208 Heal Your Relationship with Your Body Using an IFS Approach: Interview with Dr. Jeanne Catanzaro

Sep 27, 2024

From the messages we receive from our families growing up to fad diets trending on social media, we are constantly bombarded with ideas about how we should or should not eat and what our bodies should look like. Unfortunately, for many of us, these messages may lead to disordered eating, harmful emotions surrounding food, or body image issues. 

As a clinical psychologist, Dr. Jeanne Catanzaro has specialized in treating eating disorders and trauma for the past 25 years. She trained in psychodynamic psychotherapy, somatic experiencing and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), before discovering the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model, which we discussed in last week’s episode with Dr. Richard Schwartz. As an approved IFS consultant, Dr. Catanzaro served as the director of a day treatment program for eating disorders for two years, and is the author of the book, “Unburdened Eating: Healing Your Relationships with Food and Your Body Using an Internal Family Systems Approach.” In Episode 208 of The Mindset Game® podcast, Dr. Catanzaro shares the following:

• The various “burdens” we may take on over time as a result of the messages we receive from our families and society, and how these may impact our beliefs and behaviors regarding food and our bodies
• How the framework provided by IFS – which describes the relationships between our core, undamaged selves and our various parts that have taken on burdens throughout our lives – can be helpful in building healthier relationships with food 
• The power of getting curious and compassionate (rather than critical) about the parts of yourself that may be driving certain beliefs or behaviors regarding food, inquiring about how they came to harbor those beliefs, and healing them if needed 

Dr. Catanzaro then guides us through an exercise designed to help us better understand our protective parts, connect with them, and begin to shift them if need be. 

To learn more about IFS and access a variety of resources, visit https://ifs-institute.com, or look for Dr. Catanzaro’s book, "Unburdoned Eating" on Amazon. 

To learn more about The Mindset Game podcast, visit www.TheMindsetGame.com. To subscribe, visit https://apple.co/3oAnR8I.