THIS IS OUR WHY...
We know that choosing a therapist is a big deal. We want to take some time to let you know what we are about as people and as providers. The values that guide our work are everything to us. A weight-inclusive lens may be really different from what you are used to. In fact, it may conflict with a lot of things you have heard about what it means to be healthy. We get that. So we put a lot of thought, time and love into the statement below, which describes why we think weight-inclusive practice is the most ethical way we can show up for your care and your health.
This statement is an invitation.
We want you to know that we come from an informed place and a place of willingness and curiosity. We know you have a unique story and want to hear and understand what has brought you here. Our hope is that through building a therapeutic relationship, we can support you in creating a more attuned and trusting relationship to body and food. We want to give you a sense of the ethical foundations of our practice so you can decide whether working with us is right for you.
We begin with the relationship between you and us because experience has shown us that this is where our deepest learning and healing occurs. This work is not easy, and we have found our resilience lies in sharing stories with each other. We believe in the power of transparency, authenticity and vulnerability and believe it is important to share with you how we came to this work.
We are struck by how the culture offers us a narrow representation of acceptable bodies and health. We have seen how systems of power and oppression create unattainable standards that do not recognize the lived experiences of all people. We are aware of the discrimination experienced by those who hold any number of marginalized identities, including, but not limited to, race, gender and sexual identity, socioeconomic status, religion, physical ability, weight and size. We want to name our privileged status as white cis-gendered, heterosexual, straight-sized women. We know because we hold these identities, there is so much we don’t know and never will know. We are committed to actively exploring how our privileged statuses impact our values, worldview and work and seek to use these as a platform for promoting inclusion, diversity and access. We dream of being part of a conversation that advocates for a broader definition of health and addresses the injustices caused by disparities in privilege and health access.
We approach our practice through a weight-inclusive lens because we believe weight-based views of health cause harm. Weight management is most often the recommendation for achieving and maintaining health, a recommendation that results in the simplistic equation “diet + exercise = weight loss = health.” The truth is that positioning weight as the most important determinant of health actually leaves out a lot (stress, trauma, access to resources, genetics, to name a few) while asking us to compensate for our bodies through mandatory exercise and food deprivation. By shifting the focus away from weight, we are able to focus on behaviors that actually promote health. Broadening our view of health creates a foundation for greater space, space that can ultimately allow for a return to the body’s innate wisdom and a sense of peace and freedom.
Research shows dieting isn’t sustainable in the long term and weight stigma is tied to poor physiological and psychological health outcomes. Research has demonstrated that less than 5% of the population can sustain weight-loss beyond 5 years; so for most of us this means that, at the minimum, we will regain what we lost. Weight-cycling is actually tied to poorer health outcomes than being at a stable, higher weight, yet our society, families, and the medical community routinely recommend weight-loss and dieting without questioning its safety or efficacy. Dieting is a significant risk factor for developing an eating disorder, which is the mental health diagnosis with the second highest associated mortality rate. This is why we believe treatments promoting any promise of weight-loss are harmful and therefore unethical. All of these factors have contributed to our intentional decision to ground our work in a weight-inclusive and social justice lens. We utilize an approach that integrates Health at Every Size® (HAES), Body Trust®, Intuitive Eating, and other evidence-based paradigms.
We share this ethical statement with you because it informs how we practice and provides you with insight about what working with us would be like. After reading this, you may decide that work with us sounds challenging but intriguing, or like coming home. It might sound like it is not right for you at this time, or maybe like it is not right for you ever. All of this is ok, and this is exactly why we are writing this. We trust you to make the choice that is right for you.
With care,
Lauren + Fern
We want you to know that we come from an informed place and a place of willingness and curiosity. We know you have a unique story and want to hear and understand what has brought you here. Our hope is that through building a therapeutic relationship, we can support you in creating a more attuned and trusting relationship to body and food. We want to give you a sense of the ethical foundations of our practice so you can decide whether working with us is right for you.
We begin with the relationship between you and us because experience has shown us that this is where our deepest learning and healing occurs. This work is not easy, and we have found our resilience lies in sharing stories with each other. We believe in the power of transparency, authenticity and vulnerability and believe it is important to share with you how we came to this work.
We are struck by how the culture offers us a narrow representation of acceptable bodies and health. We have seen how systems of power and oppression create unattainable standards that do not recognize the lived experiences of all people. We are aware of the discrimination experienced by those who hold any number of marginalized identities, including, but not limited to, race, gender and sexual identity, socioeconomic status, religion, physical ability, weight and size. We want to name our privileged status as white cis-gendered, heterosexual, straight-sized women. We know because we hold these identities, there is so much we don’t know and never will know. We are committed to actively exploring how our privileged statuses impact our values, worldview and work and seek to use these as a platform for promoting inclusion, diversity and access. We dream of being part of a conversation that advocates for a broader definition of health and addresses the injustices caused by disparities in privilege and health access.
We approach our practice through a weight-inclusive lens because we believe weight-based views of health cause harm. Weight management is most often the recommendation for achieving and maintaining health, a recommendation that results in the simplistic equation “diet + exercise = weight loss = health.” The truth is that positioning weight as the most important determinant of health actually leaves out a lot (stress, trauma, access to resources, genetics, to name a few) while asking us to compensate for our bodies through mandatory exercise and food deprivation. By shifting the focus away from weight, we are able to focus on behaviors that actually promote health. Broadening our view of health creates a foundation for greater space, space that can ultimately allow for a return to the body’s innate wisdom and a sense of peace and freedom.
Research shows dieting isn’t sustainable in the long term and weight stigma is tied to poor physiological and psychological health outcomes. Research has demonstrated that less than 5% of the population can sustain weight-loss beyond 5 years; so for most of us this means that, at the minimum, we will regain what we lost. Weight-cycling is actually tied to poorer health outcomes than being at a stable, higher weight, yet our society, families, and the medical community routinely recommend weight-loss and dieting without questioning its safety or efficacy. Dieting is a significant risk factor for developing an eating disorder, which is the mental health diagnosis with the second highest associated mortality rate. This is why we believe treatments promoting any promise of weight-loss are harmful and therefore unethical. All of these factors have contributed to our intentional decision to ground our work in a weight-inclusive and social justice lens. We utilize an approach that integrates Health at Every Size® (HAES), Body Trust®, Intuitive Eating, and other evidence-based paradigms.
We share this ethical statement with you because it informs how we practice and provides you with insight about what working with us would be like. After reading this, you may decide that work with us sounds challenging but intriguing, or like coming home. It might sound like it is not right for you at this time, or maybe like it is not right for you ever. All of this is ok, and this is exactly why we are writing this. We trust you to make the choice that is right for you.
With care,
Lauren + Fern
candlemine is committed to living into the values of justice and equity. We choose to give our time, money, and skills to support community organizations that bring vital resources and services to marginalized and underserved groups + individuals.
We allocate one percent of our earnings to paying rent to indigenous people whose land we occupy as well as values-aligned social justice organizations. Check out and maybe consider donating to the beautiful work being done by past organization candlemine has donated to: LavenderRights Project, The Loveland Foundation and Creative Justice.
In addition to the sliding scale spots we offer in our practice, we partner with Project Heal to offer counseling services at low or no cost. Project Heal is a donation-funded and volunteer-run organization that breaks down the financial, systemic and healthcare barriers to eating disorder healing.
We allocate one percent of our earnings to paying rent to indigenous people whose land we occupy as well as values-aligned social justice organizations. Check out and maybe consider donating to the beautiful work being done by past organization candlemine has donated to: LavenderRights Project, The Loveland Foundation and Creative Justice.
In addition to the sliding scale spots we offer in our practice, we partner with Project Heal to offer counseling services at low or no cost. Project Heal is a donation-funded and volunteer-run organization that breaks down the financial, systemic and healthcare barriers to eating disorder healing.
|
|