In this episode, Bri interviews Elizabeth Armstrong (she/her) is a therapist in Dallas, Texas who works with people living with PCOS. She is passionate about helping women heal their relationship with their body, find freedom from diet culture, and advocate for better health care of PCOS.

Together, they dissect how Elizabeth's experience of the seasonal ritual of going through clothes can to lead to body discomfort. They delve into how our childhood traumas can inform us on how we react to body change, and in result our view of our bodies. Even something as simple as shopping with a parent for new clothing can be an impressionable experience. More importantly, Elizabeth notes how body trauma does not have to be physical or violent to hurt us. The medical field, social media, and entertainment industries can amplify the alienation and discomfort when oneself reflects on their body.

Elizabeth busts the biggest myths told about PCOS, and goes over the methods she uses with her clients. Her techniques and mindset are always rooted in body neutrality and the HAES perspective. Bri and Elizabeth discuss exactly what that means, why "positivity" is not incredibly helpful for self love, and how do we get there. She also goes in depth about how having a supportive partner can make all the difference in the world.

For more info on Elizabeth Armstrong, you can visit her at website: https://pcostherapy.com/ & her Instagram @pcostherapist

In today's episode, Natalie Peikoff and I discuss what it is like to grieve our old bodies, especially when reminded through photos.

Natalie Peikoff is a psychotherapist with Full Bloom Counseling Group in Denver, Colorado. She works with people of all ages to help them find the inner peace and clarity they deserve. Natalie thrives on meaningful human connection and brings a deeply empathic perspective to her therapeutic work. Her specialities include body image, disordered eating, anxiety, and relationship issues. Natalie is trauma-informed and works from a Health At Every Size and Intuitive Eating lens.

Follow Natalie on Instagram at @kneadtotalk for a mix of therapy thoughts, self-love notes, and delicious baked goods!

In this episode, Bri speaks with certified holistic wellness coach Ivy Felicia about her journey to becoming a coach and creating a space in the wellness industry for people of all sizes. Ivy helps clients of all backgrounds realize that body peace is possible, that self-love is a choice, and that body freedom is a birthright for all. They discuss how multiple marginalized identities play a part in health and wellness, and how the traditional concept of wellness must change to reflect diverse perspectives and abilities.

Ivy Felicia is dedicated to helping people strengthen their love for themselves. Ivy is a certified holistic wellness coach, a motivational speaker, a body image expert, a coach with over 5 years of acclaimed service, and a passionate public advocate for fat acceptance and body diversity. She has offered body image coaching to people of all sizes, offering body peace, and radical self-love to all who struggle to achieve it.

Through the combination of her education and her own powerful journey to body peace, Ivy has developed an innovative system of Body Relationship CoachingTM. This powerful system is a unique combination of weight-neutral holistic wellness and radical self-care. By using simple strategies, mindful accountability techniques, intuitive listening, and ongoing training, Ivy facilitates shifts in mindset and perspective that help people achieve positive, sustainable changes in their relationship with their bodies.

No matter what stage of life a person is in, no matter what body they have, no matter their health status, or their feelings about their image, Ivy teaches that body peace is possible, that self-love is a choice, and that body freedom is a birthright for all.

For more ways to work with Bri, check out her offers on https://linktr.ee/bodyimagewithbri or on her website: https://www.bodyimagewithbri.com.

And as all my podcasting friends say - this podcast is for informational, educational, and entertainment purposes only and cannot be a replacement for medical or mental health advice. If you like this episode, please like, subscribe, and share it. Leave a review or comment!

Season 2, Episode 5

In this IGTV Live turned episode, Bri answers her followers' questions about how to handle body changes. In a society where we're constantly told that our changing bodies are bad, how do we begin to rebuild body trust? How do we manage when we find ourselves unlovable? And how do we cope with the reactions of family members and friends who've noticed our changing bodies? She answers important questions like what can we do right now to feel better in the bodies we have? And the big question, who profits off of the thought that there's something wrong with our bodies in the first place?

Statistic stated in the episode that health is only made up by 30% of what we eat and how we move is from Lindo Bacon's Body Respect: https://lindobacon.com/body-respect-book/

Others mentioned this episode: Natalie Peikoff - @kneadtotalk, www.fullbloomcounseling.com Seerut Chawla - @seerutkchawla

For more ways to work with Bri, check out her offers on https://linktr.ee/bodyimagewithbri or on her website: https://www.bodyimagewithbri.com.

And as all my podcasting friends say - this podcast is for informational, educational, and entertainment purposes only and cannot be a replacement for medical or mental health advice. If you like this episode, please like, subscribe, and share it. Leave a review or comment!

Season 2, Episode 4

Rebecca Moravec is a licensed professional counselor (LPC) and licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) in Denver, CO where she has been practicing therapy for over 10 years. She loves the Enneagram (She leads with an enneagram 2!) and is training to become a Certified Enneagram Practitioner through The Narrative Enneagram. She's a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor which intersects with her work with clients healing from disordered eating. She is committed to fat-acceptance, and Health at Every Size, and to dismantling diet culture so that people may live deep and meaningful lives with authentic relationships with themselves and with others free from distraction and shame.

In this episode, Becca and Bri dive into Becca's experience of needing to have her wedding band cut from her finger when it no longer fit her. They talk about how the thin ideal affects our sense of belonging and our perception of failure and explore body grief, letting go of "thinness," and processing the feelings that arise when looking at old photos. Together they discuss how exposure therapy, along with reparenting, self-care, and holding onto meaningful relationships can help body grief to fade and allow us to live fuller lives.

Becca co-hosts the Two Therapists in Therapy podcast with Sarah Brill. When she's not with clients, she is reading or snuggling with her partner, Chad, and their sweet dog, Pumpkin.

To learn more about Becca check out www.fullbloomcounseling.com or find her on Instagram: @MillennialTherapist.

For more ways to work with Bri, check out her offers on https://linktr.ee/bodyimagewithbri or on her new website https://www.bodyimagewithbri.com.

And as all my podcasting friends say - this podcast is for informational, educational, and entertainment purposes only and cannot be a replacement for medical or mental health advice. If you like this episode, please like, subscribe, and share it. Leave a review or comment!

Season 2, Episode 3

Amanda LaCount is a well known hip-hop dancer, actress, choreographer, singer, model and influencer. She has been dancing since she was two-years-old. In 2015 she moved from CO to LA to follow her dream of becoming a professional dancer and actress.

Some of her most notable performances include dancing with Meghan Trainor on RDMA, dancing on The Ellen Show with Keala Settle from The Greatest Showman, dancing with Disney's Descendants 2 cast on DWTS, dancing on 2 episodes of The Voice, dancing in Katy Perry's "Swish Swish" music video feat. Nicki Minaj, performing at Coachella with Lizzo, performing in Rihanna's Savage X Fenty Show at NYFW, performing as Alana (one of Ariel's sisters) in ABC's The Little Mermaid Live, dancing in Lady Gaga's "Stupid Love" music video, dancing on America's Got Talent Season 15, and most recently dancing in Netflix's The Prom with Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, and Kerry Washington.

In today's episode, we talk about Amanda's background growing up as a dancer. Her mom was hugely supportive of her, instilling confidence in her and a sense of defiance toward the naysayers. Amanda notes how as a dancer, it's important to have a good relationship with one's body, and how that's helped her to cultivate a positive body image. Amanda created the movement #breakingthestereotype, which promotes body positivity and the belief that any "body" can be a dancer. Her goal is to inspire a new generation of dancers with all different body types.

Visit Amanda on Instagram at @amandalacount and online at www.amandalacount.com.

For more ways to work with Bri, check out her offers on https://linktr.ee/bodyimagewithbri.

And as all my podcasting friends say - this podcast is for informational, educational & entertainment purposes only & cannot be a replacement for medical or mental health advice. If you like this episode, please like, subscribe & share it. Leave a review or comment!

Christyna Johnson (she/her/hers) is a weight-inclusive registered dietitian who works with disordered eating, eating disorders, and intuitive eating. She practices from a Health at Every Size ®, social justice, trauma-informed, and person-centered approach. She advocates for equity and inclusion at all levels of eating disorder treatment. She uses social media to provide education and awareness around issues that intersect with food and bodies. She is the host of the podcast Intuitive Eating for the Culture. Her other passions include plants and exploring the outdoors.

In this episode, Christyna and I discuss body trauma and body terrorism, and how they impact body image and autonomy. We delve into diet culture and the "trend" of body positivity, and Christyna even shares some of her favorite brands that are committed to social justice. 

Interested in nutritional counseling and learning more about Christyna? Visit her on Instagram at @encouragingdietician and online at https://linktr.ee/encouragingdietitian.

For more ways to work with Bri, check out her offers at https://linktr.ee/bodyimagewithbri.

And as all my podcasting friends say -  this podcast is for informational, educational & entertainment purposes only and cannot be a replacement for medical or mental health advice. If you like this episode, please like, subscribe, and share it. Leave a review or comment!

In this episode, Dr. Morgan Francis and I discuss how body grief along with many other forms of more traditional grief intertwine and interact throughout our lives. Dr. Francis talks about how in her intuitive eating journey, the process of replacing old thought patterns that contributed to disordered eating, to the new thoughts that helped heal her relationship to her body, food, and movement. We dive in and sit in the suck for a lost in our lives we both happen to share; the passing of each of our brothers. For Dr. Francis, this created a domino effect that had many ramifications for her entire family. Lastly, we delve into the many facets of grief, and how validation and providing space for those feelings can be incredibly beneficial for our well being.

Dr. Morgan Francis is a Doctor of Clinical Psychology and a Licensed Mental Health Therapist. She is the owner of Scottsdale Premier Counseling, in Scottsdale, Arizona. Her mission is to break through the mental health shame game. Dr. Francis is a mother to three children ages 7, 6, and 4 years old and resides in Scottsdale, Arizona with her husband of ten years.

Dr. Morgan Francis provides Free Mindful Messages, a mental health service via text, helping you make your mental health your number one priority: https://my.community.com/dr.morgan

Dr. Morgan Francis also offers a Bye Bye Body Blame Course, that teaches you how to stop dieting once and for all, while making peace with your body and food: drmorganfrancis.teachable.com/p/bye-bye-body-blame

In addition, she also offers a Loving Yourself Through Loss Course:drmorganfrancis.teachable.com/p/loving-yourself-through-loss

For more info on Dr. Morgan Francis, follow her on IG or her website: @drmorganfrancis & https://www.scottsdalepremiercounseling.com/

For more ways to work with Bri, check out her offers on https://linktr.ee/bodyimagewithbri

UPDATED EPISODE! In this episode of The Body GrieversⓇ Club, re-recorded in 2026, Bri and Anna Sweeney reflect on what they've learned about themselves, body grief, body liberation, and chronic illness since this episode was originally recorded back during the pandemic era. They will share new wisdoms and correct themselves on some things they said the first time around.

Anna shares living with multiple sclerosis and profound immune suppression, while Bri discusses chronic illness impacts including post-bariatric surgery complications (gastroparesis), Hashimoto's, PCOS, ADHD, and a lasting foot tendon injury. They explore why asking people to be grateful for what their bodies can do can be harmful and ableist, emphasizing that gratitude may be a byproduct of starting with grief. The conversation addresses feelings of body betrayal, radical body acceptance as receiving the body as it is, internalized ableism, medical anti-fat bias, wellness industry misinformation, and the importance of interdependence, meeting basic needs, and rebuilding trust in the body.

08:27 Multiple Sclerosis Explained

11:47 Ableism of Gratitude

18:04 Radical Body Acceptance

19:38 Disability Justice Lens

21:07 High Heels and Shoulds

29:05 Body Grief Reframed

33:14 Fighting Anti Fat Medicine

38:51 Genetics And Diagnosis Grief

41:59 Wellness Industry Exposed

53:09 Basic Needs Check In

WANT MORE OF ANNA?

Connect with Anna on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/dietitiananna/?hl=en

Find more links for ways to work with Anna on her Linktree

WANT MORE OF BRI?

*Instagram: @bodyimagewithbri

*Website: https://bodyimagewithbri.com/

*Bri's Free Resource: 7-Step Guide to Shift Body Grief to Radical Body Acceptance

https://www.bodyimagewithbri.com/seven-steps

In this episode, I lay the groundwork for the concept of Body Grief. More episodes on this topic to come.

Disclaimer: this episode is for informational, educational & entertainment purposes only and not to be used in place of mental health advice.

Find out more about Bri's current offers on here: https://linktr.ee/bodyimagewithbri