We as humans have had our light dimmed for too long. We’ve been told that we are broken and that the “fix” can only be found in the next diet. Um, I mean “lifestyle change.” If there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that you are not broken. The system is.

Food and body struggles are common. So is the push to find the “perfect” way of eating that will get you the body that you want. But let me be the first to say that while it makes sense for you to want to be in a body that is considered “acceptable” to society, I believe that what you ACTUALLY want is much closer to home. It’s the love and acceptance you are promised if you comply with the systems that are actually keeping you stuck. What if, instead of trying to force your body to fit a particular mold, we worked on finding safety within you, then taking steps towards body respect? Notice I didn’t jump right to “body love.” I don’t expect you to do that either. A lifetime of conditioning has made body love feel like a far off concept for most of us, and that’s okay. Let’s start where you are and chart the course together based on what feels most important to you!

Here are some of the things that I love to support clients with:

• Recovering into a bigger body - I am a fat positive therapist, which means I understand that body diversity exists and don’t make judgments about your behaviors based on your body size. I myself recovered into a fat body and understand how hard it can be to live in a world that makes assumptions and judgments based on what they see. Treatment centers are known to promise things like “We won’t let you get fat,” but those are promises they can’t deliver on. Our bodies have the final say. There is nothing wrong with your body and you are every bit as deserving of taking up space in the recovery community as those in smaller bodies.

• Finding body neutrality - A lifetime of dieting can make it hard for your body to trust you, and vice versa. Finding ways to accept your body (or even tolerate it, if that’s all that feels accessible right now) can be challenging without support. It may not feel like it right now, but I believe that together, we can get you to a place where body hate is no longer your default setting.

• Reducing eating disorder behaviors incrementally - Letting go is hard, especially when certain behaviors have helped you survive up to this point. I don’t believe in an all-or-nothing kind of recovery. Many people find that in working towards reducing eating disorder behaviors over time without giving them all up at once, they are able to discover new coping skills from a place of curiosity rather than operating from a place of overwhelm and shut-down. Eating disorders thrive off of black-and-white mentality. Your recovery doesn’t have to. Harm reduction is an approach that has helped many people start to finally heal. 

• Breaking food rules - Trying to control your body isn’t working, and the more you try to control it, the more the rigid rules you’ve learned to apply to food and your body are actually controlling you!