Recovery process is not linear, but rather like a spiral. As we begin our journey of recovery around the spiral, we will meet many layers of life experiences that trigger disordered eating and body hatred behaviors. Even though we are once again doing these behaviors, we are not at the same starting point in the spiral. As we take each experience and use it as a building block in our healing, we move ourselves along the spiral. When we are consciously working on our recovery, every experience teaches us, giving us more strength and wisdom. Eventually we develop more effective coping tools to deal with these life experiences and the disordered eating and body hatred behaviors are no longer necessary.
Show Notes
Tessa Gordon, MA, LMFT, RYT, is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Registered Yoga Teacher, certified Nia Instructor, Advanced Pole Instructor, and certified Body Project facilitator, member of the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals, the Academy of Eating Disorders, Facial Pain Association, Diversability Leadership Collective, ReAuthoring Teaching Community, and Yoga for Eating Disorders community. Invisible disability warrior, eating disorder awareness advocate, and activist in the fight against weight stigma and body discrimination. Combining her clinical and lived experiences with her passion for social justice, Tessa works has been actively involved in the eating disorder field for over a decade and has provided therapy at a variety of community counseling centers and treatment facilities. Now in private practice she specializes in eating disorders, non-visible disabilities, chronic illnesses, and trauma. As a registered Yoga, Nia, and Mindful Movement Instructor, Tessa helps people reclaim body-focused forms of movement by shifting language and intention to foster an inclusive and empowering environment for all bodies. Described by her clients as the anti-therapist, Tessa is passionate about working closely with individuals, and their loved ones to discover and connect to their hopes, values, passions, and interests, and support them in re-(dis)covering what their “anti-eating disorder” life will look like. In addition to her work as a therapist, Tessa has provided trainings to other professionals on narrative therapy and eating disorders, the use of therapists lived experience and insider knowledge, mind-body movement and its role in body image acceptance/tolerance, Additionally, Tessa has spoken about stigma and bias in healthcare, the therapeutic relationship, and eating disorder recovery. Tessa is a proud plant parent to approximately 150 indoor plants (and growing…she’s given up counting), and dog mum to the BEST German shepherd ever, Aspen. Want to meet him? He makes appearances in her sessions both over zoom and in Walk + Talk sessions. She loves hiking, yoga, peanut butter, sushi, carrot cake (my own recipe only) and bubble baths.
instagram: @EmbodyingHope
upcoming events/news: Yoga 4 ED Recovery Group will be starting, also an outdoor movement based group.
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