FAQ

No, but I can provide you with a receipt for services (called a superbill). A superbill allows you to pay upfront for services. Then, after your appointment, you would send the superbill to your insurance company. Your insurance company may reimburse you for some amount of the appointment cost.

If you plan to pursue possible reimbursement from your insurance company, contact your insurance company before your initial session for information on how your plan covers out-of-network outpatient nutrition therapy. Find more information at this link.

Great question! I do not take insurance for many reasons, but the number one reason is that I believe insurance companies do not have patients’ or providers’ best interests at heart. In my experience, insurance companies make it difficult for patients to navigate their systems. They may even withhold payments from providers who have already rendered services.

The second reason I do not take insurance is that providers tend to get low reimbursement rates. For example, if a provider charges $200/session and is in-network, insurance may only reimburse that provider 60% of their service fee. For the provider to receive their “full” price, they need to see several more clients per week if they have a contract with insurance.

A third reason I do not take insurance is to work toward decreasing the wage gap between men and women. Careers typically dominated by women pay much less than those dominated by men. Many providers who work in the mental health and allied helping fields (nutrition!) are women. By remaining out of network with insurance companies and retaining their full fee, women providers actively decrease the gender pay gap and add more financial and cultural value to providing mental health and allied services.

Lastly, insurance companies demand you give up your medical privacy and determine your treatment path. They require a diagnosis when providing reimbursement. These diagnoses remain on your medical record forever and can determine what and how long your treatment will be.

Here’s a simple explanation. Contracting with insurance companies burdens individual providers, leading to burnout, increased financial stress, suboptimal care, and worse clinical outcomes. Ultimately, utilizing an out-of-network provider offers you the best opportunity to heal.

Cancellations or rescheduled appointments canceled up to 24 hours before your scheduled session will receive no charge. You can cancel by phone, voicemail, email, or text. Less than 24 hours’ notice results in the full session fee. That means if you notify me at 10:01 a.m. the Monday before your Tuesday 10 a.m. appt., I will charge you the full session fee. (I’m a stickler about this one!) No-shows are subject to the full session fee.

You will receive one “free” cancellation or no-show per annual year. Shit happens, right?

I wish I had the perfect answer for you, but every person is different. Our work together is not a quick fix (peace out, dieting!). Healing from food and body struggles often requires unlearning a lifetime of behavioral patterns and thought processes that keep you stuck in the same cycle.

Healing is indeed possible, but buckle up! It will take time and patience. Many folks can progress significantly on their food and body goals in 12 months.

In sessions, we will work to understand your past and present relationship with food, body image, and physical activity. We’ll explore your beliefs about food, weight, and health and identify where these beliefs come from.

Then, we will work to replace those beliefs with alternatives more respectful of yourself and your well-being. You’ll cultivate more awareness of your needs and values and the critical voice contributing to body shame and low self-esteem.

What I’m saying may sound like mental health therapy because it is. As we do this work, it’s typical for deep issues like attachment wounds, trauma, and relational difficulties to surface. If you don’t already have one, support from a mental health practitioner may help you navigate these concerns.

Throughout this process, you’ll also gain practical tools to help you respond to your body’s internal nutrition cues and needs with self-compassion. You will develop body trust and respect, and a personalized way of eating that is enjoyable, sustainable, and supports your long-term health.

Oh, and don’t put it past me to eat a meal or snack with you in session. Of course, I invite you to join me!

No, not in the traditional sense of “work,” like completing assignments. (But if you find tangible activities helpful, I have plenty!).

That said, I’ve found that a willingness to practice shifting unhelpful mindsets, relational approaches, and behaviors in your life outside of sessions is one crucial way the “work” shows up outside of sessions.

I use principles from Health At Every Size®, Intuitive Eating, and Body Trust® paradigms to support you with food and body wellness.

I also utilize and have training in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), Radically Open Dialectical Behavior Therapy (RO-DBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Self-Compassion Theory, and Polyvagal Theory.

I have an undergraduate degree in Psychology and a Master of Science in Nutrition from the University of Washington. I’m a board-certified Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) and a Certified Dietitian (CD) in Washington State.

I completed the Leadership Education in Adolescent Health (LEAH) Fellowship, focusing on improving eating disorder screening among adolescent patients in the Seattle Children’s Adolescent Medicine Clinic. I have several years of counseling experience and clinical nutrition in eating disorder treatment centers.

You are not alone in your desire for weight loss. Most of us believe that weight loss is a good thing. Given our culture’s anti-fat bias, this makes total sense. However, I do not focus on or support intentional weight loss for a variety of reasons.

If you are willing to explore wellness outside of weight loss, I’m here for it! I understand that weight, shape, and size play a role in your life experience, how others treat you, your mobility, and how you feel in and about your body. For these reasons, many people are still pursuing weight loss when we first start working together.

I have LOTS of room for these conversations; I hope you will feel seen, heard, and understood. As we continue to work together, you’ll start to learn more about how, when, and why the desire to shrink your body has been such a big part of your life.

Even if you’re sick and tired of the dieting battle, I know that letting go of the idea of weight loss is a challenge. That said, choosing to pursue weight loss is your right – but it will not be one of our goals together.

Well, not exactly. We’ll work together to determine which foods best support your mental, physical, and emotional well-being while considering your medical conditions. Rather than prescribing you another “plan,” we’ll work to practice increased flexibility and permission with ALL foods.

If you have a diagnosed eating disorder, using a structured meal plan can be very helpful for nourishing yourself back to health (yes, even if you live with Binge Eating Disorder!). The long-term goal is to move from a structured meal plan to a more flexible eating pattern. As you progress in your recovery, I hope you will permit yourself to eat ALL foods and respond to your body’s cues.

Body Trust® is a healing modality that centers wellness practices that actively challenge conventional methods that Wellness and Diet Culture promote. Find out more here.

Yes, you can! Understandably, you feel like you’re addicted to sugar. Our culture tends to demonize it because eating sugar is pleasurable and may offer some relief. But did you know that research shows that addiction-like behaviors such as binging on sugary foods only occur when people have restricted access to these foods?

Further, turning up the volume on sugar cravings is your body’s biological reaction to keeping you safe (think emotional soothing, coping through pleasure, and the body’s perception that you are in a state of famine). Don’t worry, we’ll talk about the science behind this – A Lot.

Absolutely! While I don’t support intentional weight loss, I am happy to advocate for a weight-neutral treatment plan with your care team. Research supports the conclusion that deliberate weight loss through diet restriction and increased activity leads to weight cycling. Weight cycling significantly increases your risk of developing chronic diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and weight gain.

The following three books are a must-read on your food and body therapy journey: Intuitive Eating 4th Edition by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch, Health At Every Size by Lindo Bacon, and The Body Is Not An Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love by Sonya Renee Taylor.

Chances are, the diet mentality still has a grip on you, and your feelings of food deprivation have not fully healed. I’m here to tell you that’s understandable, AND once you have a solid non-diet mentality in place, you can reach your Intuitive Eating goals.

It’s never too late! Many folks come to this work after dieting for decades. Stumbling and finding your way back is also okay (and normal!). It took me about 15 years of dieting to *finally* eliminate dieting from my life. You don’t have to do it alone!

If you’re looking for the next “quick fix,” turn around now! I’m not your gal.

However, if you have hit diet rock bottom and are looking for long-lasting change, I’d love to meet you. My work relies on the notion that healing requires taking risks and facing fears.

I work best with people willing to get uncomfortable, be honest and authentic, and don’t take themselves too seriously.