About Us
During Jo's counselling training, she became more curious about the stigma that weight still had amongst therapists despite the focus on awareness of their own prejudices. She undertook research as part of her MSc and discovered that few therapists are critical thinkers about their bias towards fat bodies. There is a deeply ingrained conditioning and internalisation about fat bodies and this goes unchallenged in most parts of society - leaving therapists unaware they have a positive bias towards thinner clients and judgement of fatter ones. Often it isn’t understood the many subtle ways it seeps into the work.
A couple of years later, Jo published the research findings in an article in Therapy Today which was read by Cat whilst she was training as a counsellor.
They connected through the article and now have joined forces to develop this training about anti-fat bias and body acceptance primarily to ensure therapists understand the relevance and importance of fat oppression in therapy; to understand how values and attitudes about fat in our society can affect the ability of therapists to remain non-judgmental; and to become more curious & anti-oppressive with clients of all sizes.
Holding the workshops have uncovered the need for the personal understanding and growth needs to happen for counsellors before they look at the client side of the work so we have created two workshops to allow for an initial space to confront and challenge your own beliefs and attitudes about fat bodies and cultivate better self-image and a more balanced relationship with your body.
This means anyone is welcome to attend Part 1 to work on your own relationship with your body and Part 2 of the workshop is now solely for therapists to work on their practice.
Jo
Jo is an experienced and accredited person-centred Counsellor, a qualified Supervisor and Body Empowerment Coach helping women transform their mindset from shame to freedom and radical self-acceptance. Jo runs a private practice in North Bristol. She is fat positive; encourages body neutrality and is LGBTQIA-welcoming. She is an accredited member of the BACP and abides by their code of ethics. Jo undertook research in 2011 about weight stigma in therapy and published an article about it in Therapy Today in 2014.
Jo says “I really love my job and love being self-employed! I retrained to become a counsellor when I was 34 after starting my career in teaching and the world of music. Over that time I have become especially passionate about fostering women’s self-acceptance of their bodies and ensuring clients are safe from anti-fat bias in therapy. Having been through the journey myself, I adore enabling others to be too and love running these workshops with Cat.”
Cat
Cat Chappell Prof Dip MBACP (Accred.) Cat is a relational integrative counsellor and supervisor with a background in working with trauma as a result of domestic abuse and sexual violence. She works in an anti-diet and fat positive way with clients who struggle with food and body issues and can support those who want to pursue intuitive eating behaviours and with those who have been diagnosed with or suspect they have ADHD.
Cat says “It is a honor and a pleasure to work with clients who have food and body issues and be able to offer a different experience and an opportunity to work with a therapist in a fat body. I am committed to Fat Justice and recognising the oppressions of those who exist outside of being male, thin, white European, cis, abled, heterosexual and Christian. When doing training with Jo , we can sit with some pretty heavy themes, and I love that together we can hold this whilst also bringing hope, joy and laughter. Hearing the other participants stories are an beautiful gift to the workshop – they make it what it is “