Body Image Counseling
Helping you make peace with food and your body –
in North Carolina
Body Image is an Ongoing Battle
When you don’t feel at peace with your body, you experience anxiety around food and clothing, judge yourself, and miss out on the adventures of life.
Maybe you find yourself avoiding the closet because of fear that last year’s clothing won’t fit this year’s body. Maybe you don’t eat during the hours (or days) leading up to a big event so you can “save your calories.” Maybe you avoid mirrors because you don’t like what you see. Maybe you struggle to be intimate with a partner because you’re worried about how they might view your body. Maybe you feel like a “walking head” going through life with no real connection to your body at all.
No matter the specifics, you feel the constant battle. The battle of your desire to accept yourself and treat your body with compassion, pitted against the call of the latest body trend or weight loss fad.
Body Mindfulness Guides You in
Finding Peace with Your Body
Those who have participated in Body Mindfulness Counseling have found freedom to experience life with a new perspective.
Imagine being able to select your clothing based on how it feels on your body rather than the number on a tag. How would your energy level change if you felt freedom to nourish yourself throughout the day, regardless of what events might be coming up? What great adventure would you pursue with the mental space and energy freed up by not worry about body size and food?
You can find connection with yourself, feel more present in your body, and experience life with a new perspective..
Finding Freedom and Peace
Learning new ways to handle body image concerns has led folks to explore the dreams they had previously put aside.
Taking the time to examine your body image concerns, expore Body Mindfulness, and reconnect with your body can open up a whole new world of possibilities. You may discover a new love for fashion and savor the freedom to express yourself in new ways. Perhaps you’ll find yourself writing the book or taking the class you’ve always thought about. You may notice yourself feeling more connected to your own hunger and fullness, and better able to honor those cues. What could your life include if you felt connected to and secure in your body?
Folks who have worked through their body image concerns and/or body disconnection with Body Mindfulness concepts have found a new freedom in life. Freedom to open the boutique they always imagined, carrying a wide array of sizes. Freedom to let “all foods fit” and to stop an endless cycle of dieting, restricting, and binge eating. Freedom to connect with their body and listen to what that body needs and wants.
How Do I Work on Body Image Concerns or Body Disconnection?
I use Body Mindfulness to help clients dig through their body image concerns, feel more connected with their body, and to make peace with food.
Body image concerns and body disconnection don’t develop overnight. There are often years of messages and struggles to work through, almost like an archaeological dig. Body Mindfulness describes the way I approach these concerns.
Body Mindfulness is an anti-diet, weight-inclusive approach that draws from concepts of Intuitive Eating, Health at Every Size, and Body Trust. This approach uses education, exploration, and real-world support to help you reconnect with your body and learn to have a compassionate relationship with your body.
What is Body Mindfulness?
Body Mindfulness is the way I describe my approach to working with body image concerns and body disconnection. I utilize concepts of mindfulness (having awareness in the present moment without judgement), as well as principles drawn from Intuitive Eating, Health at Every Size, and Body Trust to assist clients in increasing connection with their body and making peace with their body and food. Body Mindfulness is an anti-diet, weight-inclusive approach.
How Does Body Mindfulness Work?
Body Mindfulness provides an opportunity for a client to look at their body-related struggles head-on, in the supportive context of therapy. Dissociation or disconnection from one’s body – sometimes described as “living above the neck” – is common with body-related concerns. Body Mindfulness utilizes mindfulness concepts to assist folks in reconnecting with their body. We then incorporate concepts drawn from various weight-inclusive approaches to continue the journey to finding connection, compassion, and peace with their body.
When is Body Mindfulness needed?
Body Mindfulness can be helpful for a variety of body-related concerns, including: poor body image, body disconnection, disordered eating patterns, difficulty nourishing oneself, struggles being present during bodily experiences, accepting bodily changes, etc. If someone is dealing with an active eating disorder, Body Mindfulness may not be appropriate. However, I’m happy to chat with those interested in Body Mindfulness to help determine if this might be a good fit for you.
How much does Body Mindfulness cost?
This can depend on the format of the services provided. I provide individual counseling where the focus may be on utilizing a Body Mindfulness approach – fee information can be found here. I also occasionally provide Body Mindfulness services in the context of group therapy or educational workshops. If you have interest in Body Mindfulness groups or in hosting a workshop for your friends / group / organization, please contact me.
How long does the Body Mindfulness process take?
Once again, this depends. For individual therapy, the length of time working on Body Mindfulness depends on several factors that are specific to each individual. If you choose to work with me, this would be part of our early discussions with one another. The Body Mindfulness therapy groups typically include 8 weekly sessions. I can also adapt Body Mindfulness for various workshop formats, depending on the needs of the hosting group / organization. Contact me for more information.
How do I know if Body Mindfulness is right for me?
Body Mindfulness may be a good fit for you if any of the following apply:
- You find yourself frequently thinking about food and/or your body.
- You struggle to feel comfortable in your body, causing you to miss out on parts of life.
- You feel disconnected from your body. You don’t really know when you’re hungry or when you’re full. You struggle to experience physical pleasure or notice physical pain.
- You have experience with diet culture. Examples include: seeing thing, white women in media as the norm; constant ads for weight loss and fad diets; medical professionals insisting your concerns are due to body size; dealing with frequent comments related to body size; the demonization of natural body changes throughout life.
- You have experience with any high-control system where bodily autonomy was absent. This may religious groups or athletic teams with an emphasis on specific guidelines around appearance.
- You have been reocmmended / prescribed a GLP-1 (things like Wegovy, Ozempic, Mounjaro, etc.) for weight loss and aren’t sure how you feel about the recommendation.
Blog Posts Related to Body Image Concerns
Get Started With Body Image Counseling
Contact me to schedule your free, 15-minute, virtual consultation to see if Body Image Counseling might be a good fit for you.
[Unless specifically noted, no content on this site was created using AI technologies. All content is the property of Michelle F. Moseley Counseling, PLLC]