HOLISTIC BODY IMAGE THERAPIST
About
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Hello! I'm Laurelee Roark, MA, CCHT
I am a Body Image Therapist, licensed Hypnotherapist, author and educator specializing in body image and eating disorders. As someone who has personally recovered from disordered eating and food + weight obsession, I understand first hand the frustration, heartache and despair that many of my clients face. Through my own recovery, I began to uncover the deeper truth about why I felt and thought about my body and food the way I did, and spent many years healing and acquiring the coping skills and tools needed to recover from a lifetime of body hatred.
Now as a Body Image Therapist, I am honored to help others on their recovery journeys through my individual therapy practice, nonprofit organization, Beyond Hunger, books and weekly podcast, It's Not About Food. To learn more about individual therapy, please view my services.
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MY WORK
Over the past three decades I have been dedicated to helping others heal from disordered eating and body image disutrbances. In 1985, I co-founded the nonprofit organization, Beyond Hunger, with my dear friend and colleague, Carol Normandi, LMFT, which provides education, support groups, and workshops for individuals battling eating disorders and body image disturbances.
In 1998, Carol and I co-authored our first book together, It's Not About Food: End Your Obsession with Food and Weight, which incorporates much of the wisdom and principles we acquired through our personal recovery, as well as through the extensive work we did with clients at Beyond Hunger and through our private therapy practices. We later published Over It: A Teens Guide to Ending the Obsession with Food and Weight, which explores the cultural, emotional and physical factors that contribute to disordered eating and weight obsession among young women.
To continue the discussion and spread awareness about body image and eating disorders, I host a weekly Podcast called, It's Not About Food. Each episode features a special guest in the health and wellness field, from nutritionists and psychologists to body positivity coaches. We explore this multifaceted topic from various angles and provide tools and resources on how to break free from food and weight obsession and disordered eating.
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In 2008 I published a book called, Your Name is Edith, A Mother Daughter Love Story, which tells the story of my mother's battle with Alzheimer's, and the profound insights and lessons my siblings and I experienced through caring for her. This book chronicles the transformative potentials found in simple acts of caring, love and compassion.
BODY LOVE CARDS
Carol Normandi and I created Body Love Cards in collaboration with artists, Nancy Baum and Charlotte Lindborg, as a tool for inspiring body love, intuitive eating, emotional nurtuing and loving communication. These playful and empowering cards are designed to create a healthy relationship with your body, food and self. They make a wonderful gift for a friend or loved one, and can be a powerful tool for your own healing journey.
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