Addressing the impact of eating disorders within the Orthodox Jewish community holds personal significance for me. Within this community, there are many people who are struggling with eating disorders, and it’s crucial to explore how they are managing it and what actions they can take.

There are obvious questions around the topic of kosher. What does that mean? What does it look like? How do you deal with somebody who does keep kosher? What are the different levels of kosher and how do you personalize care?

"If someone is concerned their child isn't going to be religious anymore, that's going to be very painful to them. That's going to be very worrisome.” - Devorah Levinson

"Some people are much, much more careful with what they're going to eat." - Devorah Levinson

“Lay's potato chips is not a Jewish company, but they are kosher. So some people won't eat Lay's potato chips because they only want the Jewish supervision.” - Devorah Levinson

"Don't just assume because someone says they're a rabbi that we need to do everything that they're saying and that their word is law." - Devorah Levinson

"Well, we're not giving you a cup [to wash with] because you purge in these things and you throw them out before we notice." - Devorah Levinson

“At what point does somebody else have a say in what needs to happen and how do you come to that medium? There's no fine line here.” - Rachelle Heinemann

"I think that's why you have to have a therapist who really is very well trained in eating disorders and who you really trust." - Devorah Levinson

Resources

Grab my Healing Journal Prompts

Relief Resources

Project Everybody

100% of people who struggle with their relationship with food, also struggle with assertiveness and boundaries.

Okay, now that I have your attention, maybe let’s say 95% just to be safe, even though it’s 100% of the people that I’ve met. Regardless, it is an issue for many people to have the courage to speak up and say what’s on their mind. It's a common hurdle that people face when trying to navigate the delicate balance between setting boundaries and practicing assertiveness. The interesting part is, these two aspects are intricately intertwined.

"Assertiveness is this sort of happy medium of where you're speaking your mind, but you're doing so respectfully." - Rachelle Heinemann

"When you say things out loud, and we have them heard, even if they don't change anything, the value of just being heard and understood or even offered an apology with nothing actually changing is so important." - Rachelle Heinemann

"Almost 100% of the people that struggle with their relationship with food end up having to deal with this particular struggle with setting boundaries and assertiveness." - Rachelle Heinemann

"If you truly are assertive, kudos to you.” - Rachelle Heinemann

Grab my Healing Journal Prompts

How do you do therapy? Are there “rules”? What are they?

Questions most of us have probably never considered before we start therapy. When we look at how the therapeutic relationship of therapy works, we have to consider the foundation of therapy, and what the deeper meaning is behind it.

In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Dana Satir. We are breaking down the what’s and why’s of therapy, and sharing some metaphors along the way.

Dr. Satir is a clinical psychologist who has been practicing in the eating disorders field for over twenty years. She received her doctorate from Boston University and completed her internship at Cambridge Health Alliance/Harvard Medical School. Her scholarship has been focused on the treatment relationship, specifically the therapist's experiences, and the psychoanalytic treatment of eating disorders. She has received grant funding from the American Psychoanalytic Association (APsaA) and Children's Hospital Colorado, and she was awarded an early career fellowship from APsaA in 2013. Dr. Satir teaches courses on eating disorders and psychotherapy at the University of Denver and TZK webinars, hosts study groups, and provides case consultations with licensed clinicians. She maintains a psychoanalytic private practice in Boulder County, Colorado, where she primarily works with individuals who have experienced early developmental trauma and have a history of eating disorder symptoms as well as young adults in transition.

"The therapists that are working with patients with eating disorders are committed, deeply committed. And there's sort of an overarching idea of, we're in this together." - Dana Satir

"If we think about therapy as a game, it's playful, If we can't play in therapy, then I think that that's something that we ought to talk about because there is some sort of playfulness that is appropriate to have." - Rachelle Heinemann

"In therapy, the therapist doesn't share about their personal life, and the person in therapy shares everything about their life." - Rachelle Heinemann

“This is almost the hallmark of an eating disorder is that we use an eating disorder to communicate." - Rachelle Heinemann

"If it feels like holding that mystery is so anxiety-provoking, maybe we talk about what it would be like to know part of that." - Dana Satir

Dana Satir's Website - http://www.drdanasatir.com/

What’s the deal with our dreams?

How often do you find yourself waking up in the middle of the night, from a crazy dream, wondering how you were even able to imagine it? Dreams, according to Freud, aren't mere froth. They're messages, beckoning us to pay attention to the deeper recesses of our minds. And here's the kicker: dreams don't bother with trivial matters. If it's in your dream, it's significant. 

In this episode, I am joined by Jennifer Neely, LCSW-R, a psychotherapist and psychoanalyst in private practice in New York City with over 20 years of experience in the field. 

Jennifer assists adults who are seeking relief from anxiety and depression. She offers psychotherapy to successful professionals who are hoping to find more enjoyment in their work and home lives. She helps people in recovery from addictions to address underlying their root causes. She sees those who are in loving yet problematic relationships with former addicts. She has specialized training in and experience working with people who have endured trauma. Jennifer holds a master’s degree from New York University’s School of Social Work. She is a member, instructor, and training analyst at the National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis (NPAP). She enjoys supervising other clinicians. She has taught dream interpretation at NPAP, the Philadelphia School of Psychoanalysis, and Blanton-Peale Graduate Institute. She believes psychotherapy need not be humorless nor interminable. 

Jennifer highlights how dreams are the mind's intricate mechanism for navigating ambivalence and desire. They connect seamlessly with our relationship with food and life in general. Dream analysis, it seems, is the compass guiding us through the labyrinth of our unconscious.

"Freud would say that dreams do not concern themselves with triviality." - Jennifer Neely

"We all dream all the time. We don't necessarily remember it." - Rachelle Heinemann

"It's not that Google is wrong. It's more so that it's a generalization about dream interpretation and that it cannot possibly be accurate for everybody because each person has their own interpretations.” - Rachelle Heinemann

"The conflict is even greater, and the unconscious really wants to underscore and make a point." - Jennifer Neely

“It’s such a fascinating way to understand the intricate mechanisms in our mind that are trying to navigate ambivalence and desire, which obviously is really connected with a relationship with food." - Rachelle Heinemann

Website: Jennifer A. Neely Psychotherapy

Phone: 212-242-0231

How do we define binge eating? 

In this episode, we’re diving into all things binge eating and emotional eating. We’re breaking down what these terms mean, what they don’t mean, where they come from, and the underlying factors that contribute to these behaviors. 

"When someone says that they suffer from emotional eating or binge eating, I think first and foremost, we have to take the person's subjective experience into account." - Rachelle Heinemann

"Whether or not we call it binge eating, emotional eating, a binge eating disorder, officially, is irrelevant." - Rachelle Heinemann

"Binge eating, as well as every other eating disorder, is a way of regulating emotion. That is why it's happening, that is why it started, and that is what is maintaining it." - Rachelle Heinemann

"Not all emotional eating is bad. I think that when we're having a rough time, our appetite is going to fluctuate."  - Rachelle Heinemann

"It's okay, you can feel these ways." - Rachelle Heinemann

"If somebody has difficulty regulating emotion, put those two together. Insert disordered eating. Insert eating disorder." - Rachelle Heinemann

There is no doubt that I disagree with diet culture. But recently I’ve been noticing that a lot of these things that frustrate me with this culture are starting to show up in the anti-diet culture as well. Between the judging, the internal shaming, and the “cult behaviors”, the lines are starting to blur and the cycle we were trying to break has begun to repeat itself.

In this episode, I’m talking with Jessica Brown about how anti-diet culture has started to become similar to diet culture. This conversation highlights some of the gray areas that aren’t discussed as often.

Jessica Brown has been a clinical nutritionist for over 20 years and is the author of the mind-body book, 'The Loving Diet.' She is a graduate of Stanford University's year-long Applied Compassion Teacher Training Program, where she explored how self-compassion can increase interoceptive awareness in individuals with disordered eating. Currently, she focuses her professional time on facilitating the eight-week self-compassion for disordered eating online groups she created. Her website and social media is The Loving Diet (www.thelovingdiet.com)

Over time, the anti-diet culture movement has seen significant changes, with the original values and mission statement giving way to new perspectives and approaches.

"I feel like even people who we really disagree with, we can acknowledge that everyone messes up and that that was not a good journalistic moment." - Jessica Brown

"Self-compassion isn't relying on things going your way. It's saying I can be with myself in any state, happy, hurting, confused, scared, and the premise of self-compassion is how would I treat a friend?" - Jessica Brown

"At the end of the day, work on your own self-compassion." - Rachelle Heinemann

"We're really focusing more on the culture that's been created around all of this phenomenal help that's been really abundant these days." - Rachelle Heinemann

“It's sort of like the merging of common sense and looking at the science, which is if you eat a diet that's primarily ultra-processed food, you might run into some problems. But should we say you should never eat it?” - Jessica Brown

Resources

https://www.thelovingdiet.com/ 

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thelovingdiet/ 

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TheLovingDiet 

Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@TheLovingDiet 

Feeling stuck isn't exclusive to one area of life; it can strike at any moment. Whether you're battling with your career, your relationships, or, as is often the case, your relationship with food, that suffocating feeling can be all too familiar. If you've ever grappled with issues related to your relationship with food or have felt trapped in various aspects of life, this discussion is going to be a game-changer for you.

In this episode, I am chatting with Sondra Kronberg about what to do when you feel stuck, as it’s a challenge that everyone faces at some point.

Sondra Kronberg, MS, RD, CEDRD-S is a seasoned nutrition therapist and recognized leader in the field of eating disorders. Founder and Executive Director, Eating Disorder Treatment Collaborative, FEED: IOP, CONNECT and CONCIERGE programs in New York.  Sondra specializes in treatment and training of the collaborative approach to eating disorders. She is a founding member and past Board Trustee of the National Eating Disorders Association, (NEDA). The author of Comprehensive Learning/Teaching Handout Series Manual for Eating Disorders and contributing author to Eating Disorders: Clinical Guide to Counseling and Treatment and Eating Disorders in Special Populations: Medical, Nutritional and Psychological Treatments. Sondra received the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals, (IAEDP), 2010 Certified Eating Disorder Specialists Award, the NEDA 2004 Excellence in Treatment Award, and the 2002 SCAN Excellence in Practice Award. In 2018 Sondra received NEDA’s first Legacy Award. Sondra is currently an IAEDP influencer and certification core course facilitator. She is a national speaker, treatment consultant, and media spokesperson. She is also a consultant to the Carolyn Costin Institute. Sondra’s greatest passion is helping people learn to nourish their minds and bodies in order to reclaim their lives and thrive. 

“It's sort of like taking the pacifier away from the baby. You can't really just yank the pacifier away. You have to understand the meaning and the value and maybe offer some other opportunity when you're going to go from pacifier to bottle.” – Sondra Kronberg

"People with eating disorders are the most stuck people because they just are going around in this circle all the time.” – Sondra Kronberg

"The process of unstuckness for the binge eating disorder is to learn how to set limits and boundaries and to be able to say no.” – Sondra Kronberg

"Something about an eating disorder is if you talk to clients is that what started out as something that they decided is now deciding them." – Sondra Kronberg

https://sondrakronberg.com/ 

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/sondrakronberg/ 

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/EatingDisorderTreatmentCollaborative 

Listener questions: answered.

To be totally honest, my inbox has been filled with amazing questions from podcast listeners. While I usually integrate listener questions into various episodes, today, I want to break down a few of the more popular ones.

Before we get started, I just want to note that if you have a question, whether it's something that you've been wondering about for a long time and just don't really know who to ask, or you've been asking like every single person you see and you want another take on it, let’s chat. Send me an email, DM me on Instagram, whatever it may be, and add “Podcast Listener Question” in the subject line so I can be sure to add it to a future podcast episode. 

"We are strong and we feel terrible about it, but we are together. And if that is the message that you can provide to your kids, whether or not they're being teased or teased for their weight, then you have provided your kid with the most valuable emotional lesson that you can possibly teach them about resilience." - Rachelle Heinemann

"Look at the person, ask the why, wonder why, even if you're not asking, and then go from there.” - Rachelle Heinemann

“When you're confronted with the choice of ‘what do I do’, I also think that we have to take into account people's past experiences with treatment.” - Rachelle Heinemann

“We can't just put a blanket statement or prescription on somebody's symptoms and say, you must choose a higher level of care.” - Rachelle Heinemann

LEAVE A REVIEW + help someone who may need this podcast by sharing this episode.

Be sure to sign up for my weekly newsletter here!

You can connect with me on Instagram @rachelleheinemann, through my website www.rachelleheinemann.com, or email me directly at [email protected]

Let’s get personal.

In the therapy world, sometimes we think that we want a CBT therapist, a psychodynamic therapist, a DBT therapist, or whatever other type of therapist when ultimately, we may not necessarily know what any of that means or if it’s what we really need. We want to be able to “fit” into a box and have a specific type of therapy that we can lean into. In reality, it’s not black and white at all and therapy most certainly doesn’t fit into boxes.

I want to preface this entire episode with the fact this is me reflecting on my own personal and professional experience. So disagree away with me. 

"Just because somebody says this is evidence-based, it is a lot more complicated than that." - Rachelle Heinemann

"As a psychoanalytic psychotherapist, we do not shy away from anything uncomfortable. And that is what separates this from the rest." - Rachelle Heinemann

“It's not like you can go for a brain imaging test, and go in and say, ‘Oh, yes, I do have an eating disorder’ or ‘yes, I do have general anxiety.’ It doesn't work that way." - Rachelle Heinemann

"It requires knowing the theory behind how the human mind works, the development of psychology, and all of that stuff in order to integrate that into a therapy session that might almost look identical to somebody who hasn't had the training but just sort of tries to wing it." - Rachelle Heinemann

LEAVE A REVIEW + help someone who may need this podcast by sharing this episode.

Be sure to sign up for my weekly newsletter here!

You can connect with me on Instagram @rachelleheinemann, through my website www.rachelleheinemann.com, or email me directly at [email protected]

Let’s stop criticizing intuitive eating.

In a world where intuitive eating has become a buzzword, it's crucial to sift through the chatter and truly understand what it means. We're not here to entertain misconceptions or misinterpretations of intuitive eating—those are a whole different story. Instead, we're bringing you a discussion that revolves around the insightful critiques of intuitive eating from individuals who genuinely respect and comprehend its principles.

In this episode, I am chatting with Elyse Resch (her second time on the UDE podcast, by the way!).

Elyse Resch, MS, RDN, CEDS-S, Fiaedp, FADA, FAND, is a nutrition therapist in private practice in California, with over forty years of experience, specializing in eating disorders, Intuitive Eating, and Health at Every Size. She is the co-author of Intuitive Eating, now in its 4th edition, the Intuitive Eating Workbook, and The Intuitive Eating Card Deck—50 Bite-Sized Ways to Make Peace with Food.  Elyse is also the author of The Intuitive Eating Workbook for Teens and The Intuitive Eating Journal—Your Guided Journey for Nourishing a Healthy Relationship with Food and a chapter contributor to The Handbook of Positive Body Image and Embodiment. She has published journal articles, print articles, and blog posts.  Elyse does regular speaking engagements, podcasts, and extensive media interviews. Her work has been profiled on NPR, CNN, KABC, NBC, KTTV, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Associate Press, KFI Radio, USA Today, and the Huffington Post, among others. Elyse is nationally known for her work in helping patients break free from diet culture through the Intuitive Eating process. Her philosophy embraces the goal of reconnecting with one’s internal wisdom about eating and developing body liberation, with the belief that all bodies deserve dignity and respect.  She is a social justice advocate, a member of the Healer’s Circle of Project Heal—Help to Eat, Accept, and Live, supervises and trains health professionals, is a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist and Supervisor, a Fellow of the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals, and a Fellow of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

“You have to look at what's happening in your life and adjust to that.” - Elyse Resch

“We have to have compassion for everyone and meet them where they are and help them understand the place they're in.” - Elyse Resch

“I move my body because it helps make me strong. I love it when I can pick up a box when I can twist the top off of a bottle that nobody else can. I love being strong.” - Elyse Resch

“They have to do with cortisol, with our stress. If our stress is very high, if we don't know how we're going to pay our rent or get the food to pay to feed the kids or, not be able to go to a doctor because we don't have health care, the stress is so high. That is impacting our health far more than eating a ding dong.” - Elyse Resch

Intuitive Eating

Research Studies

Connect with Elyse:

Instagram or check out her website at www.elyseresch.com/.