Body Image Issues

In my training and research, I examined the impacts of body image concerns on BIPOC folx, women-identified individuals, and trans and gender-expansive folx across the lifespan.

The prevalence of negative body image is strongly tied to body representation in the entertainment industry. For both women and men, TV, movies, and advertising have all held up a gold standard of what people should look like. The message is subliminal: we’re not widely being told to look a certain way, but we are primarily seeing people in media who do match certain body types. There are ways you can practice body positivity in your own life to help with your body image.

I work with Body Image concerns, including but not limited to: Body Dysmorphia; Eating Disorders; Weight Gain/Loss; Food Shame; Food Addiction; Exercise Addiction; Familial Trauma; Bullying/Harassment; Kink; Puberty and Body Changes; Gender Exploration; Plastic Surgery; Ageing; Pregnancy; Reclamation of Self

Our society encourages us to feel bad about our bodies. As a fat woman, I know how difficult self-acceptance can be. Together, we will find ways for you to accept yourself as you are. I will encourage you to focus on what your body can do instead of what it “should” look like. I will support you in pursuing better health at any size while feeling happier in your own skin.

Sonya Renee Taylor (2021) writes that the "body is not an apology." I wholeheartedly believe this. At the same time, truly embodying this is HARD, and is a communal effort. Our bodies do not live in a vacuum, but are consistently being impacted/informed by the world, the systems, and the people around it. Through compassionate, somatic, and relational holding, I hope to help you reclaim a loving relationship with your body. To celebrate the uniqueness that makes you, YOU one breath at a time.

I am strongly informed by the Health at Every Size (HAES) philosophy. HAES is a social movement working to promote size-acceptance and lessen the cultural obsession with weight loss, thinness and that size determines health. I believe people of all sizes deserve respect and good health. As a therapist I am compassionate and supportive, yet direct and result oriented. I enjoy using humor in sessions as well! I will work with you to build on your strengths and achieve your goals.

I have worked with body image and disordered eating in both private practice and at the Eating Recovery Center. I enjoy helping people find comfort and peace in their body. I am a firm believer in Health at Every Size (HAES). I also love supporting people experiencing gender dysphoria.

If you are tired of feeling frustrated and angry with body and are craving a better relationship with yourself and the person you see in the mirror, I am here to help. I've found that more times than most, we learn what to think about our body from the people around us, and sometimes that could be healthier and more helpful. I use EMDR therapy to support you in uncovering memories that have impacted your view of your body and processing them to be more accurate so you can find love for your body

Imagine spending your life with the people and things you love, without worrying about what you ate or how long you worked out today. Imagine feeling fulfilled, like you deserve to be happy: that you're good enough just as you are. Through therapy, you can feel at ease in your body, make peace with food, and live a life that reflects your true values.

Development of skills for handling negative thoughts about physical appearance; building habits of more positive self-talk and self-perception.

Most of us have felt, at one point or another, that our body's size or shape is somehow wrong. For those of us who identify as fat, or whose bodies are otherwise considered atypical, it can feel impossible to distinguish our authentic feelings about our bodies from the forces that profit off of our self-criticism. I approach our work from a fat-positive, all-bodies-are-good-bodies perspective that prioritizes individual bodily autonomy and experience.

I strongly believe that there is a body image crisis in our culture, manufactured by the media, beauty companies/advertisers, diet culture, and the patriarchy. I am a fat-positive therapist who has studied the work of Lindo Bacon (Health at Every Size, Body Respect) and is part of a community of therapists committed to body acceptance principles for clients of all body types. If you have struggled with feeling worthy in your body, I would be honored to walk the path to healing with you.

Too often we are told we are not good enough and we need to change how we look, sound, move etc. Entire businesses run on making us feel less than. In such a cultural environment, being ourselves fully and unapologetically is the best revolution we can engage in. I work with clients using tenets of HAES and Intuitive Eating to create tailored programs of radical self love and body diversity.

I am a fat liberationist which has meant significant client work and training on issues around bodies and how we can all come to love our own bodies.

I teach clients body neutrality and work to break down barriers to weight stigma, body-focused perfectionism, and other cultural factors that lead to poor body image.

Body image issues and eating disorders are sometimes co-occurring for some clients with anxiety disorders. For the past two years I have worked with adolescents and adults who struggle with body image.