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.

 

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.

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