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The therapeutic relationship is, in some ways, a bizarre one. On one hand, it’s a meeting between two people, a space where you share so much of yourself, your deeper emotions, and experiences. And at the same time, there are very clear and firm ethical and professional boundaries. Human nature alongside the depth and vulnerability […]

Is it a therapist’s responsibility to advocate for social justice, to take a stance on political issues that impact the lives of their clients and/or minoritized groups? Or are therapists supposed to be apolitical, to enter the therapy space without an ideological agenda so they can hold space for whatever belief systems the client brings

Bariatric surgery is a medical procedure that modifies a person’s stomach and sometimes intestines to help them lose weight. In the eating disorder recovery world, this topic isn’t discussed often because so many professionals take an active stand against fat phobia and, by extension, intentional weight loss. Our guest today brings together two worlds that

In healthcare, we know that the same set of symptoms can reflect different underlying causes. The more we understand the range of causality and underlying dynamics in eating disorders, the more we can offer truly individualized and effective care. In previous episodes, we’ve discussed the role that trauma, complex trauma, dissociation, and genetics can play

Is an eating disorder the result of past trauma? When we see someone stuck in self-destructive and potentially life-threatening behaviors, it’s natural to ask what terrible event created this? Clinicians often debate the importance of addressing past trauma in eating disorder treatment, versus targeting present symptoms. Psychodynamic and embodied approaches typically emphasize past history and

In this episode, Dr. Marcia Nickow talks about anti-racism, DEI, and white privilege. Marcia shares how her upbringing as the child of Holocaust survivors influenced her interest in these topics. She discusses how she approaches racially charged issues in therapeutic contexts, including group therapy and clinician DEI groups. She also talks about what it is

So much of Western medicine has been tied up with body weight. Weight is often disproportionately and inaccurately associated with health. Weight loss is a common recommendation for many health conditions.  Although eating disorder treatment typically emphasizes body acceptance and weight neutrality, weight remains central to so many aspects of the treatment process. Body mass

In eating disorder treatment, do we focus on managing symptoms or addressing root causes? There are so many issues tied into this question, at both a theoretical and very practical level. Treatment focused on symptom management often rests on the premise that the issues encountered in eating disorder recovery are the result, not the cause,