I know first hand what it is like to deal with food and body issues. For years, I struggled with food issues and hating my body. I compared myself to every woman I saw and resisted exercising refusing to give into what other people told me I should do and how I should look. I ate to hide how I was feeling and to avoid being close to anyone. I thought I couldn't be loved if I was fat.
12 years later, I am pleased to say all that has changed for the better.
I no longer use food to cope. I feel good about myself, my body, and my
life. I am now passionate about helping others recover as well. I love
that my job as a counselor is helping you to eat whatever you want and
feel good about it.
Along with my personal and professional experience with eating disorders,
I am a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in California and a Licensed
Professional Counselor in Oregon. I hold a Master’s Degree in Counseling
Psychology from Antioch University, Santa Barbara, CA.
My counseling experience spans 8 years and has included studying and working
with experts in the eating disorder field, teaching counseling and communication
skills classes, and assisting and managing several personal growth seminars
and support groups. I have provided counseling to people with a variety
of relationship issues, including adults who were abused as children.
I look forward to working with you.
Anne
Look for my forthcoming book "If Your Hunger Could Talk: Listen to
Your Body to Transform Your Relationship with Food and Live a More Authentic
Life"
.
As a therapist, I will help you discover how to:
• eat and enjoy the foods you really love, without worrying about
gaining weight
• accept and even like your body
• find and maintain your healthy weight naturally through uncovering
the underlying causes for your behaviors
• focus on and improve your relationships by helping you move away
from blaming food and your body
• learn to like yourself, your whole self
As a counselor, I go beyond traditional talk therapy to help you to learn healthier coping skills around food, your body, and your life in general. I use a counseling approach that will help you address the root causes of your problems around food. Through therapy, you can end the cycle of using food and hating your body to cope with your emotional needs.
In counseling, I'll help you make step-by-step changes that will help you overcome your problems around food and help you feel good about your body. Food issues and having a poor body image are symptoms of deeper needs that need to be met. In order to make permanent changes you need to get to the root of the problem and find healthier ways to meet your needs. In the end, counseling will help you overcome your problems with food and how you feel about your body. Overall, you will develop a richer and more satisfying life.
These are the steps we will take that will help you finally make peace with food:
Step 1: Take the Shame Out of Eating
This step will help you end the cycle of viewing food as good or bad that
translates into good me / bad me. You will learn to change your mindset
around food – to recognize your thoughts around food and to change
your interaction with it
Step 2: Safety in Hunger and Fullness
In this step, you will learn what hunger / fullness feels like and be
able to address the place of greatest discomfort, whether it is being
too hungry or being too full so that you no longer fear it.
Step 3: If Your Hunger Could Talk: Listening From a New Place
In this step, you will fine tune the messages you send yourself. Go deeper
into your body to discover what you actually want and need. Truly listen
to what your body is hungry for and give it what it really wants.
Step 4: Living in the Body You Have
In this step you will directly address your body image. What is the relationship
you have with yourself? You will learn to experience feeling good in the
clothes you wear and living in your body now, rather than in some future
time while your life passes by.
Step 5: Loving the Body You Have
In this step, you will go deeper into your body image and learn to love
your reflection. You will use exercises and techniques to help you experience
your body from new perspectives.
Step 6: Healthy and Happy Exercise
In this step you will learn how to engage in healthy exercise habits.
Whether you exercise too much or avoid exercise, you will take the steps
to enjoy moving your body while still listening to what it needs
Step 7: Move into Your Life with Self Trust, Self Love and Acceptance
In this last step, you will learn how to have a long term relationship
of self trust, self love and self acceptance. We will create structured,
healthy boundaries around food and body image that allow you to enjoy
your life more fully while honoring your relationship with food to help
you identify areas of growth and improvement.
If you are serious about and ready for the next level of healing your relationship with food and your body image, I invite you to call or email me for a “Make Every Meal an Act of Self Love and Acceptance” Breakthrough Session
In this session, you will
• Create a sense of clarity about your perfect relationship with
food.
• Find out the essential building blocks for getting in control
of your eating – for good.
• Discover the #1 thing stopping you from having a healthy, easy
relationship with food.
• Identify the most powerful actions you can take to stop struggling
with overeating, bingeing, and/or purging.
• Complete the session with the excitement of taking the next step
toward being totally comfortable and in control with food.
I only do 6 of these each month, so call or email me now. You can also
sign up on my online calendar by using the link at the bottom of this
page. I look forward to speaking with you.
1235 SE Division St, Suite 104 Portland, OR 97202 (503) 766-3399
Email Anne