new passion... help others heal their relationship with food and their bodies, so they too can start living freely.

During recovery journey, Marie-Pier found that there was a huge gap between nutrition counselling and psychology.

​Marie-Pier started her private practice to fill this gap. Since then, Marie-Pier has helped hundreds of women give up dieting and finally make peace with food and their bodies.​