Alison Pelz, RD,LD, LCSW

Alison Pelz, RD,LD, LCSW Alison Pelz is a psychotherapist and registered dietitian who specializes in the treatment of eating disorders.

Specializing in the treatment of eating disorders and related disorders including emotional eating, chronic dieting & poor body image.

When Your Teen Has an Eating Disorder outlines the complexities of eating disorders and the impact that they can have on...
12/03/2025

When Your Teen Has an Eating Disorder outlines the complexities of eating disorders and the impact that they can have on your teen (and your family’s) life.

If you are a parent worried about your child and unsure how to help them overcome their eating disorder, or a clinician wanting to learn more about FBT, this book is a must-read. As an eating disorder therapist myself, I recommend this book to all of the families that I work with and to other clinicians. It will be a great resource and provide a glimmer of hope to you on your journey.

Get my full review here: https://www.alisonpelz.com/2024/09/10/book-review-when-your-teen-has-an-eating-disorder-is-a-must-read/

Early in my career I struggled to effectively help teens with anorexia nervosa. That is when I learned about FBT. FBT is...
11/28/2025

Early in my career I struggled to effectively help teens with anorexia nervosa. That is when I learned about FBT. FBT is an intensive treatment that can be delivered outpatient. I developed this low-cost course to help other clinicians get started with Family-Based Treatment.

Access the course here: https://www.pelzinstitute.com/all-courses

Eating more will likely help you reduce binge eating.This feels counterintuitive and is certainly not what the weight lo...
11/07/2025

Eating more will likely help you reduce binge eating.

This feels counterintuitive and is certainly not what the weight loss industry or the medical community typically advises, so I know this recommendation can feel very scary.

The weight loss industry provides “tricks” to reduce binge eating, usually focusing on how to limit consumption of certain foods. However, rather than helping navigate binge eating, it often fuels and perpetuates binge eating. Science has taught us that dietary restriction is a risk factor for developing an eating disorder, including binge eating. Dietary restriction also maintains the eating disorder–in other words, a restrictive diet keeps the disorder going.

Learn more here: https://www.alisonpelz.com/2025/07/16/how-eating-enough-supports-binge-eating-recovery/

Many clients who experience binge eating also experience dietary restriction and restraint–the natural reaction is often...
11/05/2025

Many clients who experience binge eating also experience dietary restriction and restraint–the natural reaction is often to focus on eliminating binge eating by using more dietary restriction and restraint. Again, this makes sense given diet culture and our medical system. However, it often maintains the eating disorder.

One of the first steps in my work with clients is to gradually reduce dietary restraint and restriction.

Learn more here: https://www.alisonpelz.com/2025/07/16/how-eating-enough-supports-binge-eating-recovery/

Reading first-hand accounts reminds us that ARFID isn’t a choice or a phase. Rather, it’s a real and challenging experie...
11/03/2025

Reading first-hand accounts reminds us that ARFID isn’t a choice or a phase. Rather, it’s a real and challenging experience. It’s not something that one will “grow out of” or should be minimized by health professionals. These voices bring nuance, compassion, and hope to conversations about ARFID, and to individuals with ARFID, as well as help families, educators, and clinicians understand how to offer meaningful support.

Here are five impactful stories from individuals and parents who share what life with ARFID is really like in their own words: https://www.alisonpelz.com/2025/10/15/powerful-lived-experience-stories-about-avoidant-restrictive-food-intake-disorder-arfid/

Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) is often misunderstood by family members, school personnel and profess...
10/31/2025

Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) is often misunderstood by family members, school personnel and professionals, and sometimes even by the individuals who have ARFID.

Training as a therapist, of course, has been helpful in my work with clients, but listening to people with lived experience has been so powerful. It deepens understanding and builds compassion for oneself and for those around them.

Here are five impactful stories from individuals and parents who share what life with ARFID is really like in their own words: https://www.alisonpelz.com/2025/10/15/powerful-lived-experience-stories-about-avoidant-restrictive-food-intake-disorder-arfid/

Curious how validation can change your relationship with your teen? Sign up for our email list and we’ll send you a free...
10/24/2025

Curious how validation can change your relationship with your teen?

Sign up for our email list and we’ll send you a free copy of our workbook “What to Say (And Not to Say) to Your Teen With an Eating Disorder: A Caregiver's Workbook”. You can use the workbook as a caregiver or as a clinician to give out to your clients!

This free caregiver workbook includes:
* An overview of what validation is (and crucially, what it isn’t)
* Space for caregivers to reflect and explore their feelings about their child’s eating disorder
* Phrases to use and not to use when validating
* Space so caregivers can practice validating responses to their child to support their child in recovery

Get your copy here: https://www.pelzinstitute.com/offer-parents-teens-eatingdisorders

One of the most radical things we can say in a healing space is: You deserve support, rest, love, and acceptance—whether...
10/22/2025

One of the most radical things we can say in a healing space is: You deserve support, rest, love, and acceptance—whether or not you’re “healthy.”

Health is not a prerequisite for dignity.

In my work with clients, I hold this truth close. Whether you’re early in recovery or years into your healing. I understand how deeply embedded healthism can be, and here to help you untangle from it with compassion and curiosity.

Learn more here: https://www.alisonpelz.com/2025/09/30/tackling-healthism-in-eating-disorder-recovery/

It’s not uncommon for someone in recovery to shift from calorie restriction to obsessive “clean eating,” or from compuls...
10/20/2025

It’s not uncommon for someone in recovery to shift from calorie restriction to obsessive “clean eating,” or from compulsive weighing to compulsive step counting. All under the guise of “being healthy.”

But here’s the truth: If your pursuit of health is causing you harm, mentally, physically, and/or emotionally, it’s not actually healthy.

You deserve a recovery that allows you to reclaim your life. Not just fit into a new version of diet culture with a wellness filter.

Here’s what it can look like to move beyond healthism in recovery: https://www.alisonpelz.com/2025/09/30/tackling-healthism-in-eating-disorder-recovery/

Healthism isn’t just a personal mindset—it’s a cultural narrative with deep historical roots. The term was first coined ...
10/17/2025

Healthism isn’t just a personal mindset—it’s a cultural narrative with deep historical roots. The term was first coined in the 1980s by sociologist Robert Crawford, who observed a growing trend: people were being taught that health was a personal, moral responsibility, and that individuals—not systems—were to blame for their well-being.

Since then, this idea has been reinforced by everything from public health campaigns to social media influencers. Over time, “healthy” became a synonym for “good,” and illness or difference became something to fix or avoid.

Diet culture, fatphobia, ableism, and capitalism all amplified the message: control your body, and you’ll be safe, accepted, and successful. But here’s the truth: most of the factors that shape our health are outside of our control, including genetics, trauma, systemic oppression, and access to medical care.

If you’ve internalized the belief that your worth is tied to how “healthy” you are, that’s not a personal failure. It’s a product of living in a culture steeped in healthism.

Learn more about overcoming healthism in eating disorder recovery: https://www.alisonpelz.com/2025/09/30/tackling-healthism-in-eating-disorder-recovery/

Freshman year is a season of growth, challenge, and self-discovery. It’s normal for it to feel both exciting and hard. W...
10/15/2025

Freshman year is a season of growth, challenge, and self-discovery. It’s normal for it to feel both exciting and hard. When we understand the nervous system’s role in regulation—and how eating disorders often function as misguided coping tools—it becomes easier to see why symptoms might arise or return during this time.

By naming these challenges openly, we can help students and families feel less blindsided—and offer the compassionate, proactive support that helps them not just survive freshman year, but move through it with resilience.

Use these tips to help prepare your child for the transition to college while in eating disorder recovery, and learn more here: https://www.alisonpelz.com/2025/08/20/freshman-year-of-college-why-eating-disorders-may-start-or-reappear/

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2525 Wallingwood Drive
Austin, TX
78746

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