Health At Every Size

The Modern Therapist's Survival Guide with Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy

An interview Laura Westmoreland, LMFT on addressing body bias, body shaming, and health at every size (HAES) in therapy. Curt and Katie talk with Laura about the common mistakes that therapists make when working with clients living in larger bodies.

Interview with Laura Westmoreland, LMFT

Laura Westmoreland, LMFT identifies as a white woman living in a larger body, cisgender, straight, and able-bodied; her pronouns are she/her. She acknowledges that she has white privilege.

She works with individuals, couples, and families who want to explore what is holding them back from leading the life they desire; both personally and professionally. The key to her work is the relationship developed. Together with her clients, she can create a brave space; a brave space requires stepping out of your comfort zone, risking vulnerability, and being curious.

Laura believes...

• what we struggle with provides insight and can help us grow
• connection is key; reciprocal relationships require effort
• regularly engaging in pleasurable activities fosters joy and happiness
• in nourishing mind, body, and soul
• that self-compassion is vital to wellbeing
• all bodies are good bodies

In this episode we talk about:

• The importance of inclusion related to body diversity
• What body bias looks like in a therapist office
• Health At Every Size (HAES)
• The challenges of living in a larger body
• The war on obesity and walking into a war zone
• The medicalization of body diversity with words like “overweight” and the pathologizing of different bodies
• The danger of colluding with the diet culture
• The controversy that exists within the eating disorder community related to HAES
• Focusing on the client’s lived experience, rather than the societal expectations
• Sorting through when larger bodies suggest symptomology of a mental health or trauma concern versus when someone is healthy in a larger body
• Showing curiosity around what “feeling fat” means, rather than suggesting a diet or fix
• The danger of prescribing to people living in larger bodies what we would treat in eating disorder clients (i.e., restriction)
• How a clinician’s body bias can negatively impact treatment efficacy
• Intuitive eating – paying attention to hunger and satiety cues
• Joyful movement, rather than trudging to the gym
• The importance of finding your healthy practices
• Assessment best practices
• Harvard Implicit Bias Tests
• The different biases that Curt and Katie hold around body sizes
• Bias and microaggressions that can show up in the therapist office
• What therapists can look for when assessing whether clients feel comfortable in their own bodies

Relevant Resources:

We’ve pulled together any resources mentioned in this episode and put together some handy-dandy links:

Laura Westmoreland’s Website

FB: Laura Westmoreland Lmft

IG: haes_therapist_in_la

Twitter: @haestherapistla

Intuitive Eating Website

Be Nourished

Jeffery Hunger’s Publication

Harvard Implicit Bias Tests

(Association for Size Diversity and Health) ASDAH

Dr, Vincent Felitti talks about the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study

The Modern Therapists Group on Facebook

Therapy Reimagined 2019

Credits:

Voice Over by DW McCann https://www.facebook.com/McCannDW/

Music by Crystal Grooms Mangano http://www.crystalmangano.com/