Beth Holzhauer (she/her)

I work with individuals who suffer with anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, or other forms of dysregulated eating and body dysmorphia. Eating disorders are often birthed within traumatic experiences where we block intolerable feelings of fear and shame with obsessions around eating and body size/weight. I am a body positive therapist, and I help my clients learn to listen to and respect their body's wisdom. Learning to trust the body and learning self-compassion are keys to healing.

Self-injury is one of the most misunderstood of all coping strategies. Self-injury is most often an attempt to both regulate and tolerate intolerable feelings. It also communicates psychological pain and suffering through the more recognizable and understandable physical pain. Both self-injury and eating disorders are common among LGBTQ folx, especially those who identify under the trans umbrella. Learning to understand what problem the self-injury is attempting to solve is key to healing.

Childhood trauma, emotional and physical neglect, bullying, violence and harassment, and the trauma of oppression experienced by BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and disabled folx interpersonally, institutionally and systemically; the ways we learn to survive in traumatic environments and relationships prevent us from becoming our true selves and keep us from fully contributing as members of our human community. Healing requires restoring one's dignity and agency, as well as honoring one's vulnerability.

Attachment, connection, belonging and community are as necessary for human existence as water and food. It is within loving and caring relationships that we learn how to cope with and manage our feelings, find motivation and initiative to pursue our goals and intentions, and learn empathy and compassion. Being hurt, abused, violated or betrayed within a trusted relationship, especially our earliest relationships with our caregivers, often create future relationship insecurities and anxieties.

Attachment, connection, belonging and community are as necessary for human existence as water and food. It is within loving and caring relationships that we learn how to cope with and manage our feelings, find motivation and initiative to pursue our goals and intentions, and learn empathy and compassion. Being hurt, abused, violated or betrayed within a trusted relationship, especially our earliest relationships with our caregivers, often create future relationship insecurities and anxieties.

A culturally sensitive therapist is one who is intentionally and mindfully curious about all ways of being human and all ways of healing. For the therapist, this takes work and deep listening, a willingness to be moved, disturbed, and humbled. Cultural sensitivity is understanding that there are experiences and feelings that you can never fully know or understand because you will never experience these things yourself (humility). It means staying vigilant for signs of implicit bias within.

A culturally sensitive therapist is one who is intentionally and mindfully curious about all ways of being human and all ways of healing. For the therapist, this takes work and deep listening, a willingness to be moved, disturbed, and humbled. Cultural sensitivity is understanding that there are experiences and feelings that you can never fully know or understand because you will never experience these things yourself (humility). It means staying vigilant for signs of implicit bias within.

Attachment, connection, belonging and community are as necessary for human existence as water and food. It is within loving and caring relationships that we learn how to cope with and manage our feelings, find motivation and initiative to pursue our goals and intentions, and learn empathy and compassion. Being hurt, abused, violated or betrayed within a trusted relationship, especially our earliest relationships with our caregivers, often create future relationship insecurities and anxieties.

Relational therapists believe that those who have been harmed within the context of a relationship must be healed withing the context of a relationship. The therapeutic relationship is built upon mutuality, authenticity, and collaboration. The therapist recognizes the power that they do hold as the "expert" within the relationship and is intentional about creating a power-with dynamic, where the client's agency and self-determination is fostered and encouraged.