Curious About Recovery - Diving Into Eating Disorders

Erica Meline is a mental health advocate and public speaker. Diagnosed with an eating disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, and OCD, Erica has spent much of her life feeling like she was broken. Following a suicide attempt in 2022, Erica made the decision to turn her life around and set out on a long journey to recovery. Though the journey is far from over, Erica has b...

In this episode I speak with author and recovery warrior, Alle C. Hall who identifies as a person in recovery for 35 years from codependency, bulimia, alcoholism, and sexual anorexia. Her lived experience is shared through her work as an author, speaker, and writing instructor who focuses on the joy and creativity resulting from trauma recovery. Alle’s debut novel, As Far as You Can Go Before You...

Today I speak to fellow South African, Educational Psychologist and Eating Disorder Advocate, Lucy Hathorn. Lucy shares with us her personal experience with anorexia and neurodivergence, and her mission in mental health advocacy. Lucy is passionate about helping others navigate recovery, particularly addressing eating disorders in South Africa, where they are often overlooked and runs a successful...

In this episode, we sit down with Angel Sipp , a licensed independent social worker and therapist who specializes in eating disorders, ADHD, autism, and body image . With personal experience as a neurodivergent individual, Angel brings a unique perspective to her work at Keller Counseling and Associates in Columbus, Ohio. We explore the complex relationship between ADHD and eating disorders , disc...

In this episode, we dive into the complex emotions and processes that come with recovering from an eating disorder, focusing on the grieving stages that often surface during this journey. Key Topics: Understanding Grief in Recovery : We explore how the stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance) play a significant role in the recovery process. Recognising these emotions...

Today, I explore the Internal Family Systems (IFS) framework and its profound impact on healing from eating disorders with IFS Therapist, Celia Clark. IFS sees individuals as composed of various parts or sub-personalities, each with its own thoughts, beliefs, and behaviours. We discuss how these parts develop early in life, influenced by interactions with caregivers. Understanding when certain par...

In this episode, Lauren Elise Peterson, a board certified dance/movement therapist and body image coach, joins the conversation to explore the transformative power of movement in healing and recovery, particularly for individuals struggling with eating disorders. Lauren has been passionate about eating disorder and trauma recovery for over 20 years and loves to help people feel better in their own...

In this episode I interview Cynthia Price, the Senior Director of the Center for Mindful Body Awareness (CMBT) and a leading researcher in the field of Mindful Awareness in Body-oriented Therapy (MABT). The discussion revolves around MABT, its applications, and its potential benefits, particularly in the context of disordered eating. The first part of the podcast covers the basics of MABT, highlig...

In this episode, licensed therapist Nicole M. D'Aoust, AMFT shares her expertise at the intersection of eating disorders and sexuality. With an M.A. in Clinical Psychology, emphasizing Marriage and Family Therapy, Nicole draws on her diverse experience, including interning at the VA with women veterans who've faced sexual trauma. We explore the intricate web of influences on sexuality, tou...

Today I chat to Jessie Huebner about the importance of collaboration in Eating Disorder Recovery. Eating disorders are complex illnesses that need a holistic approach. Often we need an entire team of professionals working together to help those who suffer with this illness. This means that often a recovery journey can involve people like dieticians, coaches, therapists, psychiatrists, spiritual he...

Too many people avoid seeking medical or therapeutic help because of existing weight stigma in the health industry. This means thousands of people don’t get the help that they need for very real, and even life-threatening illnesses like an eating disorder.  In today’s episode I speak to Emily Andersen, Marriage and Family Therapist from PsychED Recovery, who serves as a holistic and healthy model...

Navigating a changing body, whether it’s through eating disorder recovery or for any other reason, can be really challenging. Learning to trust your body is a process which often comes with trial and error, moments of joy, and grief.  Coming back home to your body includes building relationship to it, which doesn’t always feel easy. In fact diet culture tells us we can’t trust our bodies! But this...

In this episode, we delve into the complexities of eating disorders and the crucial role of understanding the body-brain connection in the recovery process. We emphasize why this understanding is essential for both professionals and individuals struggling with eating disorders. Eating disorders can be challenging to overcome due to their multifaceted nature. They not only affect one's relation...

Dietitian, Intuitive Eating Counselor, Food Therapist, and Body Image Coach living in a small, rural town in Georgia. Today she shares her journey, and why she chose to work in the field of nutrition and body image. We highlight the prevalence of disordered eating numbers in college students. You can find a study done by NEDA in 2013 here: https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/sites/default/file...

Today I speak with Charlotte Cummings, who currently works as a Recovery Coach at Monte Nido - which you can find out more about here: https://www.montenido.com/ She touches on her personal story through anorexia, the traumatic experiences she endured in treatment, and her Borderline Personality Disorder diagnosis. We talk about the importance of catching an eating disorder early, and what parents...

In this episode I invite Dr Susan Perkins, licensed marriage, and family therapist, for the second time onto the show. In our first meeting together, we discussed the role of family based therapy and how it fits into the process of eating disorder recovery, for both adolescents and adults. We explored the many misunderstandings, frustrations, and challenges that both the suffering eating disordere...

Diet culture is pervasive. What it teaches, is problematic. Those that have tried it again and again, end up with a predictable set of behaviours and attitudes about food and their bodies. If the following list describes you, you may be one of them: It seems as if I am always on diet I lose weight, only to gain it again I am preoccupied with the desire to be thinner I feel guilty when I eat “illeg...

Resolving trauma and cultivating internal healing through talk therapy can do wonders for any mental health journey. But what about those challenges that we just can’t seem to get past? There are things going on beyond the conscious thinking mind that could be at play in keeping us stuck. Today I interview Paige Frisone, an integrative and sensory practitioner, writer, creator, educator, and speak...

Eating disorders affect hundreds of thousands of people around the world, yet most people still hold the stigma that they largely only affect smaller bodied, caucasian, cis-gender females. This stigma is seen across the board in treatment centres, medical practises, and societies. For this reason, people who do not fit this typical mould often face harsh and even life-threatening challenges when t...

Eating disorders are largely made up of self-criticism, perfectionism, inability to release control, and fear of vulnerability. Art asks you to challenge every one of those areas fully. That is why Ali Gillett from The Brave Arts, uses her artistic talent and lived experience with an eating disorder (whom she calls “Slug”), to help others navigate their internal fears with curiosity and compassion...

In today’s episode I speak with Laura Gajda, a Registered Dietitian and Nutritionist with a background in Eating Disorders and mental health diagnoses. She specialises in working with adults with Eating Disorders and building sustainability in their recovery. She is not only incredibly passionate about the work of dietetics, but she has a personal history of a loved one with an eating disorder, wh...

Getting your period back after experiencing disordered eating is an important part of the recovery process. It can lead to a more fulfilled life & improved overall health. Some people may even fear not being able to conceive and become a mother in recovery because of the damage done to the menstrual cycle over the years. But there is hope! While not every person will fully recover their natura...

Rachel Lewis- Marlow and Annie Goldsmith join me from the Embodied Recovery Institute to talk about the importance of embodiment (for both the individual and the practitioner) in the process of recovery from disordered eating.   Embodied Recovery Institute facilitates trainings, consultation, and program development for physical and mental health professionals in EMBODIED RECOVERY for EATING DISOR...

Many people come into treatment for eating disorders and co-occurring mental health concerns and are put onto prescribed medication. Whilst this approach may work, often we see people getting worse, or struggling through trial and error to find the "right" combination. What if there was a way to avoid the back and forth of things not working? What if you could even avoid certain issues b...

Meeting a client where they are at is vital to truly creating safety in their eating disorder recovery journey. It is really helpful when the professional you work with has lived experience with their own recovery such as Kathryn Smith, who is passionate about helping individuals improve body image, stop disordered eating behaviours, find peace from emotional eating, and process the negative impac...