ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Virginia Porcello, Ph.D., LPC, LMHC
Solutions Program for Eating Disorders was developed by Dr. Virginia Porcello in 1983 as a safe haven where people from all walks of life can be heard, understood and supported through their efforts to change their relationship with food and live a happy, full life.
What makes Solutions so effective? Read Dr. Porcello’s story:
“Mine is a journey that taught me that fat is not about lack of self-discipline. Fat is about issues of anger, self-esteem, family dynamics and the messages we internalize about our bodies. Being overweight is about the loneliness and emptiness that we try to fill with food. Being fat is the price we pay for failure to live up to impossible, unattainable, and unreasonable standards that someone else has set for us.
I was born premature and underweight. Reared in a family that associated food with love, I was fed without limits and grew into an “appropriately robust” child.
It was this misguided upbringing, coupled with sexual abuse, that set the stage for many years of emotional and physical conflict. An endless cycle of diet pills and plans followed by inevitable, unmanageable weight gain plagued my childhood and adolescence.
A young Virginia Porcello struggled with her own debilitating weight issues
As I approached my 18th birthday, I weighed well over 400 pounds. Depression, anxiety, recurring panic attacks and the inability to work led me to seek treatment with a psychologist. It was this connection with a therapist who had worked through her own eating disorder that helped me begin the process of unraveling my underlying issues. She unmasked the problems that my eating disorder hid. The insights I developed became the turning point for understanding that achieving a healthy weight was not about dieting, but rather about connecting with the reasons I turned to food for fulfillment.
That experience ultimately led to my loss of more than 200 pounds: a true physical, psychological and emotional metamorphosis. My ongoing search for continued support and information on emotional eating came up woefully lacking in resources and treatment programs. The more research I did, the more I realized that there was a need for a structured, compassionate program for people struggling to lose weight.
It was this realization that prompted me to return to college, obtain a Ph.D in psychology with a specialization in eating disorders, and dedicate my career to helping others discover and love their true selves.”
Today, Solutions Program is a vital resource in the eating disorder community, providing unique and exceptional treatment to hundreds of emotional eaters. Dr. Porcello has written many articles, lectured extensively, hosted “What’s Eating You,” a New York Cable TV Show, appeared as a guest on news and talk shows and has been written about in numerous publications.Her professional memberships include: American Anorexic & Bulimic Association; International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals; American Psychological Association and American Diabetes Association.