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Dr Bev Marais - Eating Disorder Psychologist

Psychologist specialising in binge eating, emotional eating, and complex relationships with food.

Dr Bev Marais is a Chartered Counselling Psychologist, Chartered Scientist and Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS). She is a Registered Psychotherapist with UKCP, a member of FDAP (Federation of Drug and Alcohol Professionals) and AED (Academy for Eating Disorders), a member of the BPS Faculty of Addictions and a member of the Division of Counselling Psychology. 

 

As a psychologist, she holds a practising certificate with the British Psychological Society and is registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).

 

Dr Beverley Marais is a psychologist specialising in the treatment of binge eating, emotional eating, and complex relationships with food. She works with individuals who feel caught in cycles of restriction, overeating, or constant thoughts about food, helping them develop a calmer and more trusting relationship with eating.

 

Her work focuses on understanding the psychological patterns that drive eating difficulties, rather than relying on diets or willpower. By exploring the emotional, cognitive, and behavioural processes that sit beneath eating patterns, she supports clients in building a more stable and compassionate relationship with food and their bodies.

 

Dr Marais works with individuals through both one-to-one therapy and structured programmes designed to support lasting recovery. 

Professional Focus

Dr Marais specialises in helping people who feel overwhelmed by food thoughts, emotional eating patterns, or cycles of bingeing and restriction. Many of the individuals she works with describe feeling as though food occupies far too much mental space in their lives.

Her work centres on helping clients:

  • understand the psychological drivers behind eating patterns
  • reduce feelings of loss of control around food
  • develop emotional regulation skills
  • rebuild trust in their body’s signals
  • move away from cycles of guilt, restriction, and overeating

Rather than focusing on rigid rules about food, her approach emphasises curiosity, compassion, and psychological insight.

 

Areas of Expertise

Dr Marais works with a range of eating-related difficulties, including:

  • Binge Eating Disorder
  • Emotional Eating
  • Bulimia
  • Anorexia
  • Cycles of Restriction and Overeating
  • Persistent Thoughts About Food
  • Body Image Distress

Her work often focuses on the underlying emotional and cognitive processes that maintain these patterns. 

Approach to Eating Disorder Recovery

Many people who struggle with eating difficulties have tried numerous ways of controlling their eating, often through diets, rigid food rules, or attempts to rely on willpower.


While these strategies may bring temporary relief, they often fail to address the deeper psychological processes that maintain the pattern.
Dr Marais approaches eating disorder recovery through a psychological lens. Her work integrates evidence-based therapeutic approaches while emphasising emotional understanding, nervous system regulation, and sustainable change.


This approach helps clients move away from cycles of self-criticism and control, and towards a steadier and more compassionate relationship with food.

What it is like to work with Dr Beverley Marais

Many people who seek support for eating difficulties feel a mixture of hope and apprehension. They may worry about being judged, misunderstood, or pressured to change in ways that feel overwhelming.

Dr Marais approaches this work with compassion and curiosity. Her aim is not to impose rigid rules around food, but to help clients understand the patterns that have developed around eating and the emotional needs those patterns may be serving.

Sessions often focus on gently exploring the experiences, thoughts, and feelings that sit beneath eating behaviours. Over time, this process can help individuals develop greater awareness, emotional steadiness, and a more trusting relationship with food and their body.

Many clients describe feeling a sense of relief when their struggles begin to make sense within a psychological framework. What once felt chaotic or confusing can gradually become more understandable and manageable.

 

Guiding Principles

Dr Marais’s work is grounded in the belief that eating difficulties do not arise in isolation. Patterns around food often develop as ways of coping with emotional pain, stress, or experiences that feel overwhelming.


Rather than viewing eating behaviours as failures of willpower, she approaches them as signals that something deeper may need attention and care.


Several principles guide her work:


Compassion before judgement
Many people struggling with eating difficulties carry significant shame. Creating a safe and non-judgemental space is an essential foundation for meaningful change.


Understanding before control
Lasting change rarely comes from trying harder to control food. It often begins with understanding the psychological and emotional patterns that maintain the cycle.

 

Sustainable change rather than quick fixes
Recovery is not about rigid rules or temporary solutions. The aim is to support changes that feel realistic, steady, and sustainable over time.


Respect for each individual’s experience
Every person’s relationship with food has its own history and meaning. Therapy is a collaborative process that honours each individual’s unique journey.

Articles by Dr Beverley Marais

Seeking Support

Many people struggle quietly with their relationship with food for years before reaching out for support. Yet eating disorders and patterns of emotional eating are treatable, and recovery is possible.


If you are finding that thoughts about food, eating, or body image are taking up a great deal of space in your life, professional support can provide clarity, understanding, and practical tools for change.


You can learn more about Dr Marais’s approach here: Binge Eating Disorder Psychologist 

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