The diet industry is a $72 billion industry. Our culture is obsessed with weight loss and idolizes thinness, often equating it to health, beauty and morality. This westernized view of "health" has contributed to the alarming number of eating disorders across the world, with more than 28 million Americans alone struggling. Health At Every Size ® (HAES) is a modern approach that challenges the "thin ideal" and offers an inclusive approach to the treatment and care of bodies at all sizes, providing insight into the idea that health is more than just a number.
This webinar will explore diet culture’s influence on the healthcare industry today and how that influence has led to bias and harm, especially for those in larger bodies. Attendees will learn how to use the principles of HAES to identify their own biases around health and break down cultural stereotypes to move towards self-healing and body acceptance.
Heather Clark, LPC, LCPC, is the Clinical Program Director for Rock Recovery, a nonprofit that helps people overcome disordered eating by combining clinical and community care. She specializes in treating disordered eating through a trauma-informed, weight inclusive lens. Heather has experience working in multiple levels of care in eating disorder (ED) treatment, from residential to outpatient, and is passionate in working with clients on their ED recovery. Heather also enjoys counseling those dealing with anxiety, self-worth, shame, self-compassion, and Christian spirituality/spiritual trauma. She is passionate about the Health at Every Size(R) philosophy and approach to work and life. Heather is currently working towards becoming a Certified Body Trust Provider, which helps equip her to support individuals journeying toward liberation with food and body, as well as a deep sense of being at home in their bodies.
Kristyn Y. Soto, MS, Director of Community Partnerships, became Rock Recovery’s second full-time staff hire in October of 2017. She has an educational background in Psychology and a passion for increasing access to mental health services, especially for BIPOC and underserved communities. She obtained her BA in Psychology from Messiah College and her MS in Applied Developmental Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh. Since joining the team, Kristyn has worked closely alongside the Executive Director to help Rock grow from a one-program organization to a community cornerstone across Greater DC.
Clinicians and community members
