In this episode, I am joined by Asher Pandjiris, MA, LICSW, psychotherapist, group facilitator, queer-identified parent, art-maker, activist, podcaster, living with chronic health issues. Asher has years of experience working with issues related to trauma and its impact on the body. Asher is a scholar of critical, psychoanalytic and mindfulness-based theories. They have published on the topics of intergenerational trauma transmission, eating disorders, sexual assault in the music industry, and gender dysphoria. Asher is also the host of the “Living in this Queer Body” podcast.

TOPICS DISCUSSED:

• What brought Asher to work with people who struggle with disordered eating.

• Understanding the ways in which trauma effects the physical body.

• Looking, with curiosity, at what eating disorder behaviors are communicating as a result of trauma.

• How gender dysphoria is heightened for LGBTQIAA+ folks facing treatment and support exclusion.

• Gender binarism’s role in reinforcing adherence of certain body types and its impact on non-binary folks.

• As a provider, the importance of sensitivity in regard to gender expression in and after the recovery journey.

• The intersection of chronic illness and the allure of the wellness industrial complex.

• How promises of chronic illness “quick fixes” puts the most vulnerable populations at risk.

• Imagining embodied possibilities as a person living in an unpredictable body.

• Navigating the shame that arises when speaking publicly about chronic illness and chronic pain.

• What is missing in eating disorder treatment discourses (A LOT).

• The motivation behind Asher’s podcast “Living in this Queer Body”

ABOUT ASHER PANDJIRIS:

Asher Pandjiris, MA, LICSW is a white, queer, non-binary psychotherapist, parent to a human and two rescue pups, group facilitator and host of the “Living in this Queer Body” podcast. They are also someone living with auto-immune based chronic health issues.

Asher received a Masters of Arts in Visual and Critical Studies in 2007 and a Masters of Social Work from Smith College in 2013. In 2017, they completed a certificate program at The Stephen Mitchell Center for Relational Studies. Additionally, they served as the Program Director at Balance Eating Disorder treatment center and have years of experience working with issues related to trauma and its impact on the body.

Asher is a scholar of critical, psychoanalytic, and mindfulness based theories and has published on the topics of intergenerational trauma transmission, the treatment of eating disorders, sexual assault in the music industry and gender dysphoria.

Asher currently lives and works on stolen Nipmuc and Pocomtuc land, which is something they keep in the front of their mind. You can find Asher online at LivingInThisQueerBody.com.

CONNECT WITH ASHER:

• Meet Asher and learn about their psychotherapy services

• Explore “body wounds, disembodiment and challenges to nourishment” by visiting Living in this Queer Body online

• Learn about Living in this Queer Body project’s group workshops, one-on-one coaching sessions, and Program Intensive

• Listen and subscribe to Asher’s podcast, “Living in this Queer Body”

• Follow Asher on Instagram at @livinginthisqueerbody

• Purchase a recording of the virtual webinar: “Pandemic Fatigue From a Disability Justice Perspective” (two purchase options)

• Read Asher’s article “Tenuous Embodiment: In Queer Communities, Disordered Eating Has Complex Roots” written for Bitch Magazine

• Discover more of Asher’s speaking appearances:

  • “Chronic Illness, Body Acceptance, and Breaking Free from the Wellness Diet with Asher Pandjiris” for the Food Psych Podcast

  • “Asher Pandjiris’s Bedside Manner” for the Bedside Manner Podcast

  • “Living in this Queer Body” for the Rebel Therapist Podcast

  • “Staying with Yourself: Challenging Codependency in Pandemic Times” webinar