From Body Shame to Body Positivity: A Compassionate Approach to Weight and Well-Being

This training features therapist and author, Judith Matz, LCSW, an expert on diet culture, eating disorders and body image.

Every clinician has heard clients express shame about their body size. In this engaging, live and interactive webinar, participants will learn how to support the physical and psychological well-being for clients of all sizes without contributing to body shame. Ms. Matz will review the latest research related to weight, health and stigma. Participants will explore personal and cultural attitudes toward dieting, food and weight that impact clinical interventions. Participants will also learn how to use a weight-inclusive, trauma-informed approach to help clients develop positive, sustainable behaviors and cultivate a healthy relationship with food, their bodies, and themselves.

Learning Objectives

• Describe three strategies to help clients cultivate a more positive body image.
• Explore the clinician’s own attitudes toward body size.
• Examine the connection between trauma and weight.
• Identify behaviors that support physical and mental well-being without a weight loss focus.
• Explain the impact of weight stigma on health.

Presenter Biography
Judith Matz, LCSW, ACSW, is a therapist, nationally recognized speaker, and consultant on the topics of diet culture, binge eating, emotional eating, body image, and weight stigma. She is co-author of the new workbook Emotional Eating, Chronic Dieting, Binge Eating and Body Image Workbook: A Trauma-Informed, Weight-Inclusive Approach to Make Peace with Food & Reduce Body Shame (PESI 2024), The Diet Survivor’s Handbook, Beyond a Shadow of a Diet, The Making Peace with Food Card Deck and The Body Positivity Card Deck. Ms. Matz’s work has been featured in the media including NPR, The New York Times, Good Housekeeping and Psychotherapy Networker. She has a private practice via telehealth in Illinois. Find her at http://www.judithmatz.com and on Instagram @judmatz