Body Image Therapy in Tampa and throughout FL
Explore Your Body Story. Make Peace. Find Acceptance.
Does it feel like your relationship with your body is at an all time low?
You feel like it just gets worse and worse. You have never felt particularly great about your body, but it feels like as time goes on, it becomes harder and harder to accept your body for what it is. Your body may have physically changed over time, or maybe it’s stayed the same but your relationship with it has gone downhill. You’ve started to notice that friends and family have a seemingly easy time wearing the clothes that they like and doing things they enjoy, and you think to yourself “how do they seem so confident?” You can’t imagine ever getting to a place where you might feel that way too.
You notice that there is talk about bodies EVERYWHERE. From mainstream weight loss advice, to social media, to chatting in your social circles - everyone seems to be talking about how they feel about their bodies. You notice that so many people are talking about shrinking their bodies or finding ways to make themselves look younger/prettier/thinner, etc. Most people seem to hate their bodies, so you sometimes think that it’s normal to feel the way you do. But there is also something inside that tells you that things should be different. That your life should not be so impacted by the way you feel about your body and yourself.
You might live in a larger body and dread being out in the world. It’s hard to find clothes that fit that you actually like, medical providers are constantly telling you to focus on your weight, and it just feels like the world is not made for you or your comfort. Instead of being angry at the systems in place that make access to the things you need difficult, you find yourself blaming your body and your seeming “inability” to make it “fit the mold.” This can make you feel like an utter failure.
Your struggle with your body is not your fault - you have been taught to feel this way.
Your relationship with your body might leave you:
Having a hard time getting dressed in the morning
Worrying about what you eat
Constantly thinking that others are judging you
Feeling less than confident in yourself
Questioning if you will ever be in a loving relationship
Feeling anxious about doing things you used to love
Not allowing yourself to enjoy certain things in your life
Holding yourself back from doing things that you find meaningful
Comparing yourself to others and never feeling good enough
In a cycle of either dieting or disordered eating/eating disorder behaviors
Feeling increased symptoms of anxiety and/or depression
Wondering if you will always feel this way
Helping you heal your relationship with your body
How therapy for body image works
You feel confident navigating clothing choices
You no longer struggle with your food choices
You feel equipped to handle body changes throughout your life
You disconnect your sense of self worth from the size of your body
You might notice a negative body thought but know exactly how to handle it
You understand your own body story and why things have felt so hard
You recognize diet culture for what it is and know how to navigate it in your day to day
You let yourself be in the family photos
Imagine a life where:
Together we will work on:
Gaining understanding into both what you are feeling on the inside (self-worth, body discomfort, body grief), and the external causes of negative body image (diet culture, weight stigma, cultural impacts and more) is key to beginning this work. We will work on this at your own pace and in a way that feels affirming to you - there is no right or wrong way to do this work. This could include things like past traumas, childhood upbringing/family dynamics, history of dieting/disordered eating, and ways that you have intuitively learned to cope with discomfort.
Digging Deep
In addition to understanding the “why” of how you are feeling about your body image, we can start to learn ways of coping and challenging inner beliefs.. Think of this as discovering your own roadmap to healing - again, this is unique to you and your needs. This could include concrete goals such as finding places to shop for clothing that actually fits and that you enjoy, or learning a different way to engage with that inner critic that might stop you from doing things you enjoy. This also might look like self advocacy work and being able to speak up against diet culture and weight stigma.
Learn + Grow
Body Image Therapy Can Help You:
Gain understanding into why you feel so negatively about your body
Improve your relationship with your body (this does not need to look like body positivity!)
Lean into your values and take steps towards living a more meaningful life
Improve your feelings of self-worth
Heal from toxic diet culture and improve your relationship with food
Decrease feelings of anxiety and depression
You can unlearn the body hate that you feel
Frequently Asked Questions about therapy for Body Image
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Yes, and you are not alone! Unfortunately, we live in a society that praises certain bodies and demonizes others. We are taught from a young age that our worth is directly correlated with what our body looks like. Because of these things, it is not surprising that so many of us struggle with negative body image! The good news is that what has been taught can be untaught, and we can learn to challenge these views.
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There are many different ways to approach body image therapy. One of the first places we will start is figuring out what you body image story is, and thinking about your own relationship with your body over the years. This can help us figure out what body image goals you have – paying particular attention to ways in which your body image might be affecting your day to day life. It is also important to note that the goal does not have to be (and in my opinion should not be) getting to a place where you are totally in love with your body. Is it great to have moments where you feel like that? Yes! Is it necessary to feel this way to find relief from negative body image? Absolutely not.
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If you are experiencing any discomfort with your body that is affecting your life or the way you feel about yourself in general, you are likely dealing with negative body image. You do not need to have a diagnosis or feel desperate to be dealing with body image concerns. It is important to remember that this is NOT your falt – you have been conditioned to think this way.
You might benefit from Body Image Therapy with me if you:
Have dieted for years and feel disconnected from your body
Have been diagnosed with an eating disorder and need specialized care
Feel like your relationship with food is great but are still struggling with feeling good in your body
Are managing weight stigma from living in a larger or fat body
Have seen other providers and feel like the approach wasn’t quite what you needed
Want an outside of the box way of looking at body image struggles
Know how important it is to take a social justice view when it comes to body image
Want someone who is HAES-aligned, anti-diet, and weight inclusive
Some of the Ways that I Treat Body Image Struggles
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Utilizing parts work can be a game changer when it comes to our relationship with our bodies.. IFS can help you understand the parts of you that feel discomfort with your body and how those parts might be trying to protect you from hurt and further distress. It is a gentle, judgment-free way to get to the root of why you might be struggling.
Brainspotting
Many of us have experienced trauma around our bodies, often related to messaging from diet culture and beauty ideals. Brainspotting can help you mindfully process experiences that you have around your body and help you understand core beliefs in a gentle way.
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Techniques from ACT can help us lean into our values (ie what feels most important to us in our lives) and learn ways to engage differently with negative thoughts. ACT can be a great tool to utilize to look at our body story/history and develop more concrete goals for moving forward.