I’m Celia, an expert in Disordered Eating. My own recovery led me to help others break free from Disordered Eating.
I had a troubled relationship with food and my body for many years. When I did break this cycle, I realised that to achieve permanent peace I needed new approaches. Now I use what I’ve learned to support others who want to heal their life limiting relationship with food and their body.
My story of Disordered Eating began when I was 11 and had just eaten dinner. I was so distressed that I went to the bathroom and threw up. It was a strange experience as it hadn’t been a deliberate act. I had never heard of bulimia, yet somehow it happened, and I felt immediate relief. With no other means to resolve my distress, this became my release for the next 12 years.
In that time, I engaged in Food Restriction, Binge Eating and Purging. I was deeply disconnected from myself, my body and the people in my life. I craved connection. But I had such little awareness of what connection actually was. So I continued to do what was familiar to me.
At first Disordered Eating offered relief from what was missing. Food and a focus on the body helped me to avoid, deny, suppress, surrender to and rebel against the disconnection. But, as the years went by, I came to realise that this only reinforced how disconnected I felt.
By age 23 I decided I’d had enough. I was lucky to be able to access support. After a year of counselling, my more extreme Disordered Eating behaviours began to resolve. But I continued to feel disconnected and held on to intrusive and unhelpful thoughts. I still believed my value was dependent on my body shape and size. And I thought that what I ate demonstrated what kind of person I was.
I began training as a therapist in 2010. I had always felt drawn to this work and I wanted to learn how to support others, like me, who struggled with Disordered Eating. I also wanted answers for myself.
I was still searching for ways to repair the feeling of disconnection I felt. Through my work with the Disordered Eating Community, I found that many other people experienced similar disconnection.
The need to find answers for my clients, the community and myself, led me to particular areas of study.
I’ve trained in:
Addictions
Art Therapy
Person Centred Counselling
Family Therapy
Disordered Eating
Trauma
Eye Movement Desensitisation & Reprogramming (EMDR)
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT-E)
Clinical Hypnotherapy &
Internal Family Systems
No single approach had the answers. But as I began to integrate elements from each, I started to see positive changes in my clients and myself.
I discovered the resources available to each of us that exist within our own internal system. These allow us to connect and attune to our bodies in purposeful ways that support us in moving towards recovery.
This integrative approach has been life-changing for both my clients and myself.
Our bodies have become a place of safety, comfort and trust, somewhere we can now live in and from, a place to call home.
While seeing these great results I was aware that so many people can’t access the support they need to recover. I wanted to find a solution that made it possible for more people to find permanent peace with their bodies.
That’s why I created Beyond the Body®. It's an online recovery programme that gives you the roadmap and resources to heal your relationship with food and your body so can find long term peace.
