The Appetite

"Self-care" is practically a buzzword these days as more people embrace the importance of creating space for self-restoration. But what does "self-care" look like beyond bubble baths and treating yourself? Sibel Golden, PhD--psychotherapist and eating disorder specialist in private practice and Executive Director of the Northwest Creative & Expressive Arts Therapy Institute--sits down to talk with...

Are you good at doing absolutely nothing at all? In mainstream American culture, the values of productivity and accomplishment can be so front and center that the need for rest and play can take the backseat or—worse—be deemed useless. Opal Co-Founders Dr. Lexi Giblin, PhD, CEDS, Kara Bazzi, LMFT, CEDS, and Julie Church, RDN, CEDRD, CD sit down with host Carter Umhau, LMHC for a roundtable convers...

The ever-popular Whole30 and Paleo diets are often described as a "lifestyle change" or even a "return to the basics." Though they're packaged differently than the diets of yore (like Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, or Atkins, to name a few), the restrictive mentality and the long term ineffectiveness remains the same as any other diet. In this episode, Opal Dietitian Kelly Finan, MS, RDN talks with...

What does it look like to get un-stuck? Dr. Amy Burns, MD shares her expertise in Motivational Interviewing and explains how this person-centered approach to behavior change embraces the ambivalence so often thought to be in the way of growth. Opal Co-Founder Dr. Lexi Giblin, PhD, CEDS offers her own struggles with making a change in her life while Dr. Burns playfully interacts with her in an on-a...

Have you considered how a deepening connection to your body's desire for food may impact your body's sexual appetites as well? Longtime Opal therapist Tahney Jones, LMHC, CEDS joins Kara Bazzi, LMFT, CEDS and host  Carter  Umhau, LMHC in an exploratory conversation around the intersection of recovery from disordered eating and sex. (P.S. Though this conversation could feel applicable to all, we're...

Can you really control your weight? Diet culture certainly says you can, but in this episode Opal Co-Founder and Nutrition Director Julie Church, RDN, CD, CEDS sits down with host Carter Umhau, LMHC to challenge this, highlighting the real cost of weight loss. Julie explains "set point theory" as a new way to understand our bodies' protective responses to weight loss, introducing an element of mys...

In a culture that moralizes exercise and reveres star athletes, avoiding exercise can elicit discomfort (at best) and at worst, can induce loads of personal shame. In this episode, Kara Bazzi, LMFT, CEDS (Opal's Co-Founder and head of the Exercise + Sport Program) and host Carter Umhau, LMHC will explore why people find themselves avoiding exercise and the barriers in moving towards a relationship...

When you come to terms with the fact that diets just don't work, what comes next? Listen to your hunger and fullness! In this episode, Opal Co-Founder and Nutrition Director Julie Church, RDN, CEDRD, CD talks with host Carter Umhau, LMHC about what it looks like to eat from a place of attunement, rather than the rules and structures of one diet or another. Julie and Carter will walk through how to...

Love is in the air! Embrace new ways of thinking about the different kinds of love in your life by joining Opal's "love tour." All three of Opal's Co-Founders--Julie Church, RDN, CEDRD, Kara Bazzi, LMFT, CEDS, and Dr. Lexi Giblin, PhD, CEDS--join host Carter Umhau, LMHC to explore "irrationally crazy love," "limerence," "radically open kindness," and "amae"-- terms for love that show up in all kin...

Envy shows up in all kinds of relationships, but how often does it actually make us closer to one another?  Host Carter Umhau, LMHC talks with Opal Co-Founders Kara Bazzi, LMFT, CEDS and Dr. Lexi Giblin, PhD, CEDS about their envy for one another and explore the ways in which their envy--after it almost created distance--brought them into a deeper relationship as business partners and friends. Plu...

Virginia Sole-Smith--author of The Eating Instinct: Food Culture, Body Image and Guilt in America and co-host of the Comfort Food podcast -- joins host Carter Umhau, LMHC to share the story of how the feeding issues that arose for her newborn daughter inspired a new way of thinking about body trust and the diet industry in America. Virginia and Carter talk body image, parenting, feminism, and what...

How can perfectionism and the avoidance of failure be keeping you from living out your values and desires? Opal Co-Founder Kara Bazzi, LMFT, CEDS and Carter Umhau, LMHC draw from experiences in their own lives (basketball and writing, respectively) to explore the differences between perfectionism and excellence, and how to embrace mistakes as a means of learning. In sharing both their own stories...

Former collegiate and professional football player Patrick Devenny joins us again for the second of two episodes, expanding on his eating disorder recovery story and sharing the identity crisis that ensued upon leaving professional athletics. Patrick joins Kara Bazzi, LMFT, CEDS (Opal's Co-founder, Clinical Director, and head of the Sport+Exercise Program) in this laid-back conversation around how...

Have you ever considered that maybe your unprocessed grief could be keeping you from the transformations you're desiring in your life? Opal Co-Founders Julie Church, RD,CD, CEDRD, Kara Bazzi, LMFT, CEDS and Lexi Giblin, PhD., CEDS join host Carter Umhau, LMHC to explore the necessity of grief and how mainstream American culture often doesn't hold space for rituals and rights around the grief we al...

Easter egg hunts and Easter baskets bring similar amounts of candy into the home. So if you missed this episode in the fall, you might find it useful now! Halloween is on its way and there's likely candy everywhere...and that's not a bad thing! This episode is certainly for adults who feel like you don't have enough "willpower" when you're suddenly around candy, but also for parents, struggling to...

What does it look like for two middle-school-aged girls to have been parented by eating disorder specialists? Opal Co-Founders Kara and Lexi talk about parenting around food and body image concerns.  Plus  their daughters Ila and Sophia join host Carter Umhau, LMHC to dish out the wisdom!

Does weight really matter when it comes to sport performance? Host Carter Umhau, LMHC, and Kara Bazzi, LMFT, CEDS explore culture around food and body within the sport world, and the idealization of the athlete. Kara, Clinical Director and former division I collegiate distance runner, shares her own experience with an eating disorder, and we bring in dietitian Kelly Finan, RDN with the hard scienc...

Former professional football player Patrick Devenny joins Opal Co-Founder Kara Bazzi, LMFT to share his eating disorder recovery story. He offers his perspective on the unique challenges that men--particularly male athletes--face in seeking and receiving care for food and body-related issues. In this first of two episodes, Patrick--an advocate for eating disorder awareness--talks gym culture, why...

Holiday festivities, time with family, and a change in routine often inspire a diet or "lifestyle change" immediately following. May we suggest that you consider NOT starting a diet this new year? In this episode, Opal's Nutrition Director Julie Church, RDN and host Carter Umhau, LMHC discuss the negative physical and psychological ramifications of diet-mentality, how the diet industry has been re...

It's possible that the punishment you inflict on yourself may be preventing you from healthy, happy relationships. In this episode Opal Co-Founder Dr. Lexi Giblin explores why self-punishment can actually be selfish. Plus, Lexi and host Carter Umhau, LMHC offer an alternative—self-forgiveness—which may bring you closer to those around you.    

In this second of a two-part series, this episode will literally take you inside the dressing room and in front of the mirror with The Appetite. Exploring self-expression and her identity through style, host Carter Umhau, LMHC gets led through a styling session at Armoire--a Seattle fashion rental startup. Opal Co-Founder Lexi Giblin, PhD shares her thoughts on the psychology of clothing, while Ar...

What would you wear if you were more concerned with self-expression than you were about something "flattering" or "thinning"? Drawing from her experiences doing "retail therapy" outings with clients, Dr. Lexi Giblin describes the psychology of clothing beyond thin-optics. Host Carter Umhau, LMHC chimes in about past body image concerns and her own struggle to define a style congruent with her sens...

Mark Canlis, third generation co-owner of Canlis, a Seattle fine dining institution, Relais & Chateau property, and James Beard award winning restaurant--joins Kara Bazzi, LMFT, CEDS, Julie Church, RD, CD, CEDRD, and host Carter Umhau, LMHC around the table, to share stories in the spirit of Thanksgiving. As the women of the Appetite bring their clinical expertise and compassion for those struggli...

In Part 1: Good Grief, we discussed processing grief through ritual and how grief is part of our relationships with food and body.  For Part 2,  Clinical Director and Opal Co-Founder Kara Bazzi and Primary Therapist and host of The Appetite Carter Umhau talk with Arlene Thomas about her story of profound loss and how she was able to integrate her own experiences into her work as a therapist and to...

What does your fear tell you about the particularity of your values or desires? Dr. Lexi Giblin, PhD, CEDS talks with host, Carter Umhau, LMHCA about the role of fear in personal growth. Lexi and Carter discuss the Facing Fears therapy group at Opal and why risk-taking matters. Connect with us: theappetite@opalfoodandbody.com www. OpalFoodandBody.com www.facebook.com/Opal https://twitter.com/opalf...