Courage Over Comfort with Jacque Mular, MS, RDN, LMFT

 
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Episode 32 - Courage Over Comfort with Jacque Mular, MS, RDN, LMFT

by Karin Lewis, MA, LMFT, CEDS

IN THIS EPISODE:

In this episode, I am joined by Jacque Mular, MS, RDN, LMFT. Jacque has devoted her life’s work to helping others heal their relationships with food, exercise, and body image. Prior to moving into her role as Clinical Director of the Eating Disorder Center of Portland, Jacque’s own experience with disordered eating, exercise, and recovery were what drove her into the eating disorder field, but her passion and desire for growth are what sustains her.

“My body has gotten me through a lot and just like Yoda, it has aged a bit. I am so grateful for my years on this planet, and I certainly don’t expect my body to look the same ⎼ my soul certainly doesn’t.”
— Jacque Mular, MS, RDN, LMFT

SOME OF THE TOPICS DISCUSSED:

  • The soul-to-soul connection that happens in recovery.

  • Undoing the harm and unwinding scare tactics as a result of prescribed healthcare.

  • Embracing the Intuitive Eating model when treating eating disorders.

  • The importance of celebrating all (even small) steps in recovery.

  • Finding wellness without obsession.

  • Learning how to embrace change in all its forms.

  • Moving through and growing from uncomfortable, necessary feelings.

  • Shifting from external to internal healing includes moving away from rigidity and towards flexibility.

  • Finding self-confidence in living up to ideals, values, and potential.

  • Discovering your voice through grief and loss.

  • The beauty of the aging process.

  • Learning to see people soul-to-soul, human-to-human.

  • Balancing social justice reform beliefs.

  • Reconnecting, accepting, and respecting your body — flaws and all.

ABOUT JACQUE MULAR:

Jacque Mular, MS, RDN, LMFT has devoted her life’s work to helping others heal their relationships with food, exercise, and body image. Additionally, Jacque is Level One trained in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy. Prior to moving into her role as Clinical Director of the Eating Disorder Center of Portland (EDCP), Jacque served as a Registered Dietitian at the Eating Disorder Center of California and Primary Therapist at Monte Nido Vista. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Idaho and went on to earn two graduate degrees— her Masters in nutrition from California State University at Northridge and her Masters in psychology from Antioch University Los Angeles.

Jacque co-authored Real World Recovery and is a contributing author to Monte Nido Founder Carolyn Costin’s new book on multi-disciplinary treatment of eating disorders in special populations.

CONNECT WITH JACQUE MULAR:

ABOUT KARIN LEWIS:

Karin Lewis, MA, LMFT, CEDS has been recovered from Anorexia Nervosa for over 20 years and has been specializing in the prevention and treatment of eating disorders since 2005. Karin is the founder of the Karin Lewis Eating Disorder Center located in Boston, MA. You can visit Karin Lewis Eating Disorder Center online to learn more about Karin and her center’s services. You can also connect with Karin on social media by following @karinlewisedc on Facebook and Instagram.

 

A Spoonful of Sugar Makes the Oppression Go Down with Lindo Bacon, PhD

 
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Episode 31 - A Spoonful of Sugar Makes the Oppression Go Down with Lindo Bacon, PhD

by Karin Lewis, MA, LMFT, CEDS

IN THIS EPISODE:

In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Lindo Bacon, a researcher and former professor, having taught courses in social justice, health, weight and nutrition for nearly two decades. Bacon holds a PhD in physiology with a specialty in nutrition, and Masters degrees in psychology and exercise metabolism. Bacon has mined their deep academic proficiency, their clinical expertise, and their personal experience to write two bestselling books, Health at Every Size: The Surprising Truth About Your Weight, and the co-authored Body Respect: What Conventional Health Books Get Wrong, Leave Out, or Just Plain Fail to Understand about Weight both of which are credited with transforming the weight discourse and inspiring a hopeful new course for the global body positivity movement. In their forthcoming book, Radical Belonging: How to Survive and Thrive in an Unjust World (While Transforming it for the Better), Bacon takes their inspiring message beyond size, to shaping a culture of empathy, equity and true belonging. A compelling speaker and storyteller, Bacon delivers a unique blend of academic expertise, clinical experience, and social justice advocacy, all couched in a raw honesty and compassion that touch and inspire.

SOME OF THE TOPICS DISCUSSED:

  • The dangers of government and healthcare professionals using weight stigma for health promotion.

  • Weight stigma is one of many body-based oppressions.

  • The problem is in injustice, not individuals.

  • Alienation from one’s body isn’t a result of personal failing; it’s a result of culture failing people.

  • For marginalized people, a focus on self-love can be a spoonful of sugar that makes the oppression go down.

  • The “school to prison pipeline” theory.

  • Being “othered” and the body shame it spurs is not “just” a feeling.

  • What happens when we try to fit into the expectations that society thrusts on us.

  • The challenges stemming from oppression, moving beyond self-love, and into belonging.

  • The beauty of connection, community, belonging, and truly “seeing” on another allows self-love to carry us to healing.

  • The belief that recovery means accepting humanity and taking care of yourself in it.

  • Lindo’s experience writing Radical Belonging: How to Survive and Thrive in an Unjust World (While Transforming it for the Better).

ABOUT LINDO BACON:

Dr. Lindo Bacon is fostering a global transformation – away from our obsession with body weight and to body respect. Their mission is to provide the critical thought, inspiring vision, and practical strategies needed to empower individuals, organizations, and institutions to respect all bodies and support compassionate self-care.

Bacon holds graduate degrees in physiology, psychology, and exercise metabolism with a specialty in nutrition. A professor and researcher, for almost two decades Bacon has taught courses in social justice, health, weight and nutrition; they have also conducted federally funded studies on health and weight and published in top scientific journals.

Bacon is co-author of the paradigm-shifting Body Respect: What Conventional Health Books Get Wrong, Leave Out, or Just Fail to Understand about Weight. They also wrote the iconic and bestselling Health at Every Size: The Surprising Truth about Your Weight. In their forthcoming book, Radical Belonging: How to Survive and Thrive in an Unjust World (While Transforming it for the Better), Bacon takes their inspiring message beyond size, to shaping a culture of empathy, equity and true belonging.

Bacon’s advocacy for body respect has generated a large following on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, health and nutrition listservs and specialty blogs, and the international lecture circuit. Bacon is committed to centralizing the ways in which power, privilege and disadvantage complicate our experience of our bodies. Health professionals – as well as people on their own personal journeys to body appreciation – call Lindo’s work “life-changing” and “transformative,” providing the tools and confidence for personal change and inspiring others. A compelling speaker, writer and storyteller, Bacon delivers a unique blend of academic expertise, clinical experience, and social justice advocacy, all couched in a raw honesty and compassion that touch and inspire.

CONNECT WITH LINDO BACON:

ABOUT KARIN LEWIS:

Karin Lewis, MA, LMFT, CEDS has been recovered from Anorexia Nervosa for over 20 years and has been specializing in the prevention and treatment of eating disorders since 2005. Karin is the founder of the Karin Lewis Eating Disorder Center located in Boston, MA. You can visit Karin Lewis Eating Disorder Center online to learn more about Karin and her center’s services. You can also connect with Karin on social media by following @karinlewisedc on Facebook and Instagram.

 

Intuitive Healing with Anna Sweeney, MS, RD, LDN, CEDRD-S

 
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Episode 30 - Intuitive Healing with Anna Sweeney, MS, RD, LDN, CEDRD-S

by Karin Lewis, MA, LMFT, CEDS

IN THIS EPISODE:

In this episode, I am joined by Anna Sweeney, MS, RD, LDN, CEDRD-S, a Certified Eating Disorder Registered Dietitian and Supervisor, Certified Intuitive Eating Specialist and owner of Whole Life Nutrition Counseling, a weight inclusive nutrition therapy practice dedicated to the thoughtful treatment of eating disorders, disordered eating, and body image concerns. A nationally respected eating disorder dietitian and serving as an expert in a variety of media forums, Anna is dedicated to empowering her clients to notice and refute the influence of diet culture in their lives. She provides compassionate, no-nonsense support to her clients and followers, and challenges oppressive forces that make being in a body challenging, helping them to understand that interaction with food, body and movement are both unique and personal. Anna is also a full-time disabled person and uses her lived experience to enhance the work she does. You can find Anna at @dietitiananna on Instagram.

SOME OF THE TOPICS DISCUSSED:

  • The barriers to treatment for humans in marginalized bodies.

  • Racial disparity as a deciding factor when to who gets care.

  • The harm of weight stigma existing within a diagnosis.

  • Challenging the norms of healthcare standards.

  • Relating through and with her clients.

  • Intuitive eating and its role in wellness culture and eating disorder recovery.

  • The pervasive ways in which diet culture infiltrates the media and our lives.

  • Anna’s insight from having a sibling with an eating disorder and how that experience has shifted over time.

  • Anna’s motivation to get into the field of dietetics, specifically eating disorders.

  • The wisdom gained from Anna’s personal experiences as well as her professional work as a dietitian supporting those in recovery from an eating disorder.

  • Using her anti-diet voice as a means to combat and challenge the narrative how we talk about food, our body, and ourselves.

ABOUT ANNA SWEENEY:

Anna Sweeney is a Certified Eating Disorder Registered Dietitian, Certified Intuitive Eating Specialist and owner of Whole Life Nutrition Counseling. She is an expert in the treatment of individuals struggling with eating disorders, disordered eating, and emotional eating. Anna combines her knowledge of the science of nutrition and experience in the treatment of eating disorders with direct, compassionate, and heartfelt care to help her clients realize the pleasures of living a whole life.

Anna received her Bachelors of Science Degree in Food Science and Nutrition and her Masters Degree of Nutrition and Health Promotion from Simmons College, Boston. While earning her Masters' Degree, Anna served as Lead Dietitian of the Partial Hospitalization Program at Walden Behavioral Care, LLC, an eating disorder and psychiatric facility outside of Boston.

After working at all levels of eating disorder care - partial hospitalization, residential, and inpatient - she was promoted to the position of Coordinator of Nutrition Services where she managed the nutrition department, supported nutrition staff, and developed nutrition protocols for the treatment of inpatient adolescent patients.

Anna served as the first dietitian for Monte Nido at Laurel Hill, a residential eating disorder treatment facility in Boston, Massachusetts, and held the title of National Director of Nutrition Services for the organization until 2018.

Anna is member of the Massachusetts Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (MAND), the Massachusetts Dietetic Association (MDA), and is an active member of the Multiservice Eating Disorder Association (MEDA), the Academy for Eating Disorders (AED), the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals Foundation (IAEDP), and the International Federation for Eating Disorder Dietitians (IFEDD).

Anna is certified by the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals as a dietitian with eating disorder expertise and is also an IAEDP approved supervisor. CEDRD status is earned by dietitians who have met rigorous educational and skill requirements, have accumulated a minimum number of hours of qualifying work experience, and have made a commitment to stay abreast of current developments in the field through Continuing Education.

Whole Life Nutrition Counseling in Concord, MA, works exclusively with clients with eating disorders, disordered eating, or an interest in intuitive eating. At Whole Life Nutrition, Anna’s goal is to help her clients to heal their relationships with food and body, trust their own wisdom, appreciate self-care, and to enjoy every bite along the way. Anna’s extensive history working with eating disorder clients on an outpatient basis allows her bring her expertise, experience, and enthusiasm to Whole Life Nutrition Counseling and the MetroWest Community. 

Anna is a recognized public figure on social media, where she does not shy away from talking about chronic illness, wellness culture, and how to navigate these tenuous spaces. Foreseeing that many would not be able to access the support they may need due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Anna created Virtual Connection, a weekly free hour of support for those struggling with eating disorders, disordered eating, and body image concerns.

Anna also proudly identifies herself as a disabled woman. In the context of Anna’s disability and inability to access nature in ways that she once could, Anna created the #inaccessibleviews hashtag where she asks for photos and videos of places, around the world, that a disabled body cannot experience. With over 10K views, #inaccessibleviews powerfully bridges the gap between the able-bodied and disabled worlds.

CONNECT WITH ANNA SWEENEY:

ABOUT KARIN LEWIS:

Karin Lewis, MA, LMFT, CEDS has been recovered from Anorexia Nervosa for over 20 years and has been specializing in the prevention and treatment of eating disorders since 2005. Karin is the founder of the Karin Lewis Eating Disorder Center located in Boston, MA. You can visit Karin Lewis Eating Disorder Center online to learn more about Karin and her center’s services. You can also connect with Karin on social media by following @karinlewisedc on Facebook and Instagram.

 

Smashing the Stigma with Aaron Flores, RDN

 
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Episode 26 - Smashing the Stigma with Aaron Flores, RDN

by Karin Lewis, MA, LMFT, CEDS

IN THIS EPISODE:

In this episode, I am joined by Aaron Flores, a registered dietitian nutritionist based out of Los Angeles, California. Aaron came to this work after seeing the damage done by a focus on weight loss and diet culture. With over 10 years of experience, he has worked with eating disorders in a multitude of settings. Aaron currently works part-time at Center for Discovery and part-time in his private practice in Calabasas, CA. Aaron specializes in Intuitive Eating, Health at Every Size®, and helping clients reclaim Body Trust®. His goal is to help individuals leave behind the world of diets and body shame and instead embrace their relationship with food and their body with curiosity, self-compassion, and empathy. Along with his work with eating disorders, Aaron co-hosts the podcast, Dietitians Unplugged.


SOME OF THE TOPICS DISCUSSED:

  • How the silence of individuals of all bodies speaks volumes.

  • The harm of not being recognized, due to weight stigma.

  • The debilitating, cyclical effects of dieting.

  • The importance of accessible, weight inclusive care for all bodies, especially in treatment center settings.

  • How a lack of diagnosis and substandard medical care is harming individuals in larger bodies.

  • How transparency and open dialogue is imperative within the eating disorder community and supporting organizations.

  • The reality that individuals in larger bodies are being prescribed that which we are diagnosing in smaller bodies.


ABOUT AARON FLORES:

Aaron Flores is a registered dietitian nutritionist based out of Los Angeles, California. With over 10 years of experience, Aaron has worked with eating disorders in a variety of settings. A large part of his career was spent working at the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System where he helped develop and launch one of the first Binge Eating Disorder programs to help Veterans struggling with this disorder. Since leaving the VA, Aaron has continued to work in the eating disorder community helping run groups and providing individual counseling to adolescents and adults. He currently works part-time at Center for Discovery as Senior Coordinator for Weight-Inclusive Care and part-time in his private practice in Calabasas, CA. Aaron is a Certified Body Trust® provider, and his main areas of focus are Intuitive Eating and Health at Every Size®.

In his work, Aaron helps individuals learn how to make peace with food and develop body-positive behaviors. His work has been featured during Weight Stigma Awareness Week, in blogs for the National Eating Disorder Information Centre and National Eating Disorder Association. Aaron is a frequent speaker and has presented at the 2016 and 2017 Binge Eating Disorder Awareness Annual Conference, the 2018 and 2019 International Conference on Eating Disorders, and the 2018 Association for Size Diversity and Health Conference. Along with his work with eating disorders, he also is a co-host of the podcast, Dietitians Unplugged.

CONNECT WITH AARON FLORES:

ABOUT KARIN LEWIS:

Karin Lewis, MA, LMFT, CEDS has been recovered from Anorexia Nervosa for over 20 years and has been specializing in the prevention and treatment of eating disorders since 2005. Karin is the founder of the Karin Lewis Eating Disorder Center located in Boston, MA. You can visit Karin Lewis Eating Disorder Center online to learn more about Karin and her center’s services. You can also connect with Karin on social media by following @karinlewisedc on Facebook and Instagram.

 

Wasted and the Phenomenon of the Trainwreck Girl with Marya Hornbacher

 
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Episode 23 - Wasted and the Phenomenon of the Trainwreck Girl with Marya Hornbacher

by Karin Lewis, MA, LMFT, CEDS

“Healing requires one thing above all - it takes action.
This will not be done for you.
Eventually, you, yourself, will have to choose how to do it, how to live.
Recovery is a choice.”
— Marya Hornbacher

IN THIS EPISODE:

In this episode, I am joined by award-winning essayist, journalist, novelist, poet, and New York Times bestselling author of five books, Marya Hornbacher. Her first book, the memoir Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia, appeared when she was 23, and was shortlisted for a Pulitzer Prize. In May 2014, 15 years after the original date of publication, the book was updated with a Postscript by Hornbacher. While she doesn’t sugarcoat the hard work of recovery, she does assure that healing is attainable and within reach. With a new ending to her story that adds a contemporary edge, Wasted continues to be timely and relevant.

SOME OF THE TOPICS DISCUSSED:

  • The motives behind the raw, graphic nature of Wasted.

  • The phenomenon of the “trainwreck girl” during the memoir boom of the 1990s.

  • The unintentional/intentional “glamorization” of eating disorders in the media.

  • The invasiveness of social media consumption and the role of personal responsibility.

  • The line between being “triggered” and being an educated consumer.

  • Recovery is “messy” because life is “messy.”

  • Accepting our personal limitations vs beating ourselves up over them.

  • Why self awareness and self compassion are vital in the process of healing.

  • How Marya uses the Twelve Step model in her recovery and current life.

ABOUT MARYA HORNBACHER:

In 1998, Marya Hornbacher published her first book, Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia, to international renown. Her first book, the memoir Wasted, appeared when she was 23, and was shortlisted for a Pulitzer Prize. This book earned Hornbacher a nomination for the Pulitzer Prize in nonfiction, and over the years has become a worldwide classic. Her first novel, The Center of Winter, was published in 2005 to international acclaim. The New York Times named the book an Editor’s Choice, and Booklist called Hornbacher “a master storyteller.” Her third book, Madness: A Bipolar Life, was an immediate New York Times Bestseller, and earned her more praise in the Times, which wrote, “Hornbacher is a virtuoso writer.” Her fourth and fifth books, Sane: Mental Illness, Addiction, and the Twelve Steps and Waiting: A Nonbeliever’s Higher Power, both published by Hazelden, have found passionate audiences who are working toward recovery from addictions of all kinds. Waiting, published in 2011, examines the role of spirituality in a non-believer’s life, and was a finalist for both the Books for Better Life Award and the Minnesota Book Award. Marya’s sixth book, We’ve Been Healing All Along: Real Lives and Real Strategies for Mental Health Recovery, tells the personal stories of dozens of people with mental health disorders who are defining, and achieving, personal success on their own terms.

Hornbacher’s work is available in more than twenty languages, which has earned her an international reputation. A three-time Morse Fellow at Yale, and a regular speaker on humanism and ethics at Harvard, she has also spoken on the topics of recovery, spirituality, and mental health at Columbia Medical School, Vassar, UC Berkeley, Swarthmore, Skidmore, Wesleyan, Amherst, the University of Michigan, and many others. While she lectures widely in academic settings, she is closely engaged in advocacy for mental health recovery, and is a frequent pro bono visitor to community-based mental health groups of all sizes and kinds, including NAMI, DBSA, and RAISE.

Born in San Francisco, Hornbacher has long made her home in Minneapolis. The recipient of a host of awards for her books, journalism, teaching, and research, including the Annie Dillard Award for Creative Nonfiction and the Fountain House Humanitarian Award for Mental Health Activism, she is a current Logan Nonfiction Fellow at the Carey Institute for Global Good. Marya is hard at work on her seventh book, a collection of essays on the subject of solitude in women’s lives. She teaches creative writing and journalism at Augsburg University and the University of Nebraska.

CONNECT WITH MARYA HORNBACHER:

ABOUT KARIN LEWIS:

Karin Lewis, MA, LMFT, CEDS has been recovered from Anorexia Nervosa for over 20 years and has been specializing in the prevention and treatment of eating disorders since 2005. Karin is the founder of the Karin Lewis Eating Disorder Center located in Boston, MA. You can visit Karin Lewis Eating Disorder Center online to learn more about Karin and her center’s services. You can also connect with Karin on social media by following @karinlewisedc on Facebook and Instagram.

 

Eating Disorders, Embodiment, and Social Justice with Andrea LaMarre, PhD

 
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Episode 22 - Eating Disorders, Embodiment, and Social Justice with Andrea LaMarre, PhD

by Karin Lewis, MA, LMFT, CEDS

IN THIS EPISODE:

In this episode, I am joined by academic and activist Andrea LaMarre, PhD. Recovered from her own eating disorder, Andrea is a researcher, writer, speaker, and aspiring filmmaker from Canada living in Auckland, New Zealand. She currently works at Massey University as a lecturer in critical health psychology. With a passion for improving access to quality, accessible, and appropriate care for people with eating disorders, Andrea’s focus is on working systemically and structurally to change healthcare policy to be more supportive of diverse experiences.

SOME OF THE TOPICS DISCUSSED:

  • The definition of recovery is not singular.

  • Being vulnerable is the antithesis of being in an eating disorder.

  • How black and white thinking can keep us from reaching recovery.

  • Social Justice and diversity in the eating disorders community.

  • Eating disorders don't have a "look".

  • Finding your passion post-recovery.

  • Going through treatment does not necessarily make you recovered.

ABOUT ANDREA LAMARRE:

Andrea LaMarre has always been social-justice-minded: one of her earliest forays into eating disorder research was an exploration of how one might understand eating disorders as a social justice issue, due to the many barriers to care that exist for those who do not fit the expected presentation of eating disorders (i.e., those who are marginalized along the lines of their ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, body size, etc.). As Andrea has become increasingly engaged with the eating disorder advocacy and activism community, however, she has been galvanized by the real stories of those who are let down by our current continuum of care for eating disorders.

Andrea’s research centers around recovery, which may seem a lesser concern in the face of these serious issues with access to care for eating disorders. However, Andrea has seen how hope for the future can be a powerful thing through engagement with various advocacy efforts over the years. She strongly believes that understanding recovery in a more complex, situated, systemic, and relational way can help to build supportive systems of care that are accessible, timely, and appropriate for the complexities of the people who seek them. In Andrea’s research, she aims to better understand what recovery means to diversely embodied (i.e., people from different ethnicities, socioeconomic statuses, genders, body sizes, etc.) sufferers and their families. Andrea contends that by sharing lived experiences of recovery in the form of digital stories (short films about lived experience created in a facilitated workshop) one can create spaces for engaging in productive dialogue between healthcare providers, policy makers, and those with lived experience. This dialogue can help to understand what people and their families need in order to reach recovery.

Andrea’s overall goal in all of her work is to increase access to health and wellness for diversely embodied people who have experienced eating distress. Approaching eating disorders with a systemic, social justice lens allows people to look beyond a perspective that positions them as issues of individual responsibility and vanity; it allows people to begin to understand how individuals interact with social and political systems and how this impacts their health. Research, to Andrea, is about more than simply producing scholarly knowledge. It is about deeply engaging with communities to work toward a world that honors diversity and breaks down barriers to access. It is about hearing the stories of those who are being let down, and, rather than being immobilized, working to create alternative possibilities.

Andrea obtained her PhD in 2018 at the University of Guelph, where she used qualitative and arts-based approaches to explore eating disorders recoveries from the perspectives of people in recovery and their chosen supporters. Andrea is a member of a number of organizations for eating disorder professionals, including the Academy for Eating Disorders and the Eating Disorders Association of Canada, and volunteers for the National Initiative for Eating Disorders in Canada.

In her spare time, Andrea watches really bad TV, reads young adult fiction, and spends entirely too much time on Twitter. She can also be found hiking with her husband or attending too many conferences.

CONNECT WITH ANDREA LAMARRE:

ABOUT KARIN LEWIS:

Karin Lewis, MA, LMFT, CEDS has been recovered from Anorexia Nervosa for over 20 years and has been specializing in the prevention and treatment of eating disorders since 2005. Karin is the founder of the Karin Lewis Eating Disorder Center located in Boston, MA. You can visit Karin Lewis Eating Disorder Center online to learn more about Karin and her center’s services. You can also connect with Karin on social media by following her on Facebook and Instagram.

 

All in the Family with Anna Kowalski, MA, LMFT, CEDS

 
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Episode 19 - All in the Family with Anna Kowalski, MA, LMFT, CEDS

by Karin Lewis, MA, LMFT, CEDS

IN THIS EPISODE:

In this episode, I am joined by Anna Kowalski, MA, LMFT, CEDS. With over 18 years of experience in treating eating disorders and a true passion for family therapy, Anna has supported countless clients to successful recovery. She has provided training and mentoring in several eating disorder treatment centers across the United States and firmly holds the belief that full recovery from an eating disorder is possible. Direct, authentic, and with a big heart, Anna is a powerful match for any eating disorder. Anna’s extensive experience and knowledge of the importance of family integration allows her to help families reconnect with one another and open the lines of communication during what is often a long and difficult journey to recovery. Recovered clients report that successful family relationships were often the key ingredient for success. 

SOME OF THE TOPICS DISCUSSED:

  • Family work is necessary for recovery.

  • The "fight" between the eating disorder and the family.

  • Families are not to blame, though they can be part of the problem…and part of the solution!

  • How one family session can feel like 500 individual sessions!

  • Biological and chosen families. 

  • Talking through anger.

  • Historical narratives and perceptions.

  • The need for family members to practice self-care.


ABOUT ANNA KOWALSKI:

Anna Kowalski received her Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University Los Angeles. She has been licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist since 2001. Anna was honored to have an 18-year career at Monte Nido & Affiliates: Residential Treatment for Eating Disorders, and left her position as Chief Experience Office at the end of 2017.

Anna has provided training and mentoring in several eating disorder treatment centers across the United States and firmly holds the belief that full recovery from an eating disorder is possible.

Anna is a person first, therapist second practitioner. She is a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist who also loves to work with individuals, couples, and all configurations of families. In working with families, Anna’s help to restore/teach communication skills, while working through the discord to create a sense of wholeness.

With fierce protection, uncanny humor, and insightful honesty, Anna's unique gift of bringing out each client's healthy self. Her bold authenticity and use of positive psychology have endeared her to clients through the years. Supporting clients and their families as they navigate their way from eating disordered to fully recovered, Anna's clinical expertise, strength, and insight have made her a sought after therapist in the realm of family therapy and eating disorders. She inspires clients with her zest for life, sense-of-humor, and ability to make every person that crosses her path feel special. Anna is also a dynamic, engaging speaker and has presented nationally on eating disorders and recovery.

While Anna has had a private practice in the Calabasas CA area for the past 20 years, she currently has a cherished private practice in Agoura Hills, California. 

SPECIAL LISTENER QUESTION FEATURE:

  • Submit your questions for a chance to have them answered when Anna returns to the podcast!

  • You can email questions to Karin directly, comment on the episode webpage, and/or send them via Instagram and Facebook.

  • All questions will be anonymous to protect our listeners.

ABOUT KARIN LEWIS:

Karin Lewis, MA, LMFT, CEDS has been recovered from Anorexia Nervosa for over 20 years and has been specializing in the prevention and treatment of eating disorders since 2005. Karin is the founder of the Karin Lewis Eating Disorder Center located in Boston, MA. You can visit Karin Lewis Eating Disorder Center online to learn more about Karin and her center’s services. You can also connect with Karin on social media by following her on Facebook and Instagram.

If you enjoyed the podcast, we would be so grateful if you would please take a minute to leave us a rating/review on Apple Podcasts.

Are you interested in becoming a guest on the Recovery Bites podcast? If so, please fill out our brief application form to start the process.

 

Hungry for Freedom with Mindy Gorman-Plutzer, FNLP, CEPC, CHC, AADP

 
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Episode 18 - Hungry for Freedom with Mindy Gorman-Plutzer, FNLP, CEPC, CHC, AADP

by Karin Lewis, MA, LMFT, CEDS

IN THIS EPISODE:

In this episode, I am joined by Mindy Gorman-Plutzer, a nutrition consultant, certified holistic health coach, eating psychology coach, and founder of The Freedom Promise, a private coaching practice in Manhattan. Mindy’s experience with her own recovery, her education in Functional Nutrition and Holistic Health, training in Transformational Coaching, and Eating Psychology inspired her to write The Freedom Promise: 7 Steps to Stop Fearing What Food Will Do to You and Start Embracing What It Can Do for You.

SOME OF THE TOPICS DISCUSSED:

  • “I was doing recovery, but I didn’t know what I was hungry for”

  • Defining your personal, non-linear recovery journey.

  • Turning pain into purpose.

  • Challenging the fear of what food will do TO you and embracing what food can do FOR you.

  • The difficulties with battling disordered eating and substance abuse.

  • How “Higher Powers” can look different for everyone.

  • Learning how to live in “the middle.”

  • Stomach, head, and heart hunger and listening to what you are hungry for.

  • Finding freedom from your eating disorder and reclaiming your best self.

  • Viewing transformation as less about what you want to do and more of what you want to let go of.

Being recovered means being able to rely on myself to have the confidence to go forward, no matter what obstacle I’m going to meet, and that I can rise up.


ABOUT MINDY GORMAN-PLUTZER:

Mindy Gorman-Plutzer is a nutrition consultant, certified holistic health coach, and eating psychology coach. Working in the weight management industry for 19 years, she has combined her background, trainings in holistic health, transformational coaching, and eating psychology with her extensive life experience to create The Freedom Promise, a Functional Nutrition and Eating Psychology coaching practice dedicated to guiding clients on the most valuable journey of their lives – the one where they get to realize and re-claim the most vibrant version of themselves.

Mindy has worked with hundreds of clients to transform their relationship with food from one mired in toxic and limiting beliefs to one that is joyous, loving, and free. She introduces strategies that are a combination of practical coaching techniques, results-oriented psychology, clinical nutrition, body-centered practices, mind-body science, and a positive and compassionate approach to challenges with food, weight, and health. Clients experience results that are nourishing, doable, and sustainable.

Mindy’s new book, The Freedom Promise: 7 Steps to Stop Fearing What Food Will Do to You and Start Embracing What It Can Do for You, shares powerful insight and strategies related to letting go of disordered eating behaviors and limiting beliefs that keep the reader tied to a toxic relationship with food, The Freedom Promise offers personal stories to inspire, practical steps, and affirmations. You will be motivated to examine your behavior with food, explore your hunger, and be guided to reframe the stories you have been telling yourself about food and your relationship to it.

Join Mindy alongside 38 global experts from August 24th-30th for the “Recovery Revealed: What's Feeding Your Disordered Eating?” Virtual Online Summit to “offer solutions to the challenging behavior and beliefs about food and your body.” Mindy has brought together dozens of leaders to share new information and protocols to support a special unique journey toward healing one's broken relationship with food. These experts come from the fields of functional medicine, psychology, psychiatry, mindset, nutrition, and healing. Please click here to register.

I invite you to join us so together we can continue to share the message of hope, healing and full recovery. — Mindy Gorman-Plutzer


Mindy currently resides in New York with her husband, is a mother, mother in law, and grandmother. She enjoys golf, Pilates, exploring the city, and after leaving her own disordered relationship with food behind, loves to cook and experience the wonder and complexity of food.

CONNECT WITH MINDY GORMAN-PLUTZER:

ABOUT KARIN LEWIS:

Karin Lewis, MA, LMFT, CEDS has been recovered from Anorexia Nervosa for over 20 years and has been specializing in the prevention and treatment of eating disorders since 2005. Karin is the founder of the Karin Lewis Eating Disorder Center located in Boston, MA. You can visit Karin Lewis Eating Disorder Center online to learn more about Karin and her center’s services. You can also connect with Karin on social media by following her on Facebook and Instagram.

If you enjoyed the podcast, we would be so grateful if you would please take a minute to leave us a rating/review on Apple Podcasts.

Are you interested in becoming a guest on the Recovery Bites podcast? If so, please fill out our brief application form to start the process.

 

Challenging the Narrative of Weight Stigma with Chevese Turner

 
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Episode 17 - Challenging the Narrative of Weight Stigma with Chevese Turner

by Karin Lewis, MA, LMFT, CEDS

IN THIS EPISODE:

In this episode, I am joined by Chevese Turner, leader in the Binge Eating Disorder (BED) and Health at Every Size® communities and co-author of Binge Eating Disorder: Recovery and Beyond. Chevese is the founder and former CEO of the Binge Eating Disorder Association (BEDA), and currently holds the position of Chief Policy & Strategy Officer at the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), after the 2018 merger of the two organizations. Chevese is a nationally recognized activist who passionately shares her journey with an eating disorder, body dissatisfaction, and the insidious effects of bullying & weight stigma on those living in larger bodies. With extensive experience in the field of eating disorders, Turner’s areas of advocacy include higher weight eating disorders, BED, weight bias and stigma, body image, Health at Every Size®, and body-based bullying.

SOME OF THE TOPICS DISCUSSED:

  • Dealing with personal weight biases.

  • The cycle of restriction in binge eating disorder.

  • Medical harm created by the “lose weight” mentality.

  • Access and barriers to treatment for those in larger bodies.

  • Finding community for those who are typically “unseen.”

  • The steps to provide informed care for people struggling with BED.


ABOUT CHEVESE TURNER:

Chevese Turner is the founder and former CEO of the Binge Eating Disorder Association (BEDA), which merged with the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) in 2018. As part of NEDA’s executive leadership team, she develops the organization’s key policy initiatives and strategy and directs its partnerships, programming, and communications programs.

Turner has extensive experience in the eating disorders community as an advocate for those with binge eating disorder (BED) and issues around higher weight eating disorders. She is passionate about changing the conversation around weight and body size and is dedicated to moving beyond the current dominant weight-focused paradigm to one that is weight inclusive and promotes well-being free from weight stigma and body discrimination. Turner carries these messages to audiences around the US and abroad in schools, healthcare settings, trade organizations, associations, professional conferences, corporations, and governmental agencies. She is the co-author of the recently published book: Binge Eating Disorder: The Journey to Recovery & Beyond and contributes regularly to podcasts and the media.

Turner attended Temple University in Philadelphia where she received a BA in Political Science. Her professional background includes public policy and government relations, non-profit management, programming, strategy, and communications.

Binge Eating Disorder: The Journey to Recovery and Beyond, co-written by a clinician and an advocate who have personally struggled with BED, illuminates the experience of BED from the patient perspective while also exploring the disorder’s etiological roots and addressing the components of treatment that are necessary for long-term recovery. Accessible for both treatment providers and patients alike, this unique volume aims to explore BED treatment and recovery from both sides of the process while also providing a resource for structuring treatment and building effective interventions. This practical roadmap to understanding, resilience, and lasting change will be useful for anyone working clinically with or close to individuals suffering from BED, as well as those on the recovery journey.

CONNECT WITH CHEVESE TURNER:

ABOUT KARIN LEWIS:

Karin Lewis, MA, LMFT, CEDS has been recovered from Anorexia Nervosa for over 20 years and has been specializing in the prevention and treatment of eating disorders since 2005. Karin is the founder of the Karin Lewis Eating Disorder Center located in Boston, MA. You can visit Karin Lewis Eating Disorder Center online to learn more about Karin and her center’s services. You can also connect with Karin on social media by following her on Facebook and Instagram.

If you enjoyed the podcast, we would be so grateful if you would please take a minute to leave us a rating/review on Apple Podcasts.

Are you interested in becoming a guest on the Recovery Bites podcast? If so, please fill out our brief application form to start the process.

 

Fingerprint Moments with Kate Funk, MFT, LMFT

 
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Episode 11 - Fingerprint Moments with Kate Funk, MFT, LMFT

by Karin Lewis, MA, LMFT, CEDS

IN THIS EPISODE:

In this episode, I am joined by Kate Funk, MFT, LMFT, of Kate Funk Counseling. Working with eating disorders since 2012, Kate is dedicated to the treatment and understanding of eating disorders. As a recovered clinician, she believes full recovery is possible and works to empower clients to find their true selves and create lives where food and exercise are no longer the forefront, but a simple part of life. Kate is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the states of Pennsylvania and Texas. Kate is currently located in the greater Houston area. 

SOME OF THE TOPICS DISCUSSED:

• Eating disorders and substance abuse.
• Owning who you are.
• Conforming to "fit in" plants the seed for an eating disorder.
• Finding purpose and meaning.
• Looking at what are the barriers to living the life you want to live.
• Eating disorders robbing you of everything you think it will give you.

ABOUT KATE FUNK:

Kate Funk, MFT, LMFT is a therapist in the greater Houston area who earned a Masters Degree in Family Therapy from Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA. Kate has dedicated her professional career to the treatment and understanding of eating disorders. Kate believes eating disorders affect the entire person and that individual and family therapy promote healing. With personal experience battling and recovering from an eating disorder, Kate knows first-hand full recovery is possible. Dedicated to learning about the treatment of eating disorders, Kate has trained with Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Texas, Shepherd Pratt, The Renfrew Center, Monte Nido and Affiliates, and the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals.

Kate created an outpatient group for eating disorders in southern New Jersey while serving as research coordinator for the University of Sciences Eating Disorder Research Program which since moved to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Since 2016, Kate has worked at Monte Nido and Affiliates and has worked in all levels of care including intensive outpatient, partial hospitalization, and residential treatment. Throughout her career, she has had opportunities to volunteer with the National Eating Disorder Association, The Renfrew Center, and Girls on the Run.

Kate believes in treating the mind and body through a combination of cognitive-behavioral therapy, self-empowerment, compassion-focused therapy,  symbolic experiential, and structural family therapy as well as creative arts.


CONNECT WITH KATE FUNK:

ABOUT KARIN LEWIS:

Karin Lewis, MA, LMFT, CEDS has been recovered from Anorexia Nervosa for over 20 years and has been specializing in the prevention and treatment of eating disorders since 2005. Karin is the founder of the Karin Lewis Eating Disorder Center located in Boston, MA. To learn more about Karin and her center’s services, please visit Karin Lewis Eating Disorder Center. You can connect with Karin on social media by following her on Facebook and Instagram.

 

Invisibility of Men in the Eating Disorder Community with Mark Warren, MD

 
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Episode 9 - Invisibility of Men in the Eating Disorder Community with Mark Warren, MD

by Karin Lewis, MA, LMFT, CEDS

IN THIS EPISODE:

In this episode, I am joined by Mark Warren, MD, recovered clinician and Chief Medical Officer of The Emily Program, a multi-state Eating Disorder Treatment System focused on bringing the most advanced, evidenced based care to clients who are treated in a community of recovery. Mark Warren graduated from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and completed his residency at Harvard Medical School. His practice focuses on bringing the most up-to-date research into evidence-based care. Mark has published and spoken extensively on Males and Eating Disorders, Professionals and Recovery and DBT and FBT in the treatment of eating disorders. In this episode, Mark shares that he hadn’t met another recovered, male professional until he was 60 years old and that maintaining a sense of community has help keep him recovered.

SOME OF THE TOPICS DISCUSSED:

  • The underrepresentation of men and eating disorders.

  • The invisibility of men and their behaviors.

  • You are not your diagnosis, you are human being struggling with a disorder.

  • Eating disorders are a disorder of disconnection.

  • Getting off of the "treadmill" of life.

  • Men are just as exposed subjected to the diet culture and body ideals.

  • Eating disorders and drugs as traumatic experiences.

  • Things that are shameful, are painful.

ABOUT MARK WARREN:

Mark graduated from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and completed his residency at Harvard Medical School. His practice focuses on bringing the most up-to-date research into evidence-based care.

Mark serves on the faculty of Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and teaches at University Hospitals of Cleveland and The Cleveland Clinic Foundation. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a Fellow of the Academy of Eating Disorders, where he leads the SIG in Males and Eating Disorders. Mark is a two-time recipient of the Exemplary Psychiatrist Award of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill and a winner of the Woodruff Award.

Mark co-chairs the Academy of Eating Disorders Presidential Task Force for Medical Care and serves on the FEAST Medical Advisory Board and the London-based Succeed Foundation Medical Advisory Board. He has presented extensively at the International Conference on Eating Disorders, The Renfrew Foundation, and the Multidisciplinary Eating Disorder Association.

Mark currently holds the position of Chief Medical Officer for The Emily Program, a comprehensive treatment center that provides personalized eating disorder treatment for teens, young adults, and adults. We offer comprehensive psychological, nutritional, medical, and psychiatric care at multiple locations across the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, Duluth, MN, Spokane, WA, South Sound (Lacey), WA and Seattle, WA, Pittsburgh, PA, and Cleveland, OH.

Treatment options range from periodic outpatient appointments to residential care at our 24/7 residential facilities in Cleveland, OH, and St. Paul, MN. The Emily Program offers help with a variety of treatment for eating disorders, exercise, and body image issues, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, compulsive overeating, binge eating disorder, and eating disorder, and related mental health issues. You can visit The Emily Program for more information.

CONNECT WITH MARK WARREN:

ABOUT KARIN LEWIS:

Karin Lewis, MA, LMFT, CEDS has been recovered from Anorexia Nervosa for over 20 years and has been specializing in the prevention and treatment of eating disorders since 2005. Karin is the founder of the Karin Lewis Eating Disorder Center located in Boston, MA. You can visit Karin Lewis Eating Disorder Center online to learn more about Karin and her center’s services. You can also connect with Karin on social media by following her on Facebook and Instagram.

 

When Life Happens with Beth Mayer, LICSW

 
Episode 6 with Beth Mayer

Episode 8 - When Life Happens with Beth Mayer, LICSW

by Karin Lewis, MA, LMFT, CEDS

IN THIS EPISODE:

In this episode, I am joined by Beth Mayer, LICSW. Beth is a recovered Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker specializing in the treatment of eating disorders, negative body image, and trauma with over 35 years of experience. She is a nationally recognized speaker in the field of eating disorders. Beth works with people struggling with all types of eating disorders and specializes in adolescents and families.

SOME OF THE TOPICS DISCUSSED:

• Access to care.
• Working with an advocate.
• Single Case Agreements (insurance SCA).
• Everyone deserves help.
• Learning how to be gentle with relapse and recovery.
• Different responses to disclosing to loved ones.
• How “life” happens as you let go of ED thoughts & behaviors. 

ABOUT BETH MAYER:

Beth is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker specializing in the treatment of eating disorders, negative body image, and trauma with over 35 years of experience. She is a nationally recognized speaker in the field of eating disorders. Beth works with people struggling with all types of eating disorders and specializes in adolescents and families.

Beth’s areas of expertise include eating disorders, body image, trauma, and adolescent and family therapy. Her therapeutic work focuses on the whole person including their cultural, emotional, physical, familial, spiritual, and financial background.

Beth believes that a tremendous amount of change is possible through therapy, and she strongly believes that people can heal and have a better life. Her beliefs are grounded in her own experiences and her faith in the process of healing. Beth truly believes in an individual’s capacity for change, and holds this hope for all her clients.

Beth’s approach is present and non-judgmental as she helps clients navigate their way through their life experiences. She takes a strengths-based approach as she recognizes the strengths in her clients and their families and steers away from pathologizing people and their situation. Beth does this work because she truly loves it, and holds a lot of energy and patience with her clients.

Beth is a Level-One trained in Internal Family Systems (IFS) and is also trained in Family Based Therapy (FBT). She utilizes DBT, CBT, IFS, and ACT in all her work. She classifies herself as an eclectic therapist who uses different treatment approaches based on the needs of the individual, couple, and/or family.

Although a very serious clinician, Beth firmly believes in laughter as a critical element of the healing process and laughs with her clients while helping them to find the humor in their lives.

Beth received her MSW from Boston College School of Social Work and her undergraduate degree from Quinnipiac College. Beth is trained in DBT, IFS, and CBT. She served the Executive Director of the Multi-Service Eating Disorder Association (MEDA). Her other professional experience includes employment at Riverside Community Care, a non-profit health and human service organization. Beth managed three of their adolescent treatment programs. Beth also served as Executive Director of Travelers Aid Society of Boston, an organization that works with homeless people needing emergency assistance. She has also maintained an active private clinical practice since 1987. Beth currently co-chairs the NEDA network and recently received an award form NEDA for her volunteer work.

“My eating disorder did not really protect me from my emotions. It kept me distanced from people who could love and support me. NOTHING in my life has been harder than my recovery and I am grateful every day to have my life, my family, and to be able to truly be present in the world.” - Beth Mayer

CONNECT WITH BETH MAYER:

ABOUT KARIN LEWIS:

Karin Lewis, MA, LMFT, CEDS has been recovered from Anorexia Nervosa for over 20 years and has been specializing in the prevention and treatment of eating disorders since 2005. Karin is the founder of the Karin Lewis Eating Disorder Center located in Boston, MA. You can visit Karin Lewis Eating Disorder Center online to learn more about Karin and her center’s services. You can also connect with Karin on social media by following her on Facebook and Instagram.