Latina Teens with Eating Disorders: A BIPOC Therapist’s Perspective on Culture, Social Media, and Healing

by Ana Moreno, LPC, ATR-P

Before I begin this conversation, I want to acknowledge a growing and urgent trend that sets the backdrop for much of the work we do in eating disorder treatment: the increasing number of adolescents, particularly girls, entering care after years of subtle, cumulative exposure to harmful content on social media.

A major review across 17 countries found that social media is a plausible risk factor for a more than 200 percent increase in eating disorders worldwide. Platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube use sophisticated algorithms to track behavior such as how long you linger, how quickly you scroll, and what you “like,” and then serve up more of the same. These platforms disproportionately push dieting culture, body transformation stories, and “crunchy” wellness trends that often promote shame around normal eating behaviors.

One study found that individuals with eating disorders received 334 percent more dieting content, 142 percent more fitness videos, and over 4,300 percent more toxic eating disorder-related content than those without. These numbers are staggering. They reflect not just what teens are seeing, but what they are internalizing.

For Latina adolescents, these influences do not exist in a vacuum. They intersect with cultural narratives about gender, identity, family roles, and body image. That intersection, between online influence and cultural expectation, is where I want to focus the heart of this blog. For further information on mitigating the impact of social media, click here. 

Cultural Expectations and Silenced Needs

In countless Latino households, daily life is shaped by women who embody warmth, generosity, and unwavering dedication to family. From a young age, Latinas are often taught that their primary role is to nurture by caring for siblings, supporting parents, cooking, cleaning, and eventually tending to their own children and elders. These values foster strong bonds, but they also send a powerful, unspoken message: your worth is in your service to others.

This deeply ingrained caretaking role often teaches Latina teens to silence their own needs. Many become experts in self-sacrifice, constantly seeking validation through academic performance, sports, and perfectionism. By the time they enter treatment for an eating disorder, they may have already spent years ignoring hunger, both physical and emotional.

When a Latina teen walks into care, it is essential that we not only address her symptoms, but also honor her cultural story.

Why Cultural Adaptation in Treatment Matters

As a first-generation Mexican/Puerto Rican therapist, I have seen how traditional treatment models often fall short when working with clients from communities of color. The most widely used approaches such as Family-Based Therapy (FBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and exposure-based interventions were originally developed to treat white, upper-middle-class women.

These models can still be helpful. But without adaptation, they risk overlooking key cultural dynamics that shape the way symptoms are expressed, understood, and treated in Latino families. That is why it is so important to integrate cultural knowledge, values, and lived experience into clinical care.

Barriers to Early Diagnosis in Latino Families

In my work with adolescents in an inpatient setting, I have seen how limited access to early intervention affects outcomes. Many Latino teens enter treatment without their family’s awareness of the severity of their behaviors. For some caregivers, the diagnosis is confusing or difficult to accept. This delay is not due to negligence, but to larger systemic and cultural barriers such as lack of education, stigma, language access, and a mental health system that has not historically included their stories.

Research supports this. According to the article “Update on the Epidemiology and Treatment of Eating Disorders Among Hispanic/Latinx Americans in the United States” by Hernández, Pérez, and Hoek (2022), Latinas have some of the highest rates of binge eating disorder compared to other ethnic groups. Yet, they are significantly less likely to access treatment. Acculturative stress, which is the strain of navigating between cultures, is often cited as a key contributing factor in the development of disordered eating patterns.

If assimilation into white American culture was part of the wound, then treatment rooted in that same culture may fall short of healing it.

Five Culturally Responsive Strategies for Eating Disorder Care

To create meaningful, lasting change for Latina adolescents, we must go beyond one-size-fits-all models. Below are five practical strategies I use in my work to make care more inclusive and effective.

1. Leaning Into Familial and Spiritual Practices

Faith, spirituality, and cultural rituals are essential support systems in many Latino families. Phrases like Dios proveerá (“God will provide”) reflect a deep trust in divine guidance. Practices such as limpias (spiritual cleansings), energy work, prayer, or the belief in mal de ojo (evil eye) can be harmonized with clinical approaches to offer holistic support. When respected and integrated, these practices can create a bridge between family beliefs and therapeutic goals.

2. The Weight of Language

In Latino households, body-based nicknames like flaca (skinny) or gordita (chubby) are common. While often said with affection, these words can reinforce shame or comparison. Educating families about how language shapes body image and emotional safety, without judgment, is a key part of the healing process.

Additionally, the Spanish language itself can offer healing. I often encourage clients to describe their recovery using the verb estar, which signals a temporary state, instead of ser, which implies permanence. “Estoy en un momento difícil” (“I am in a hard moment”) carries more hope than “Soy esto” (“I am this”). This simple shift can gently challenge identity-based thinking common in eating disorders.

3. Affirming Cultural Foods

Traditional treatment meal plans often prioritize Americanized ideas of health such as grilled chicken, broccoli, and yogurt. When cultural foods like tamales, arroz con pollo, pupusas, or plantains are excluded, teens may internalize the idea that their heritage is incompatible with recovery.

Food is identity. Including culturally familiar meals supports not only nutritional restoration but cultural belonging. Validating these foods in treatment reduces shame and reconnects clients with family, history, and comfort.

4. Naming Grief and Cultural Disconnection

Latina teens often describe a deep sense of grief, not just about food, but about disconnection from holidays, rituals, and family gatherings that once brought joy. Treatment must acknowledge this. Recovery is not just about weight. It is about reclaiming a sense of identity and belonging.

When cultural identity is ignored, treatment can feel isolating. Eating disorders already distort a teen’s sense of self. Therapy that does not include cultural integration risks reinforcing that disconnection.

5. Rebuilding Identity Through Expression and Pride

Healing also involves reimagining the self beyond the eating disorder. Integrating cultural pride into therapy through fashion, jewelry, traditional art, or spiritual practice can help teens rebuild self-worth. These expressions affirm beauty and strength in their roots, not just their recovery.

Western ideals of thinness, Eurocentric features, and light skin dominate mainstream beauty standards. Therapy should actively work to counter these ideals and elevate diverse cultural expressions of beauty. When Latina teens see their identities reflected and respected, recovery becomes not just possible but empowering.

Conclusion: Where Recovery Begins

As a clinician, I am constantly inspired by the teens and young adults I serve. I watch them work toward bold goals to become doctors, researchers, educators, and healers themselves.

Recovery can feel long, distant, and at times overwhelming. The most powerful progress often comes from the quiet moments—choosing to put one foot in front of the other, turning inward with compassion, and focusing on your own unique journey. With time, patience, and support, peace is possible. And it is so worth it.

To truly support Latina adolescents struggling with eating disorders, we must create spaces where culture is not only acknowledged but integrated. Where clinical care is paired with cultural respect. Where treatment honors identity, not erases it.

When we listen with intention and adapt with compassion, we can help young people not only heal but thrive.

InnerVoice Psychotherapy and Consultation is located in Chicago, IL and Skokie, IL and provides in person and telehealth services for anyone living in the state of IL.

Book with Ana here.