Credentials: B.A.A., RD, Certified Intuitive Eating Counsellor, working towards certification as an Eating Disorder Specialist (CEDS) through IAEDP (International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals) Language Spoken: English & French Location: In person in Ottawa, virtual Ontario, and Quebec
Some clients find it difficult to see the dietitian for an eating disorder or disordered eating because they don’t know what to expect. There can be a lot of anxiety, isolation, fear, and shame.
I see my role as offering a compassionate and non-judgmental space to help you understand where things may have gone wrong with your eating, your relationship with food and your body, and how to slowly begin to heal and repair that relationship.
You will learn what it means to eat “normally”, what is meant by eating enough during the day and why this is so important. Some of the things we do in session include learning how to listen, connect to and trust your hunger, fullness, and satisfaction cues. When you’re ready we’ll start integrating those “forbidden” or “trigger” foods. We may explore mindful eating. We will challenge those food rules and false beliefs about food. We discuss concepts like set-point weight and radical acceptance. We explore body image because often our relationship with food is closely tied to our relationship with our body, how we perceive it, how we feel about it, and our acceptance of it. The long-term goal is to become an intuitive eater. And this is a process that takes time, patience, and lots of self-compassion.
Adults, adolescents, children (starting at 12+)
My awareness of eating disorders began in my teens through my own struggles with food, dieting and body image. From adolescence and into my 20’s, I struggled with binge eating disorder. It was only through therapy, adopting a healthier approach to eating, and learning better ways to cope that I was able to begin the process of healing my relationship with food, eating and my body. This experience and my shift in career also led to a passion for dismantling diet culture and offering clients a new perspective on their relationship with food and their bodies that is empowering and enduring.
I feel privileged to be working with a team whose values, approach & philosophy align with my own. I appreciate being able to draw on the unique strengths of the other dietitians and therapists so that we can be best positioned to provide compassionate and individualized care. Team meetings and peer support discussion as well as regular communication by team members is so helpful to feel supported particularly when conceptualizing complex cases.
I am a registered dietitian-nutritionist, Certified Intuitive Eating Counsellor, member of IAEDP (International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals) & working towards becoming a Certified Eating Disorders Specialist. I am licensed in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario.
I have been a dietitian-nutritionist for 23 years. Over the past 5 years, I have been shifting to a non-diet weight-inclusive HAES® aligned approach.
My exploration of the eating relationship first peaked when I attended a conference called “Raising a healthy eater in a diet crazy world” given by Ellyn Satter, an American dietitian and psychotherapist. She used concepts like “eating competence”, “Trust model” and “Division of Responsibility”. She explained the role of the parent as providing structure, support, and opportunities for eating. The role of the child is then to decide how much and whether to eat what the parent provides. She spoke about the importance of learning to trust yourself and your children with food & eating while getting enough enjoyable and nourishing food. I knew I had touched on something that met with my core values and beliefs – that is, that eating, and food is much more complex and multifaceted than what we are led to believe. Individuals and families can learn to trust themselves with their eating. I felt impelled to instill this model and approach both in my professional and personal life.
Over the years, I’ve continued to participate in trainings and joined organizations that shared a similar philosophy and approach.
I became interested in Intuitive Eating and in 2019 trained to become a Certified Intuitive Eating Counsellor. Over the past 3 years I’ve been working at an outpatient clinic in Montreal with clients aged 18+ with various eating disorders including binge eating disorder, anorexia, and bulimia.
Call The Balanced Practice at (613) 695-0306 to set up an appointment with Sara today!
We offer different services in order to meet you exactly where you are at and provide you with the most appropriate level of support to reach your goals (no one-size-fits-all here). Our team works closely together and with other healthcare professionals to make sure we can provide you with the very best care.
Here at The Balanced Practice, we get it. We believe that you deserve more joy, more connection, and more fulfillment. After all, life is meant to be experienced fully (and not spent feeling stuck in our own heads). And we want to help, our team is available during the day and into the evening!
