Eating Disorders: Navigating Recovery

Catherine and Francis are thrilled to welcome Adina Kelman to the podcast. Adina brings a wealth of insight and knowledge to the platform, discussing everything from the language of diet culture and how to approach managing it through an educational lens, to understanding motivation as a complex spectrum rather than a generalization. She also shares pieces of her personal narrative, including her...

Welcome to Episode 84, Navigators! Today, Catherine and Francis dive deep into diet culture, wellness culture, and all the other names of this insidious culture with Dr. Lara Zibarras, a psychologist and food freedom coach, specializing in mindset and behavior change. Lara, who herself is recovered from an eating disorder, shares her experience with orthorexia after her first efforts in recovery,...

Co-hosts Catherine and Francis were joined by Liz Toland, RDN (bio below), at Ellwood Thompson's grocer in Richmond, Virginia for a live podcast! Acting as emcee, Catherine facilitated a poignant discussion about eating disorder treatment, recovery, body image, nutrition, and finding space to heal. The audience was able to interact and ask questions (unfortunately the internet wasn't on our side a...

As a Certified Trauma Specialist, Emily Walton believes how important a trauma lens can be within the therapeutic relationship. In this episode, Emily shares how her relationship with her therapist and her dietitian were important in her recovery from an eating disorder, and specifically how Internal Family Systems and somatic-oriented modalities played a vital role in discovering parts of herself...

Catherine and Francis were thrilled to be a part of TEDxYouth@RVA's production in Richmond, Virginia. The theme this year was "You, Me, Us, We." Every speaker's story provided a platform to connect, and the co-hosts were honored to be a part of a meaningful evening. In this special digest, Catherine and Francis share what it was like to prepare and do a TEDxTalk, and process their thoughts and fee...

Emma Manis -- founder of EVOLVE -- is back with Catherine and Francis to explore the complexities of working in the fashion industry as an anti-fatphobic, anti-diet culture advocate, and what she's doing to help ensure her own emotional wellbeing as well as tearing down barriers for others. Emma also recounts what helped her stay in recovery during a significant life transition, words with which m...

We spoke with Kelly Clark, an author and advocate for mental health awareness, whose compelling story of struggle, pain, hope and recovery resonated with us deeply. Kelly has been diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder, which at a young age collided head on with disordered eating and body image concerns, leading to a deep need for perfection and all or nothing thinking. Her own recovery stor...

Catherine and Francis welcome Faith Elicia, author and advocate for those experiencing eating disorders, to the podcast to discuss her journey of recovery and her book, Do You See What I See? Faith developed an eating disorder as a coping mechanism while growing up with an alcoholic parent. She discusses ways in which her eating disorder experience was not unlike having an addiction, what it was l...

Catherine and Francis are excited to speak with Kim Machado, a psychotherapist and trained trauma expert, about the complex intersection of eating disorders and trauma. Kim shares how the subjective experiences of trauma impact individuals in various ways, and that many use maladaptive behaviors to tell a story of their trauma. Her approach in working with those who experience trauma is empathetic...

September is National Suicide Prevention Month, and in recognition of this we invited Kimberly O’Brien, Ph. D., LICSW to have a conversation about teens and suicide. Dr. O’Brien is a clinical social worker whose research focuses on the development and testing of brief interventions for suicidal teens with and without substance use and their families. An often-stigmatized topic, Dr. O’Brien helps b...

Catherine and Francis were excited to speak with diet culture rebel and eating disorder campaigner, Zoe Burnett. Zoe is an Amazon best selling author of "inside my ed" and an international public and TEDx speaker. She brings all of that experience -- as well as her lived experience recovering from an eating disorder -- to this interview. Filled with energy, knowledge, and passion, Zoe recalls her...

Catherine and Francis were thrilled to speak with Maris Degener, Manager of Peer Mentorship with Equip, a virtual eating disorder treatment for individuals six to 24 years old. After recovering from anorexia nervosa as a teenager, Maris became passionate about harnessing her lived experience to support others experiencing eating disorders. Maris shared her story in the documentary “I Am Maris,” to...

Catherine and Francis welcome Dr. Gemma Sharp, Senior Research Fellow at Monash University and clinical psychologist, to the podcast. Her research focuses on understanding the causes of and developing novel treatments for body image issues and related disorders. In this conversation, Dr. Sharp shares what drove her to this important work and what about body image issues keeps her coming back to do...

In this emotional and inspiring episode, Dianna Goodman -- mother of Vance Goodman who joined EDNR in episode 63 -- shares her experience as a mother, caretaker, and human watching a loved one struggle with an eating disorder for years. Dianna shares her pain, frustration, and joy as she recalls navigating her daughter's physical and emotional symptoms, accessing treatment (an even more daunting t...

On this episode, Catherine and Francis interview Amy Minh Hanh Corey, public speaker, writer, ambassador, entrepreneur, and advocate for individuals experiencing mental health problems who feel misunderstood. Amy demonstrates such strength and passion in her story, sharing with the co-hosts what it was like being someone experiencing mental health problems and an eating disorder in the entertainme...

In this episode, Francis and Catherine talk to Jasmyn Cornelle, Miss Fayette County, Georgia, 2020-21. Jasmyn talks about her experience with body dissatisfaction and her motivation for creating "I am S.P.A.R.K.L.E," an initiative focused on promoting body positivity, challenging beauty standards, and spreading awareness of eating disorders and body dysmorphic disorder. Jasmyn also shares her expe...

In this episode of the Navigating Recovery Podcast, Catherine and Francis speak with Carrie Rossiter, an eating disorder recovery and LGBTQ+ advocate. Carrie vulnerably recalls the beginnings of her eating disorder, and how a trip to Italy and previous trauma and family dynamics contributed. She works through the painful parts of her story, continually reminding us that recovery is neither linear...

In this episode, Catherine and Francis are joined by Natalie Fisher, a junior at Grand Valley State University's Kirkhof College of Nursing. She shares her story of recovery - which began in April of 2020 -- and how social media became an outlet to speak out about her experience and connect with others in recovery or in search of recovery. In this interview, Natalie discusses what keeps her ground...

This episode of the Navigating Recovery Podcast is a little different as co-hosts Catherine and Francis participated in the Science Museum of Virginia's Lunch Break Science, a series of talks and lectures on varying topics for people to listen, learn, and connect. This is the recording of Catherine and Francis's presentation. In this talk, Francis and Catherine debunked common myths about eating d...

We’re excited for this special one year anniversary episode! Towards the end of nearly every episode, Francis or Catherine ask guests what words of wisdom, kindness, and hope they would offer to those seeking recovery from an eating disorder. Every response is unique to the person’s experience and every response is steeped in relatability that connects us all. The responses tell the story of recov...

It's been a year since we began this podcast adventure! To celebrate this milestone, we take time to interview each other, sharing thoughts about what the past year has been like, how co-hosting a podcast has impacted us, and what we hope to do more of moving forward. We're so grateful to our guests for continually inspiring and educating on this platform -- we're in awe of their vulnerability and...

Francis and Catherine are thrilled to welcome to the podcast Kirsten Haglund, an international speaker, mental health advocate, community relations specialist for Timberline Knolls, and Miss America 2008. In this conversation, Kirsten shares her own experience of developing an eating disorder and then finding recovery through hard work and at times difficult choices about what could and could not...

Welcome to Episode 68! We are so grateful for your listenership and interest in this important topic! Today, Catherine and Francis welcome Erin Welch, a Registered Dietitian who practices with clients experiencing eating disorders through a trauma-informed, Intuitive Eating, and Health At Every Size lens. In this conversation, Erin shares how her lived experience with a rare disorder created a dis...

Catherine and Francis are excited to welcome two guests in this episode! Dr. Jenna DiLossi, Psy. D. and Melissa Harrison, LPC, are the co-founders of the Center for Hope and Health located in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. Both Jenna and Melissa bring years of experience working with individuals experiencing eating disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorders, and other anxiet...

Catherine and Francis are excited to welcome Lucie Waldman -- a self-published author of the book called the Jots of Becoming, a book of her narratives and insights after fully recovering from Anorexia Nervosa -- to the podcast. In this conversation, Lucie shares how the onset of her eating disorder symptoms differed from the mainstream narrative of eating disorders; how treatment was helpful and...