A little of the back story
In 2014, after completing my studies in hypnotherapy and counselling, I began my first venture as a therapist in private practice. I also began studying psychology at Monash University and I was extrememly fortunate to be offered a role as a counsellor at a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility in Melbourne’s bayside.
There, I was immersed in to what I thought would be an unfamiliar world, the world of substance and behaivoural addiction. Whilst it was indeed a huge learning curve, at the same time, it didn't take long before I started to understand the significant overlap between substance and behavioural addictions, and presentations that I knew well from both a professional and personal point of view; eating disorders. I found myself in conversation with folks where at the heart we were really talking about all of the same kinds of things that come up in eating disorder recovery. Themes of emotional tolerance and regulation, anxiety, depression, control (and loss of control), grief, loss, trauma, and the existential burdens of living and decision making in general; the list goes on.
As time went on, I could feel my priorities starting to narrow and shift. I was becoming more focused, and I was experiencing the work that I was doing with more and more clarity. Everything I was learning through my studies as well as through both professional and personal experience were starting to come together in a way that became clearer in my mind, and I asked myself; who do I love working with? In what space can I make the most impact? The answer was clear.
Freedom from Food
I knew that I loved working with clients who experienced eating disorders, disordered eating, and everything along that spectrum. I asked myself; what do my clients really want?
"Freedom" was the resounding answer. Freedom to take back charge in their lives. Freedom to live beyond the confines of the mental torture of living with an eating disorder. Freedom to enjoy a peaceful, nurturing, and sustaining relationship with food and body image; and then be able to just move on to living all of the other aspects of life that make life rich, full, and meaningful.
Food is such a big part of our lives, it plays a huge role in how we nurture and self-care, how we socialise, and how we experience the world. Yet ultimately, it's just a vehicle to doing all of these things. We don't want to be controlled by it, we don't want to obsess over it or feel preoccupied or stressed about it. We want to be free from food so that ultimately we can contextualise food for what it should be, and then be free in our lives to live our lives.
Mission and Values
Freedom from Food was therefore born of a vision to create a place, where people could safely come to explore their relationships with food, and recover from all food and body related issues along the spectrum.
Whether you have been diagnosed with an eating disorder, experience disordered eating patterns or are just plain tired of yo-yo dieting and body dissatisfaction, then you have come to the right place! You can read more about exactly what Freedom from Food is here.
At Freedom from Food, we work hard to practice and embody our core values. These include....
- Creating a culture of warmth, belonging and connection
- Nurturing a therapeutic relationship built upon trust, safety and freedom from judgement
- Acknowledging the individuality of all people by embracing a unique, creative and curious approach to therapy
- Empowering clients with support and opportunities designed to create desired outcomes and add value
- Paving the way to recovery through leadership, authenticity and integrity
We do all of this by offering uniquely tailored individual programs of therapy, recovery support groups and online courses, as well as education and information for those with disordered eating and the people who care for them.
For more information, you can explore your options with one of the following
Hi, my name is Bianca...
