ABOUT US
Eating Disorder Nutrition Therapy
intersectED nutrition is a private practice based in the Greater Los Angeles Area that provides virtual nutrition therapy for eating and feeding challenges experienced by our marginalized community members. Together, we unpack the psychological, physiological, and neurobiological aspects of eating, feeding, and healing from what is known clinically as an eating disorder. Eating disorders are a by-product of a complex interplay of biological, psychological, environmental factors, and variety of broken sociopolitical systems. We are here to support you through it all!
Intersectionality
Identity is a multifaceted and deeply personal concept. “Intersectionality,” a term coined by the pioneering civil rights scholar, writer, and activist Kimberlé W. Crenshaw, is the framework we prioritize to better understand and acknowledge the experiences of those marginalized.
Marginalized communities are faced with disproportionate health disparties, especially when intersected with poverty. What does that mean? Higher rates of chronic illness/co-morbidities, maternal mortalities, and mental health challenges including eating disorders. The poverty to eating disorder pipeline is a very hard reality. In addition, eating disorders for the most oppressed tend to go undiagnosed for numerous reasons: 1) explicit and implicit bias, 2) limited research which impacts clinical assessments and ultimately treatment, and 3) gatekeeping found within the medical industrial complex.
The undisputed truth is that eating disorders do not discriminate. They impact all body sizes, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, class, race, ethnicity, and background. That is why we are committed to identity affirming care for ALL bodies and ALL embodied experiences.
Healing Centered Engagement
We warmly welcome authentic conversations to foster healing-centered engagement. Our clinicians are either certified or working towards their Healing Centered Engagement Certification to acknowledge how people experience trauma and collectively heal through community.
Client/Clinician Collective Values
Equity
The stratification of various identities has caused much harm. It has made healing from an eating disorder primarily inaccessible for those who need it the most. We are committed to bridging that much needed access to care. To accomplish this, we have teamed up with Project HEAL as a member of their Healer Circle, are working hard in the background to contract with various insurance companies right now, are willing to explore and pursue single case agreements, offer a sliding scale, and have a long-term goal to create a scholarship/mutual aid fund.
While bridging access to care, we are committed to paying any intersectED nutrition employee a livable wage. Marginalized clinicians often face the dilemma of lowering their rates to serve our fellow community members. We strive to close the BIPOC pay gap so that we may continue to contribute to the collective healing that is imperative for our own mental health.
Authenticity
We will work to explore your self-knowledge, embodied experiences, and lived/living experiences so that actions are congruent with personal values, desires, and trust from within. Healing from an eating disorder is a dynamic journey. Rooted in unconditional positive regard, empathetic understanding, and genuineness, authenticity from all involved allows everyone to work collaboratively through person-centered care. Clinicians lean on strength-based nourishment approaches to 1) center the client's expertise and 2) keep the pace of recovery at the speed that feels best for clients. Authenticity also encompasses making all the accommodations we can for you. Accommodation examples include using closed captions during telehealth sessions, freely stimming during sessions, clinicians sending "goals" after sessions because of executive functioning and learning differences, coordinating ASL interpreters, and using AAC devices... Come as you are, so will we!
Transparency
This means open and honest communication about anything. Literally anything! We are all human, and we recognize that, as clinicians, being open and honest is tied to your sense of safety. Your sense of safety is connected to your lived/living experiences, which feeds into the regulation of your nervous system. While building rapport is essential, it is not the same as feeling safe; we understand that wholeheartedly. Furthermore, a sense of safety differs from person to person, and one cannot force supposed safety. Through our other values outlined, we hope we foster a sense of safety for you and that you feel comfortable enough to be transparent when things are going right, wrong, and everything in between in your journey. Lastly, we do not claim to know everything. We make mistakes but will take accountability and will work to repair any harm experienced. Call us in, we're listening and will work hard to repair our mistakes to continue to foster safety.
We see gatekeeping in the eating disorder field everywhere. It's rooted in the journey of becoming a BIPOC clinician; that's why not many of us are here. There are undisputed health disparities within our community that do not have enough clinicians who look like them. What a challenge it's been! When data becomes available, we plan to publicly publish data points and outcomes based on what we observe clinically at our practice. We hope our findings provide insight into ways to support each other best and where we can improve. Communicating these outcomes with our community is also part of the much needed collective healing.
Autonomy/Agency
While we are here to make a difference in an individual's eating disorder healing, our clinicians are merely "reflectors" of your unique journey. We hold your best interest as our top priority, reminding you that there is no right or wrong way to heal from an eating disorder. Even so-called "goals" in eating disorder healing are incredibly dynamic and can change over time. And that's expected! We are ready to support you where you are while shining a light on each choice you have. Through feeling and experiencing autonomy in eating disorder healing, we aim to empower those who want to experiment with taking action (when ready, of course). We are here to support you along the way!
Committing to fostering autonomy and agency must also be modeled within our practice. Examples of having autonomy as an intersectED nutrition employee include: complete independence of their schedules that work best for their life to prevent burnout, continuing education in areas that complement their strengths and identities, doing what they feel is best clinically for their client, and selecting who their supervisor is (to name a few). This gives the space to grow and learn while constantly practicing making person-centered clinical judgments. Clinicians will be supported in ways that prioritize the client's best interests and preserve their mental health while feeling good about their clinical decisions.