Couples Counseling, Mindful Eating, Stress Reduction, Psychotherapy -- Oakland, Berkeley, Rockridge
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Couples Counseling, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Mindful Eating & Nutritional Psychology, & Psychotherapy

A Mindful Approach to Body Acceptance

Call 510-594-8224
painting of grapes, wine, bread, sunflower“Deloach Cab” • Sally Baker Watercolors, click image for www.sallybaker.com
Body Acceptance Counseling in Oakland
Are you tired of bouncing back and forth in your own head about your body?

Confused by all the contradictory information out there?

Finding your efforts at self-care tinged with self-criticism, self-sabotage, and self-denial?

Trying to use willpower to power yourself through?

Frustrated with yourself for “failing” yet again?

Sometimes it seems like the whole world is set up to make junk food easily available and to blast you with stereo images of starving models in one eye and food porn in the other eye.

Approaches that focus on calories and pounds may not mean anything about your health; rely on outmoded ways of thinking, like “low-fat,” that don’t incorporate the very latest science; and focus more on starving the belly than on feeding the brain.

Mindfulness interrupts this draining cycle by, interestingly, turning our attention toward careful inquiry:
    •    What is it like to just eat without multi-tasking?
    •    What sensations does the body feel?
    •    Can I bring self-compassion to my experience?
    •    Am I afraid that without the harsh inner critic, I won’t make change?

I will help you set  goals that focus on:
  •  energy
  • mood
  • sleep
  • pleasure and sex drive

Each week, how you’ve related to your own goal, including forgetting it, is another opportunity for kindness and gentle humor. I’ll give you space to hope, to grieve the real losses found in change, to explore your deeply held values, to talk about how to find time and what the heck you want to eat instead.

These are exciting times in rapidly developing new knowledge around nutrition. In some areas the experts agree; in other areas, there is no clear consensus. It’s a good time to have a supportive coach.

With nonjudgmental support, you may experiment with:
    •    Which approaches to eating lead to feeling pleasantly satisfied?
    •    Does anything about food change your mood?
    •    What are your values about food?
    •    Which foods give you stable, lasting energy?

I’m happy to share what research and experience shows while supporting you in being your own teacher.
With this approach, which I call Eating with the Brain in Mind, you start from the positive.

Food is amazing. It is life itself.

With skillful inner and outer guidance, you discover:
    •    what nourishes you
    •    what your brain needs to think clearly
    •    what your body asks for to feel alive

Possible outcomes of our work together:
  1.     Be happier
  2.     Understand more about your body and mind
  3.     Understand bodies and minds in general
  4.     Have a healthier brain and body
  5.     Appreciate your body in unexpected ways
  6.     Accept your body at any size and shape

Would you like to get started?

Please call 510-594-8224 to schedule your first appointment in Oakland and get thoughtful answers to any questions you may have.




Please give me a call to learn more about how I can help you, 510-594-8224.

Contact: I do not use email for confidential communication. I prefer to make a personal connection with you by phone.


Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Mental Health Nutrition, Eating Meditation, Couples Counseling, & Psychotherapy

Oakland, Rockridge, Berkeley, East Bay, San Francisco Bay Area, live online in California

Spanish-speaking therapist • psicoterapia y consejería en español


Copyright © L. Rebecca Connell. All Rights Reserved. Images courtesy of Margaretta Mitchell, deflorare.com, Sally Baker, and L. Rebecca Connell.