Body Image Therapy in Denver

When Body Image Becomes a Daily Struggle

Body image concerns go far beyond occasional dissatisfaction with your appearance. You might benefit from body image therapy if you're experiencing:

• Constant thoughts about your body size, shape, or appearance

• Avoiding mirrors, photos, or situations where your body might be seen

• Clothing struggles or spending excessive time trying to hide your body

• Comparing your body to others constantly, especially on social media

• Feeling shame, disgust, or hatred toward your body

• Restricting activities because of how you think your body looks

• Body checking behaviors like pinching fat or measuring body parts

• Feeling disconnected from or at war with your physical self

• Sexual intimacy issues related to body shame

• Exercise or movement that feels punitive rather than joyful

Your body deserves to be treated with respect and kindness, not criticism and shame.

Understanding Body Image Struggles

Body image issues rarely develop in isolation. They're often the result of:

Cultural and Social Messages:

• Diet culture promoting the idea that thinner bodies are better bodies

• Media images of unrealistic and heavily edited bodies as the "ideal"

• Weight stigma and discrimination based on body size

• Beauty standards that exclude most real bodies

• Social media comparison and filtered reality

Personal Experiences:

• Comments about your body from family, friends, or strangers

• Medical professionals focusing on weight rather than health

• Bullying or teasing about your appearance

• Trauma involving your body, including medical trauma or sexual trauma

• Sports or activities that emphasized body size or appearance

Systemic Oppression:

• Racism that devalues certain body types and features

• Sexism that reduces women's worth to their appearance

• Ableism that stigmatizes bodies that don't fit narrow definitions of "normal"

• Homophobia and transphobia affecting body acceptance

• Classism that makes "wellness" accessible only to some

Types of Body Image Concerns I Address

Body Dysmorphia: Obsessive preoccupation with perceived flaws in your appearance that others don't notice or see as minor.

Weight and Size Concerns: Distress about body weight, size, or shape that affects your daily functioning and wellbeing.

Post-Medical Trauma Body Image: Struggles with body image after illness, surgery, injury, or medical procedures that changed your body.

Aging and Body Changes: Difficulty accepting natural changes to your body over time, including aging, menopause, or life transitions.

Pregnancy and Postpartum Body Image: Struggles with body changes during and after pregnancy, including difficulty accepting a changed body.

Chronic Illness and Disability: Body image concerns related to living with chronic illness, disability, or ongoing health conditions.

Gender and Body Image: Body image struggles related to gender identity, including gender dysphoria and transition-related concerns.

Athletic and Fitness Body Image: Unhealthy relationships with exercise, performance anxiety, or body image issues in sports and fitness contexts.

The Connection Between Body Image and Other Struggles

Body image issues rarely exist alone. They often intersect with:

Eating Disorders: Poor body image frequently underlies eating disorders and disordered eating patterns. Learn more about eating disorder therapy.

Anxiety and Depression: Body shame can contribute to anxiety and depression, while these conditions can worsen body image concerns. Learn more about anxiety therapy | Learn more about depression therapy.

Trauma: Physical, sexual, or medical trauma often creates lasting impacts on body image and body relationship. Learn more about trauma therapy.

Relationship and Intimacy Issues: Body shame can affect your ability to be physically and emotionally intimate with others. Learn more about relationship therapy.

Social Isolation: Body image concerns can lead to avoiding social situations, exercise, or activities you once enjoyed.

My Liberation-Focused Approach to Body Image Therapy

Traditional body image therapy often focuses on "improving body image" or "learning to love your body," but this approach can feel forced and inauthentic. My approach is different:

Body Liberation Over Body Love: We'll work toward body neutrality and liberation rather than forcing positive feelings you don't genuinely have.

Challenging Systems of Oppression: We'll examine how diet culture, beauty standards, and systemic oppression have shaped your relationship with your body.

Trauma-Informed Healing: Many body image issues stem from traumatic experiences. We'll address these underlying wounds using approaches like EMDR therapy when appropriate.

Intersectional Understanding: I recognize how your identities - including race, gender, sexuality, class, and ability - intersect to create unique body image experiences.

Health at Every Size (HAES): Working from the understanding that health and worth exist at all body sizes, without promoting weight loss or body change.

Therapeutic Approaches I Use

Somatic Therapy: Reconnecting with your body through gentle, trauma-informed body awareness practices that help you feel safer in your skin.

EMDR for Body Trauma: Processing traumatic experiences that created body shame or disconnection. Learn more about EMDR therapy.

Internal Family Systems (IFS): Understanding the parts of yourself that criticize your body and the parts that try to protect you from body-related pain.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): Learning to accept difficult feelings about your body while still engaging in valued activities.

Mindfulness-Based Approaches: Developing present-moment awareness of your body without judgment or the need to change anything.

Narrative Therapy: Separating your identity from your body image struggles and reclaiming your story about embodiment.

Feminist Therapy: Examining how gender expectations and patriarchal beauty standards have influenced your body relationship.

What Body Image Healing Looks Like

Body image therapy isn't about learning to love every part of your body or achieving perfect body confidence. Instead, it's about:

Body Neutrality: Developing a more neutral, peaceful relationship with your body that isn't based on how it looks.

Functional Appreciation: Focusing on what your body does for you rather than just how it appears.

Reduced Body Checking: Breaking free from compulsive behaviors like mirror checking, body measuring, or appearance comparison.

Clothing Freedom: Wearing clothes that feel comfortable and express your style without trying to hide or change your body.

Activity Engagement: Participating in activities you enjoy without body image concerns holding you back.

Intimacy and Connection: Being present in physical and emotional intimacy without body shame interfering.

Media Literacy: Critically evaluating beauty standards and media messages rather than internalizing them.

Boundary Setting: Protecting yourself from body-shaming comments, diet talk, and other harmful messages.

Specialized Body Image Support

Post-Trauma Body Healing: Specialized support for those whose body image struggles stem from physical, sexual, or medical trauma.

Chronic Illness and Disability: Understanding how living with chronic illness or disability affects body image and developing acceptance for a body that may function differently.

Gender-Affirming Body Image Work: Supporting individuals whose body image struggles intersect with gender identity and expression.

Postpartum Body Image: Helping new parents navigate the physical and emotional changes of pregnancy, birth, and breastfeeding.

Aging and Body Changes: Supporting individuals through natural body changes that come with aging, illness, or life transitions.

Recovery from Diet Culture: Healing from years of dieting, weight cycling, and diet culture messaging that has damaged your body relationship.

Body Image Therapy for Marginalized Bodies

I understand that body image struggles are not the same for everyone. Bodies that are marginalized by society - including fat bodies, disabled bodies, bodies of color, older bodies, trans bodies, and others - face additional challenges:

• Systemic discrimination and weight stigma

• Medical bias and poor healthcare treatment

• Lack of representation in media and fashion

• Additional safety concerns in public spaces

• Intersection of body image with other forms of oppression

My approach recognizes these realities and works to address both individual healing and the broader systems that create body shame.

Creating Safety in Your Body

Body image therapy requires creating safety - both emotional safety in our therapeutic relationship and physical safety in your body. My Denver office provides a weight-neutral, HAES-aligned space where:

All bodies are welcome: Regardless of size, shape, ability, age, or any other characteristic.

No diet talk: We won't discuss weight loss, "healthy eating," or other diet culture concepts unless you bring them up to examine them critically.

Trauma-informed care: We'll work at a pace that feels safe for your nervous system and respect your body's needs.

Cultural responsiveness: Understanding how your cultural background and identity affect your body image experiences.

Ready to Heal Your Relationship with Your Body?

Your body has carried you through everything you've experienced in life. It deserves compassion, respect, and care - not constant criticism and shame. Healing your relationship with your body is possible, and it can transform how you move through the world.

You are so much more than your appearance, and your worth has nothing to do with your body size or shape.

Schedule a consultation to discuss how body image therapy can help you find peace with your physical self.

Related services: Depression Therapy | Anxiety Therapy | Trauma Therapy | Body Image Therapy | EMDR Therapy | Relationship Therapy | Postpartum Therapy | Nutrition Therapy

More about my approach: My therapeutic philosophy