The Eating Disorder Therapist

Today, I’m talking to Shannon Western. Shannon is a nutritionist who specialises in nutrition counselling for disordered eating. She founded Ease Nutrition Therapy because she saw a huge need for compassionate, person-centred care to help people feel better around food. In this episode, Shannon talks about her approach in supporting clients in healing disordered eating. She is particularly passionate about shining a light on binge eating struggles, as this area is still often overlooked in the disordered eating community.   Shannon is massively encouraging of supporting her clients to enjoy food for health, satisfaction and pleasure. She shares her thoughts on meal plans, considering if you really need one and if so, who might benefit most. She also dives into self-care and how we can decompress and switch off from the busyness of life. Shannon also explains the importance of getting back in touch with childhood foods and genuine food loves. She talks about why she doesn't care what you eat and how she supports her clients in holistic healing. I hope that you enjoy the conversation. To find out more about Ease Nutrition Therapy: - Instagram @ease_nutritiontherapy Website: https://www.easenutritiontherapy.com/ The Ease with Food Podcast https://www.easenutritiontherapy.com/the-ease-with-food-podcast  

In this episode, I’m going to talk about some of the subtleties that can keep binge eating going. You might have already made some substantial progress in addressing binge eating but you feel frustrated that you have moments of slipping back and wondering how on earth it happened! If you reasonate with what I’m saying, be proud of how far you have come. You’ve probably struggled with your relationship with food for a long time and it is going to take a bit of time to unravel it and stay firmly rooted on the healing path. It is very normal for recovery to be a bumpy ride with one step forward and two steps back. I hope you find this episode valuable and it can support you in shifting further along, in understanding your binge eating and moving further towards healing.

This episode was first published in the summer of 2021 and has proved to be one of my most popular episodes! Apologies for a re-share - I hope that you enjoy it, either for a first listen or a great reminder of how to put self-love into practice. A new episode will be back next week. Something a bit different for you this week. 16 Ways to Actually Love Yourself (When you Have No Idea Where to Begin)! I'm speaking as someone who has very much walked this path, finding self-worth after being in the very depths of the deepest well. The episode is inspired by an article by Laura Jane Williams who contributed 'The Art of Loving Yourself', to the Stylist book - 'Life Lessons from Remarkable Women'. I'd highly recommend it.  This is not only for females; the strategies are valuable lessons for all. It includes a whole range of inspiring tips that actually make self-love seem that little bit more accessible. I hope that you enjoy the episode.       

Today I talk more about the psychology of eating disorders and themes seen in the therapy room. I explore my observed differences between people who lean towards a restrictive eating disorder and those who swing between restriction and bingeing or overeating. I discuss the ego-syntonic nature of eating disorders and how this brings much ambivalence about change. I offer hope and encouragement for learning new coping strategies and having a healthy relationship with food, your body and yourself. Previous episodes about the psychology of eating disorders: - Eating disorder recovery: when you're in 2 minds about change https://harrietfrew.podbean.com/e/eating-disorder-recovery-when-you-re-in-two-minds-about-change/ Understanding why you might be in patterns of control, neglect and self-sabotage around your eating https://harrietfrew.podbean.com/e/understanding-why-you-may-be-in-patterns-of-control-neglect-and-self-sabotage-around-eating/ Understanding more about the psychology of eating disorders https://harrietfrew.podbean.com/e/understanding-more-about-the-psychology-of-eating-disorders/  

Today I’m talking to Ella Williams who is a 27-year-old eating disorder survivor and Assistant Clinical Psychologist supporting young people who have experienced trauma and attachment difficulties. Ella has battled with anorexia, starvation and bulimia for 12 years but thankfully, she is now well along the recovery path. After becoming extremely ill at dance college, Ella bravely took a new path and dropped out of Dance and began studying Psychology in Sheffield. In the podcast episode today, Ella talks about her healing journey and the ups and downs along this road. She talks about the key factors that have helped her in recovery and reflects on how much her eating disorder has taught her about herself, her need to conform and fit in and be accepted by society. She says that she realises that it was never about food but ran much deeper. Ella also shares about family support that has been particularly beneficial in her healing. I know that you’re going to find this conversation really insightful, and it will inspire hope for the possibility of change and eating disorder recovery. To get in touch with Ella:- Instagram @ella_willss

Today I’m talking to Tracy Brown, a somatic nutritional therapist, registered licensed dietitian and attuned eating coach. Tracy works in private practice in Florida, USA, providing in-person, phone and online counselling since 2006.  Tracy and her Team coach women, men, children and adolescents who are struggling with food obsessions and body discomfort to build healthy, joyful relationships with food and body image, so they can be free and empowered to fully live their lives. The Team specialise in the treatment of eating disorders and eating problems, as well as issues related to over-extending the body, including adrenal fatigue, hormone issues, PCOS and gut health.   In this episode, Tracy firstly talks about her healing journey and how in the beginning, it felt as though there was nothing extraordinarily wrong.  She had great grades, many friends and excelled at most things she did.  However, Tracy felt somewhat empty and wondering what the point of everything was.  She was aware of being highly sensitive and very attuned to the feelings of others.  She was told more times than she can remember that she needed to toughen up.     Tracy could never get away from feeling what other people were feeling.  So she dove into obsessions around being nice, and good; the perfect kid/student/athlete to distract her from the discrepancies of the world.   Tracy fell into an eating disorder, starting out with restrictive eating and later into other eating disorder behaviours. But after 8 years, she began to walk her healing journey. She stepped into Attuned Eating, Deciding to Like her Body and to commit to the journey of self-acceptance and becoming her full embodied self. Then she began to teach others to do the same.     In addition to hearing about Tracy’s healing journey with the ups and downs along this recovery road, she is also going to talk about the work she does today with her clients, understanding the deeper meaning of eating disorders and how these can be symbolic communicators.  Because sometimes, food is the only way we have - to numb out, distract, calm or soothe from our inner pain.     Tracy is also trauma informed and is passionate about building safety for her clients in their nervous systems via co-regulation, sensory work, secure attachment and somatic experiencing, amongst other practices - to provide a "landing pad" for recovery to stick. I hope that you enjoy the conversation.     To find out more about Tracy and her Team: -    www.tracybrownrd.com and www.embodieddietitian.com Instagram: tracybrownrd Articles / book links : com/as-seen-on   Since 2006, she has guided people one on one and in groups in healing from disordered eating and chronic dieting, many of which also have other stress-related conditions at www.tracybrownrd.com/get-started and  https://www.tracybrownrd.com/free-gifts (to stop bashing your body) She is the creator of 3 courses that provide trauma informed and body image counseling skills and supervision to health professionals as well at www.embodieddietitian.com To get started with Attuned Eating, get your free guide at www.tracybrownrd.com/free-gifts To set up a free clarity call now schedule at www.tracybrownrd.com/get-started

Today, I’m talking to Dr. Margherita Mascolo from the United States, who is the chief medical officer at Alsana, a nationwide centre that treats eating disorders. Alsana is an eating recovery community and treatment provider that helps adult clients of all genders achieve lasting eating disorder recovery and whole health. Alsana has in-person programmes in California, Alabama and Missouri and virtual programmes that serve clients across the USA.   Dr. Mascolo, leads the medical component of Alsana’s Adaptive Care Model®. She has over 10 years of hands-on experience and extensive knowledge in the treatment of eating disorders. She works closely with Alsana’s medical leadership on the development and implementation of their medical care.   Prior to joining Alsana, she served as the Medical Director at ACUTE Centre for Eating Disorders at Denver Health. Additionally, Dr Mascolo is board-certified in Internal Medicine, has published multiple peer-reviewed articles on the medical complications of eating disorders, travels nationally and internationally to talk about this research, and has earned her certified eating disorder specialist (CEDS) certification.   In this episode, I hear about the groundbreaking work Dr. Mascolo and her Team are doing. The Alsana treatment centre prides itself on individualised treatment, which sets it apart from regular eating disorder treatment centres. They have found that 40 per cent of Alsana clients identify as LGBTQ and they have adapted their care model to meet the needs of this community, acknowledging that these needs are often overlooked in many other treatment places. Alsana is also the first treatment centre to launch a vegan programme for clients and recognises some unique benefits of having a strong female leadership.   I hope that you enjoy the conversation. To find out more about Dr. Mascolo and the Alsana Eating Disorder Recovery Treatment and Community: - Website: https://www.alsana.com/ Instagram: @alsana_recovery



Today I’m talking with Cara Byrne – an integrative humanistic psychotherapist based in Ireland. She is the founder of Hike Psych – offering walking and talking therapy in nature for her clients, combining her love of nature and psychotherapy, and Cara also works online.   Cara has always been fascinated by other human beings and the experiences that shape them. As a child, she was the person that people confided in with their problems if they needed support. Cara’s interest and enthusiasm to support others, led her to train in psychotherapy.     Cara also has her own food healing journey.  Being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 3; this understandably led to a focus and preoccupation with food, with carbohydrates needing to be counted and portions weighed to balance blood sugar levels and to manage insulin doses. Anyone listening that has experience of type 1 diabetes will be truly empathetic to the chronic burden of living with diabetes and how tricky it can be to manage your relationship with food. It’s hard to be relaxed and spontaneous with all the tracking and detail focus required.     Growing up, Cara also experienced being in a larger body in a naturally slim family. Cara’s family relationships were warm and accepting however she did experience some judgement and weight stigma outside of the family. In her late teens, Cara struggled with restrictive eating and inevitable binge eating, which then worsened following the birth of her first child. In the last few years, she has been on a healing journey in her own relationship with food and her body, leaning towards intuitive eating principles and finding a greater level of body neutrality and acceptance, all whilst navigating this around type 1 diabetes management.     Since she began her therapeutic work in 2011, Cara has worked with a vast number of clients dealing with many different issues across the mental health spectrum however has a specialist interest in food, body image, type 1 diabetes, Health At Every Size and neurodiversity.   In this conversation today, you will hear about Cara’s healing journey, and the ups and downs along this road. She also explores how she supports her clients today. There are not many psychotherapists who combine walking and talking therapy and Cara shares some interesting insights on this.   I hope that you enjoy the episode.   To find out more about Cara: - Website: https://www.hikepsych.ie/ Instagram: @hikepsych.ie  

Something a bit different this week - I share some of my reflections of being a counsellor and a wounded healer. I started counselling training at the tender age of 24 years old, with all the youthful idealism and profound naivety of a truly wounder healer. I was emerging from the depths of an eating disorder, with an intense desire to save the world and prevent others from experiencing the pain and distress of my own suffering. I was wading through the shallow waters of my own recovery journey and thankfully, the life debilitating disordered eating symptoms were almost absent. But little did I appreciate how much was still to come. There was a bumpy road ahead in mastering emotional regulation, communication in relationships and developing a robust self-worth, not dependent on the external validation of others.   And of course, the journey is never-ending to this day. Personal development and self-actualisation seem further into the distance, as I appreciate how little I know and how much more there is to learn. I have been reflecting recently on the strengths and weaknesses of bringing my wounded healer experience to the counselling relationship and I am sharing three thoughts on this. I hope that you enjoy the episode.   About my training days coming up: -   Eating Disorders Training https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/eating-disorders-training.html   Body Image Training https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/body-image-training.html  

Today I’m talking to Victoria Kleinsman – a Brit living her best life in the Netherlands. Victoria is a food freedom & body love coach, inspirational speaker, podcast host, and writer. She is certified in psychology, spirituality and the science of nutrition and is also inspired greatly in her work, by her own personal experience and walking a tumultuous recovery journey herself. Victoria has overcome anorexia, binge eating disorder, bulimia and an abusive relationship. She struggled for over 20 years with poor body image and disordered eating. But today, Victoria eats whatever she wants, when she wants, in any amount that she wants. She makes food choices from a place of nourishment and pleasure. She is healthy, confident and knows her worth. Her self-love is overflowing from within and she has, as she describes, ‘oodles to give others’. When talking to Victoria, I was absolutely struck by her openness and vulnerability in sharing, and also the level of transformation that she has undergone - from being completely food obsessed and self-loathing of her body; in the depths of despair with her self-esteem on the floor, to finding genuine peace with food; body love and a deep sense of worth and self-love. This is a truly inspiring and uplifting conversation to provide hope for what is possible in recovery. I hope that you enjoy it.

 To find out more about Victoria: -

 Free access to the first modules of my paid Body Love Binge Program: https://victoriakleinsman.com/free-access-to-first-few-modules/ Website: https://www.victoriakleinsman.com/ Email: info@victoriakleinsman.com 
 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victoriakleinsman Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victoriakleinsmanofficial/ 
 Podcast: https://anchor.fm/victoria-kleinsman “The Body Love Binge” on almost all podcast platforms. 
 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VictoriaKleinsman