ARFID THERAPY
Fear or sensory discomfort do not need to limit your enjoyment of food, if you want to experience food freedom and introduce a wider range of delicious and nutritious food, enjoy eating out and socialising, have more choice around what and where you can eat, then it is time to overcome ARFID.
You may have already sought therapy for ARFID such as CBT-AR, family based therapy, or exposure therapy, if you are looking for an alternative approach then there are other ways that can add to or offer alternatives to these therapies.
Many people with ARFID want to overcome the problem but the anxiety and loss of control they experience prevents them from making a full recovery, these traditional talking approached can also take a long time (roughly 20-30 sessions) and so it can feel like progress isn't happening.
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The therapy I offer is a combination of CBT, SFBT, NLP, Hypnotherapy and EFT, this may not mean much and as I want you to be sure it is the right approach for you I am happy to have a free call to answer and questions and discuss how it works. The approach I take is typically much faster and creates more progress early on due to working with subconscious patterns and irrational fears in a relaxed and self-controlled way.
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What is included in ARFID Therapy?
I always have a consultation session, this is where I ask you lots of questions to get a full history and picture as to what is going on. Even if you have a diagnosis I still need to make sure I understand the presentation and find out more about you. It is important to note I am unable to give clinical diagnosis or medical advice. I can however support you if you feel that you have been dismissed or mis-diagnosed and would like to follow this up with a GP or mental health service (Information on this is available in the resources section). During the consultation I will explain the therapy I think is most suitable for you and how that would work. I will also talk about what is contributing to and maintaining ARFID.
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After the consultation process we will start working together, the session will involve some talking and goal setting, relaxation, hypnosis and EFT (where appropriate). You will learn techniques to help you enter self hypnosis which you can practice at home, this will improve the work we do in sessions.
The work we do will be based solely around your personal goals and what you want to achieve, this might include trying a new food or eating a meal with a combination of foods, it could be trying a food that in the past has made you feel anxious or nauseous.
The goals you set are yours to decide, your own commitment to the therapy and process and willingness to try and practice the techniques we use will be extremely important in the outcome you achieve. That is not to say that if you feel too anxious you are not committed enough, far from this, it just means you need to create enough trust and belief to feel confident you can do this, which is what I am here for and to guide you when we need to take a different approach.
Because of this it is impossible to say how many sessions you will need, some people are ready to tackle multiple goals after one session, others need more time to work on techniques and feel more comfortable before they start.
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You will get resources to use in between sessions and if I think it would be beneficial I may suggest a personalised recording (at £40) but this is optional.​
What is ARFID Hypnotherapy?
1-2%
ARFID may have a prevalence of 1-16% of the population
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Source, NIH data
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44%
Around 44% of ARFID cases are in children and young people who are diagnosed as autistic
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Source, Autistica: Sanchez-Cerezo, J. et al., (2023)
26%
Around 26% of ARFID cases have a co-existing ADHD diagnosis.
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Source, Eating Disorder Journal: Kambinas et al 2025
Can I work with you if I am autistic or ADHD and have co-existing conditions such as anxiety?
Yes, absolutely, we know that ARFID is more common in neurodivergent populations for various reasons.
My approach is to manage or overcome ARFID while befriending the neurodiverse characteristics and skills as these are here to stay and should be seen as strengths that can help us to overcome ARFID with the right support and environment.
There are many reasons that being neurodivergent can effect the success of therapy for ARFID, but that is only the case when we are not taking this into account and working in a neuroaffirmative way.
If ARFID is due to sensory sensitivities we need to understand what a reasonable and long term expectation might look like. We need to work around this by reducing other sensory stimulus or indeed increasing it if appropriate. For example is sound of crunching is particularly uncomfortable then putting the TV on and eating with background noise might be useful, this might reduce anxiety and sensory awareness enough to tolerate trying a new food.
If smells are difficult then using an anchor (NLP technique to create a positive feeling with a trigger of smell) to work alongside introducing new foods that have a more distinctive or stronger smell.
There are lots of things that can help and support sensory issues, including desensitizing disgust signals around food to reduce gagging or nauseous feelings.
If there is a fear based element then using hypnotherapy to reprogram the old belief and also understanding the trigger and potential causes of the fear from a neurodivergent perspective. Sometimes the environment creates anxiety and fear which is then transferred or conditioned to the food, so learning how to manage anxiety is important alongside unlearning fear.
ARFID FAQ
Who is ARFID Therapy suitable for?
I work with children aged 9 and over and adults with either an official diagnosis of ARFID or those with a limited range of food and symptoms of ARFID.
Where are the sessions held?
I work online so sessions can be done in the comfort and safety of your own home. Alternatively face to face is available in Stamford, Lincolnshire.
How long are the sessions?
For children I recommend a 50 min session as they can struggle to hold attention for longer, the sessions are interactive and very engaging so 50 mins is usually fine. For Adults we can achieve more but I recommend no longer than 90 mins as it can be a little overwhelming.
How many sessions will I need?
We can discuss this at the consultation after I have taken a full history, I recommend planning for 3-4 sessions, however this can vary greatly depending on the readiness and level of change needed. Many clients see immediate shifts in their anxiety but this is a gentle and non=pressured approach and I will not force you to try food or eat in a session, in fact I never ask you to bring food in or if you have tried food in between sessions.
How much do sessions cost?
For young people aged 9-18 the sessions are £65, for adults 60 mins is £80 and 90 mins is £120. If you have co-existing issues a 6 session package is available for £420.
This can be paid by bank transfer or via a payment link.