#221: Brave on Purpose with Rachelle Heinemann

Rachelle Heinemann is a speaker, author, eating disorder educator, and psychotherapist. She is the host of the podcast Understanding Disordered Eating. Rachelle is the author of the book "Brave on Purpose," an interactive book about building confidence. Rachelle is a licensed mental health counselor (NY),  licensed professional counselor (NJ), and certified eating disorder specialist (CEDS) in private practice. Rachelle is part of executive leadership, outgoing treasurer and incoming VP, at IAEDP NY (International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals).   We discuss topics including: What does confidence mean to you? The complexities of being brave The state of being at your "core inner strength" How do you bring authenticity into your life? Doing something over and over    SHOW NOTES: Brave on Purpose (use code PODCAST) Website/Podcast instagram.com/rachelleheinemann ____________________________________________ If you have any questions regarding the topics discussed on this podcast, please reach out to Robyn directly via email: [email protected] You can also connect with Robyn on social media by following her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. If you enjoyed this podcast, please leave a review on iTunes and subscribe. Visit Robyn's private practice website where you can subscribe to her free monthly insight newsletter, and receive your FREE GUIDE "Maximizing Your Time with Those Struggling with an Eating Disorder". Your Recovery Resource, Robyn's new online course for navigating your loved one's eating disorder, is available now! For more information on Robyn's book "The Eating Disorder Trap", please visit the Official "The Eating Disorder Trap" Website. "The Eating Disorder Trap" is also available for purchase on Amazon.

Janelle Smith, MS, RDN, CSDH, CEDS is a registered dietitian nutritionist who is a Certified Specialist in Digestive Health and a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist. She works outpatient with UCLA Division of Digestive Diseases to treat disordered eating patterns in patients with chronic health conditions and also has a private practice Janelle Smith Nutrition. She is co-founder of the EDGI Training Project whose goal is to train other clinicians to treat these overlapping disorders, and published the textbook Comprehensive Nutrition Therapy for Co-Occurring Gastrointestinal and Eating Disorders, available for purchase at EDGItraining.com    We discuss topics including: What Janelle sees inpatient and outpatient with patients taking GLP1's The pros and cons of GLP1's with clients The multisystemic results of malnutrition The downsides of losing muscle mass, bone density and low estrogen levels Dehydration and the changes of bone marrow in the body due to calorie and fluid restriction. Altered gut brain   SHOW NOTES: www.janellesmithnutrition.com www.edgitraining.com ____________________________________________ If you have any questions regarding the topics discussed on this podcast, please reach out to Robyn directly via email: [email protected] You can also connect with Robyn on social media by following her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. If you enjoyed this podcast, please leave a review on iTunes and subscribe. Visit Robyn's private practice website where you can subscribe to her free monthly insight newsletter, and receive your FREE GUIDE "Maximizing Your Time with Those Struggling with an Eating Disorder". Your Recovery Resource, Robyn's new online course for navigating your loved one's eating disorder, is available now! For more information on Robyn's book "The Eating Disorder Trap", please visit the Official "The Eating Disorder Trap" Website. "The Eating Disorder Trap" is also available for purchase on Amazon.

Ethan Hansen Pearson, AMFT, is an Associate Marriage & Family Therapist serving clients across Los Angeles and California with a focus on LGBTQ2PIA+ teens, adults, and families. Ethan practices under the supervision of Isabella Laughlin, LMFT, CEDS, ATR-BC at a South Bay-based private practice specializing in eating disorders. His clinical work centers on the intersection of gender identity, body image, and trauma, with particular expertise supporting transgender and gender-expansive clients navigating complex relationships with food, embodiment, and self-compassion. In addition to his clinical work, Ethan co-founded California Pathways to Practice, a training symposium for early-career clinicians, and has presented on topics involving navigating higher levels of care in clinical practice. His professional mission is to support clients in reclaiming agency, reducing shame, and building lives rooted in authenticity, safety, and embodiment. We discuss topics including: The need to have body image and eating disorder support in the LGBTQ2PIA+ community How online apps harm body image the community Discovering true identity and being able to live life as you truly are Exploring what safety truly looks like Help clients build autonomy, confidence and self reliance   SHOW NOTES https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/ethan-hansen-pearson-redondo-beach-ca/1659593 https://www.isabellalaughlin.com/ethan https://nomoregatekeeping.org  ____________________________________________ If you have any questions regarding the topics discussed on this podcast, please reach out to Robyn directly via email: [email protected] You can also connect with Robyn on social media by following her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. If you enjoyed this podcast, please leave a review on iTunes and subscribe. Visit Robyn's private practice website where you can subscribe to her free monthly insight newsletter, and receive your FREE GUIDE "Maximizing Your Time with Those Struggling with an Eating Disorder". Your Recovery Resource, Robyn's new online course for navigating your loved one's eating disorder, is available now! For more information on Robyn's book "The Eating Disorder Trap", please visit the Official "The Eating Disorder Trap" Website. "The Eating Disorder Trap" is also available for purchase on Amazon.

Signe Darpinian, LMFT, CEDS, is a public speaker and therapist who specializes in eating disorders and body image across the lifespan. Her books include No Weigh!, Raising Body Positive Teens, and A Woman's Guide to Menopause, Body Image and Emotional Well-Being at Midlife We discuss topics including: The "menopause goldrush" What happens when women's body change during menopause CBT therapy practiced in the menopause space Understanding that the body is trying to help us out Reeducate what a woman's body should like as we age Exploring what a woman values as this stage of life   SHOW NOTES: Website: http://www.signedarpinian.com Book: A Woman's Guide to Menopause, Body Image, and Emotional Well-being at Midlife IG: @noweighguide  ____________________________________________ If you have any questions regarding the topics discussed on this podcast, please reach out to Robyn directly via email: [email protected] You can also connect with Robyn on social media by following her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. If you enjoyed this podcast, please leave a review on iTunes and subscribe. Visit Robyn's private practice website where you can subscribe to her free monthly insight newsletter, and receive your FREE GUIDE "Maximizing Your Time with Those Struggling with an Eating Disorder". Your Recovery Resource, Robyn's new online course for navigating your loved one's eating disorder, is available now! For more information on Robyn's book "The Eating Disorder Trap", please visit the Official "The Eating Disorder Trap" Website. "The Eating Disorder Trap" is also available for purchase on Amazon.

Dr. LaNail R. Plummer is a visionary mental health expert, educator, speaker, and author dedicated to redefining how minorities are seen, supported, and healed in clinical spaces. Her book, The Essential Guide for Counseling Black Women (Jan 2026, Norton & Co), is her first of three serving as both a professional resource for educators and mental health providers, and an accessible guide for Black women looking to heal. For Dr. Plummer, the book is more than theory but a response to a gap witnessed in her entire career; the need for healthcare (especially within mental health) that affirms and reflects the real lived experiences of Black women. Dr. Plummer brings two decades of clinical expertise and lived experience to inform her work. In 2013, she founded Onyx Therapy Group, a mental health organization with a team of 40+ BIPOC counselors and consultants serving Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Louisiana, with an international footprint in South Africa. Onyx's work spans across culturally responsive mental health care, consultation for local and government agencies, executive coaching, mentorship, and even prison reform work. We discuss topics including: Black women can have clinicians that understand how to work with black women Understanding that we are not all the same as our perspectives are different Exploring the stereotypes with black women The importance for black women to be seen and heard Reviewing the messages that you have been taught about black women Countertransference makes every black woman not enjoy the experience of therapy or be willing to give another therapist a chance   SHOW NOTES:   Website: www.onyxtherapy.com Book: The Essential Guide for Counseling Black Women IG: @Mahoganysunshine IG: @onyxtherapygroup ____________________________________________ If you have any questions regarding the topics discussed on this podcast, please reach out to Robyn directly via email: [email protected] You can also connect with Robyn on social media by following her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. If you enjoyed this podcast, please leave a review on iTunes and subscribe. Visit Robyn's private practice website where you can subscribe to her free monthly insight newsletter, and receive your FREE GUIDE "Maximizing Your Time with Those Struggling with an Eating Disorder". Your Recovery Resource, Robyn's new online course for navigating your loved one's eating disorder, is available now! For more information on Robyn's book "The Eating Disorder Trap", please visit the Official "The Eating Disorder Trap" Website. "The Eating Disorder Trap" is also available for purchase on Amazon.

Mallary Tenore Tarpley is an assistant professor of practice at the University of Texas at Austin, where she teaches journalism classes in the Moody College of Communication and writing classes at the McCombs School of Business. Her debut nonfiction book, SLIP: Life in the Middle of Eating Disorder Recovery, which was published by Simon & Schuster's Simon Element imprint in August 2025, explores the under-discussed complexities of eating disorders and recovery from them. The book is equal parts memoir and journalism, and it weaves together Mallary's own narrative with perspectives from clinicians, researchers, and others with lived experience. In 2023, Mallary received a generous grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to support the science-related reporting in the book, specifically around the neurobiological and genetic aspects of eating disorders. Mallary's articles and personal essays about eating disorders have been published in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, TIME Magazine, and Teen Vogue, among other publications We discuss topics including: What it means to live life in the "in between" Recovery is possible but imperfect Slips do not have to be failures they can be an opportunity for growth Reframe your thinking about "full recovery" Being authentic with yourself while being open to experiment with food instead of always sticking with "safe foods"   SHOW NOTES: www.mallarytenoretarpley.com Book: Slip: Life in the Middle of Eating Disorder Recovery IG: www.instagram.com/mallarytenoretarpley ____________________________________________ If you have any questions regarding the topics discussed on this podcast, please reach out to Robyn directly via email: [email protected] You can also connect with Robyn on social media by following her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. If you enjoyed this podcast, please leave a review on iTunes and subscribe. Visit Robyn's private practice website where you can subscribe to her free monthly insight newsletter, and receive your FREE GUIDE "Maximizing Your Time with Those Struggling with an Eating Disorder". Your Recovery Resource, Robyn's new online course for navigating your loved one's eating disorder, is available now! For more information on Robyn's book "The Eating Disorder Trap", please visit the Official "The Eating Disorder Trap" Website. "The Eating Disorder Trap" is also available for purchase on Amazon.

Jennifer L. Gaudiani, MD, CEDS-C, FAED, is the founder and medical director of the Gaudiani Clinic.  Dr. Gaudiani served as the medical director for a highly specialized inpatient medical stabilization program for adults with anorexia nervosa prior to founding the Gaudiani Clinic in 2016. The Gaudiani Clinic offers specialized, trauma-informed outpatient medical care to individuals seeking support for eating disorders, undernourishment related to complex medical issues, and weight-inclusive primary care. The Clinic is based in Colorado is licensed to practice in almost every US state via telemedicine.  Dr. Gaudiani has lectured nationally and internationally, has been featured on numerous podcasts, and is widely published in the scientific literature. The second edition of Dr. Gaudiani's popular book, Sick Enough: A Guide to the Medical Complications of Eating Disorders and Undernutrition was published in November 2025.    We discuss topics including: What led Dr. G to include "undernutrition" in her book? Older patients can direct the way that their treatment goes The importance of removing physical impediments towards older patients Misdiagnosed girls and women with ADHT POTS, SIBO, MAST Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), Ehlers Danlos Syndrome Neurodiversity Other updates to her revised book   SHOW NOTES: www.gaudianiclinic.com instagram.com/gaudianiclinic ____________________________________________ If you have any questions regarding the topics discussed on this podcast, please reach out to Robyn directly via email: [email protected] You can also connect with Robyn on social media by following her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. If you enjoyed this podcast, please leave a review on iTunes and subscribe. Visit Robyn's private practice website where you can subscribe to her free monthly insight newsletter, and receive your FREE GUIDE "Maximizing Your Time with Those Struggling with an Eating Disorder". Your Recovery Resource, Robyn's new online course for navigating your loved one's eating disorder, is available now! For more information on Robyn's book "The Eating Disorder Trap", please visit the Official "The Eating Disorder Trap" Website. "The Eating Disorder Trap" is also available for purchase on Amazon.

Joseph Contorer, MA, LMFT, is a California and Oregon-based psychotherapist and author, with over 30 years of experience. He specializes in helping clients with relationships, mental health challenges, and personal empowerment through a holistic approach. His book, You've Been Blocked, The Search for Gay Male Perfection, explores how gay men are often restricted from their true selves during childhood, leading to lifelong "blocking" that impacts their adult lives and relationships.  We discuss topics including: What is "blocking"? Understanding "straight normal" and "gay normal" Gay children and gay adults will act a certain way due to being blocked What is "The M-Ranking"? Internalized homophobia   SHOW NOTES: www.theblockedbook.com https://www.instagram.com/theblockedbook ____________________________________________ If you have any questions regarding the topics discussed on this podcast, please reach out to Robyn directly via email: [email protected] You can also connect with Robyn on social media by following her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. If you enjoyed this podcast, please leave a review on iTunes and subscribe. Visit Robyn's private practice website where you can subscribe to her free monthly insight newsletter, and receive your FREE GUIDE "Maximizing Your Time with Those Struggling with an Eating Disorder". Your Recovery Resource, Robyn's new online course for navigating your loved one's eating disorder, is available now! For more information on Robyn's book "The Eating Disorder Trap", please visit the Official "The Eating Disorder Trap" Website. "The Eating Disorder Trap" is also available for purchase on Amazon.

Dr. Bonnie Zucker specializes in the treatment of anxiety disorders. She currently has a private practice in Los Angeles and is on the clinical faculty in the Department of Psychology at UCLA.  Dr. Zucker is passionate about educating the public about anxiety through her podcast "Anxiety Matters", and her blog on Psychology Today. She is the author of the book Freedom From Panic. We discuss topics including: What is a panic attack? Panic disorder can be prevented ⅓ of people will experience a panic attack in their lifetime Too much body awareness is not a good thing How to accept uncertainty and dismantle some of these fears You can never escape your body SHOW NOTES: Website: www.bonniezuckerphd.com Book: Freedom From Panic IG: https://www.instagram.com/bonniezuckerphd Podcast: Anxiety Matters ____________________________________________ If you have any questions regarding the topics discussed on this podcast, please reach out to Robyn directly via email: [email protected] You can also connect with Robyn on social media by following her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. If you enjoyed this podcast, please leave a review on iTunes and subscribe. Visit Robyn's private practice website where you can subscribe to her free monthly insight newsletter, and receive your FREE GUIDE "Maximizing Your Time with Those Struggling with an Eating Disorder". Your Recovery Resource, Robyn's new online course for navigating your loved one's eating disorder, is available now! For more information on Robyn's book "The Eating Disorder Trap", please visit the Official "The Eating Disorder Trap" Website. "The Eating Disorder Trap" is also available for purchase on Amazon.

Meg Bowman is a licensed nutritionist and educator specializing in the powerful intersection of mental health and nutrition. She is the co-founder of Nutrition Hive, a functional group nutrition practice supporting clients navigating mental health, hormone and gastrointestinal conditions.   Meg is also the author of  This Is Your Body on Trauma: How to Nourish Safety, Resilience, and Connection with Polyvagal-Informed Nutrition, which explores how nutrition can be used as a tool for trauma recovery and nervous system regulation. We discuss topics including: How the nervous system responds to threat and safety (polyvagal theory) Understanding mental health safety and creating "tool kits" for oneself The Polyvagal Ladder The Sympathetic Nervous System and Parasympathetic responses A Body that doesn't feel safe after trauma Your ventral experience and how it relates to eating SHOW NOTES: www.megbowmannutrition.com instagram.com/nutritionhive.health ____________________________________ If you have any questions regarding the topics discussed on this podcast, please reach out to Robyn directly via email: [email protected] You can also connect with Robyn on social media by following her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. If you enjoyed this podcast, please leave a review on iTunes and subscribe. Visit Robyn's private practice website where you can subscribe to her free monthly insight newsletter, and receive your FREE GUIDE "Maximizing Your Time with Those Struggling with an Eating Disorder". Your Recovery Resource, Robyn's new online course for navigating your loved one's eating disorder, is available now! For more information on Robyn's book "The Eating Disorder Trap", please visit the Official "The Eating Disorder Trap" Website. "The Eating Disorder Trap" is also available for purchase on Amazon.