Overvaluing Body Image & Physical Appearance with Dr. Alissa Knight

Understanding Body Matters Podcast

On this week’s episode I am super excited to be introducing you to our next special guest, Psychologist and Media Spokesperson Dr. Alissa Knight. Alissa is the Director and Founder of her own Psychologist Clinic ‘The Calming Suite Psychology’. Where Alissa practices as a Registered Psychologist, Eating Disorder Specialist, Psychology Media Spokesperson, Researcher, Conference Speaker, and Teacher. Dr. Alissa Knight has a Doctorate/PHD in Psychology, a Masters in Clinical Psychology, a Bachelor of Psychology (Honours), a Masters of Journalism and Mass Communication and a Bachelor of Education Junior/ Primary. Exceedingly, prior to Alissa becoming a Clinical Psychologist, she worked in roles as a Scientist (Researcher) in areas such as Psychiatry, Psychology and Nutrition. Alissa also worked as a Journalist (Breakfast Radio Host), a Primary School Teacher and a Professional Dancer. Which allowed Alissa to teach dance to children and adolescents at the Australian Dance Academy. Alissa is an accredited Les Mils BodyBalance (yoga, Thai chi, relaxation and meditation) instructor and taught BodyBalance in fitness centres around Australia for 9 years. As you can see Alissa has dedicated 17 amazing years to University study where she now holds 5 degrees across fields of Psychology, Neurology, Junior Primary/ Primary/ High School Dance Education and Journalism.

On this week’s episode I am delighted to be speaking with Dr. Alissa Knight as Alissa has appeared on Channel 7, Channel 9 and Channel 10 News for her expertise on the research into mental health. Specifically for her research into the phenomenon ‘drunkorexia’ which was first pioneered in Australia by researchers such as Alissa. Alissa appeared on Channel 10 for her knowledge on mental health and the application of smartphone technology in the prevention & treatment of mental health. Alissa has also been invited to speak on numerous radio stations including on the ABC news in Adelaide, Sydney, Perth, and Darwin. Alissa also appeared on Triple J the Hack, appeared in the Australian newspaper, and several online news sites. Alissa has not only been recognised in Australia but also internationally such as in the Cosmopolitan magazine in New York where Dr. Alissa Knight was interviewed by Carrie Arnold. Alissa has also been chosen to be included in the Science Media Exchange (‘Scimex’) and The Australian & New Zealand Science Media Centre with multiple articles, columns and press releases. As you can tell we are very lucky to be introducing you to this next special guest, Dr. Alissa Knight, who will so kindly be speaking about the topic of Overvaluing body image and physical appearance. With eating disorders becoming a major issue in our modern society Alissa speaks about perceptions of body image and physical appearance in conjunction with eating disorders. So please, let's get into it!

Podcast Summary:

1. What influences our perception of physical appearance

2. Breaking down body image

3. When your perception of body image becomes too fixated

4. Living in a society that overvalues appearance

5. Body image from a neutral perspective

6. Being more compassionate towards your body

Links to Dr. Alissa Knight:

Website and ‘I am enough’ event: https://thecalmingsuite.com.au/

Instagram: @australianpsychologistalissa

Facebook: The Calming Suite Psychology- Dr Alissa Knight

Links to BodyMatters:

BodyMatters Australasia Website: https://bodymatters.com.au/

BodyMatters Instagram: @bodymattersau

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