Body Image Counseling and Therapy in Chicago
No two bodies are alike!
We appreciate the unique differences of each individual and are here to help you embrace yourself as you are.
- Accepts insurance
- Weight-inclusive and HAES-informed
- 100% virtual in Illinois
What is body image?
Body image is how you see your body and how you think and feel about it. It shapes how you dress, how you show up in photos and relationships, and how much space you allow yourself to take up.
A negative body image goes beyond an occasional bad day. It can look like sizing yourself up against almost everyone you pass, or a voice in your head that won't let up. Over time it can feed anxiety and depression and keep you from living the life you want right now.
You've been taught that your body needs fixing
You've been conditioned to think that a "larger-size" body or a body that is "different" is less worthy or unbeautiful. You've been trained to think you're not trying hard enough to change your body. That if your body is not the ideal manufactured by our culture it's your fault.
Where negative body image comes from
Culture and media
Social media and diet culture hold up one narrow body type as the goal. When your body doesn't match, it's easy to believe you are the problem.
The people around you
Well-meaning family members, friends, and even physicians may tell you that you need to change your body. The more you hear, the more ingrained the body shame becomes.
Bullying and weight stigma
Being teased or treated differently because of your size or appearance leaves lasting marks. People in larger bodies face real marginalization, and that harm affects mental health.
Signs body image therapy could help
Negative thoughts just keep chipping and chipping away. You may have talked with people you trust and still can't shake the sense that you aren't good enough.
Struggling with body image is a response to messages you were handed long before you could question them. If a few of these feel familiar, talking with a body image therapist can help.
Shame can have a huge impact, but you do not have to face it alone. Every one of these is something clients bring to counseling, and each one can change.
Begin Healing TodayWe'll use the strength-based approach to work toward a compassionate, healthy body image
We create a unique counseling process that is tailored to each person's strengths and experiences. Together, you'll work on:
Coping skills
Learning coping skills to vanquish difficult, negative thoughts and feelings while creating a renewed sense of self.
Room to feel
Allowing space to explore what you are feeling while working toward a place of acceptance.
Your strengths
Focusing on internal strengths and resources to make changing behaviors and improving your life easier.
Balanced perspective
Developing a more balanced perspective of yourself to contribute to resiliency.
Realistic habits
Learning to develop realistic habits that will help you take care of yourself physically, socially, and emotionally.
Moving forward
Exploring challenging or painful experiences so you can move forward with a sense of hopefulness.
The therapy methods behind the work
Katie blends evidence-based approaches with a weight-inclusive lens. Choose a method to see what it is and how it helps with body image.
Strength-Based Approach
A strength-based approach starts with the tools you already have. Your strengths and values become the foundation of the work, and change builds from there. It moves away from a deficit model that focuses only on what's wrong.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
ACT combines acceptance and mindfulness with committed action. The aim is to make room for difficult feelings and learn to hold them without overreacting, so they stop steering your choices.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT is an action-oriented approach. You develop personal coping strategies for current problems and learn to change unhelpful thought patterns.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
DBT teaches concrete skills for tolerating strong emotions and judging yourself less harshly.
Family Systems
Family systems work examines how your core family relationships shaped your values, the way you relate to others and how you manage emotion.
Health at Every Size (HAES), Intuitive Eating and Fat Liberation
These frameworks de-emphasize weight loss and are inclusive of people of all sizes. The focus is on honoring your body and becoming more in tune with it. Katie also recognizes how people in fat bodies have been marginalized, and how much that harm affects mental health.
Body image, eating disorders and BDD
These terms overlap, and knowing how they differ helps you find the right kind of support.
Negative body image
Ongoing distress or shame about how your body looks. It can exist on its own, without any eating disorder, and it often travels with anxiety or low self-esteem.
Eating disorders
Negative body image is a common part of eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder. Eating disorders also involve patterns with food that can affect physical health, so care may include medical and nutrition support.
Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD)
BDD is a mental health condition marked by intense preoccupation with flaws that others can't see or barely notice, often with repeated checking or hiding. It usually calls for specialized treatment.
Not sure which describes you? Bring that question to your first session. If you need a different or higher level of care, Katie will help you find it.
What to expect from body image counseling
We create a unique counseling process that is tailored to each person's strengths and experiences.
Counseling is meant to be a time of self-exploration and growth. Your clinician will tailor treatment to your specific needs based on your goals and what you would like to achieve. Counseling has the potential to be short-term or long-term based on your individual needs.
Sustained progress can be made in as few as 8 weekly sessions, but most people find that they need a minimum of several months. We encourage you to attend weekly sessions, as this allows you to establish a close working relationship with your clinician and to make progress more quickly.
Intake (First 1 to 2 Sessions)
Both before and during your first session, you will be asked to provide information about yourself and your reasons for seeking counseling. During the first session, your clinician will briefly review Restorative Counseling's policies so that you are aware of your rights as a client and can ask any questions you may have. The primary focus of the intake process is to discuss your personal, social, family, and educational history to help give your clinician an overall picture of who you are. Goals for treatment will be discussed and your clinician will provide insight into how they conduct counseling sessions.
In addition to learning about you, the Intake process is a time for you to learn about your clinician. It is important that you feel they are the right fit for your style and needs. We encourage you to ask questions so you can be clear on what to expect from your clinician.
Ongoing Sessions
Working with you, your clinician will help you explore the sources of your difficulties and develop helpful strategies to address your concerns. Your clinician will provide a space for you to identify your strengths and difficulties. You will be empowered to decide what works best for you and what changes you are ready to make.
Discharge (Final 1 to 2 Sessions)
As you move through the counseling process, you and your clinician will discuss your progress. Once it has been decided that you have achieved your goals, you and your clinician will discuss terminating services. These final few sessions will focus on reviewing the progress you have made and how you can continue to maintain these changes moving forward.
You deserve to live the life you've always wanted right now.
Connect With KatieMeet your Chicago body image therapist
Katie Jackson-Griffin
LCPC · She/Her/Hers"Body shame is learned. It comes from the people around you and from a culture that treats some bodies as less worthy than others. In our work together, we look at how those messages shaped the way you see yourself, then build on the strengths you already have. I use Health at Every Size and intuitive eating because healing your relationship with your body should never depend on changing its size."
Katie works with young adults and adults who are tired of battling negative thoughts about their bodies. She creates a safe place to share vulnerable thoughts and experiences, and she brings concrete strategies to help you tolerate big emotions and engage fully in your life. Her approach supports the fat liberation movement and equality at every size.
Methods Katie uses
Katie also helps with
Why clients choose Restorative Counseling
We accept insurance In-network
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Blue Cross Blue Shield
BCBS PPO and BlueChoice PPO
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Aetna
Including Aetna Student Health for Northwestern students
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UnitedHealthcare
Also UHC Student Resources, UMR, Optum, Oxford, Golden Rule and United Behavioral Health
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Meritain Health
Meritain (not Meridian)
Therapy is an investment in yourself, and insurance helps make it possible. Restorative Counseling handles most insurance-related tasks on your behalf and verifies your benefits, so you know your costs before you start.
Out of network? You still have options. Restorative can submit claims for you or provide superbills so you can use your out-of-network benefits. See all insurance details.
Plans vary within a network, so it's a good idea to call your insurance company to confirm coverage. We are out of network with Cigna, Magellan and HMO plans, and we do not accept EAPs, Medicare or Medicaid.
A therapist who specializes in body image
Katie focuses on body image and self-esteem, and she brings a weight-inclusive, HAES-informed lens to every session.
Virtual sessions anywhere in Illinois
Every session happens online, so you can meet from wherever you feel comfortable without adding a commute to your week.
A plan built around your strengths
A customized approach is created so you can achieve your goals. You decide what changes you're ready to make, and your clinician helps you build on the tools you already have.
Virtual body image therapy in Chicago and across Illinois
Restorative Counseling offers body image counseling entirely online for clients located in Illinois. Whether you live in Chicago or in suburbs like Lombard, Woodridge, Orland Park or Tinley Park, you can meet with Katie by video from wherever you feel most at ease.
Online sessions also make it easier to keep a weekly rhythm, which helps you build a strong working relationship with your therapist and make progress more quickly.
- Chicago
- Chicago suburbs
- Lombard
- Woodridge
- Orland Park
- Tinley Park
- Anywhere in Illinois
Body image therapy FAQ
What is body image counseling?
Body image counseling helps you change how you think and feel about your body. At Restorative Counseling, it pairs a strength-based approach with methods like ACT, CBT and DBT to help you build coping skills and a more compassionate view of yourself.
Is weight loss part of body image therapy?
No. Katie approaches body image through Health at Every Size (HAES) and intuitive eating, which de-emphasize weight loss and are inclusive of people of all sizes. The focus is on honoring your body and easing the shame you feel about it.
Do I need an eating disorder or a diagnosis to start?
You don't need an eating disorder to benefit from body image therapy. Many people reach out because how they feel about their body is wearing on their mood or relationships. Your clinician will talk with you about your goals during the intake session.
Is body image therapy the same as eating disorder treatment?
They overlap. Negative body image is a common part of eating disorders, but it also shows up on its own. Eating disorders can affect physical health and may call for medical and nutrition support. If you need a different or higher level of care, Katie will help you find it.
How long does body image counseling take?
Sustained progress can be made in as few as 8 weekly sessions, but most people find that they need a minimum of several months. Weekly sessions help you build a close working relationship with your clinician and make progress more quickly.
What happens in the first session?
The intake session typically lasts 55 to 60 minutes. Your clinician will review Restorative Counseling's policies, learn about your personal, social, family and educational history, and discuss goals for treatment. It is also your chance to ask questions and see whether your clinician is the right fit.
Is body image therapy online or in person?
Restorative Counseling offers virtual sessions only, for young adults and adults located anywhere in Illinois, including Chicago and the suburbs.
Does insurance cover body image therapy?
Restorative Counseling is in-network with plans including Aetna, Aetna Student Health, Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO, BlueChoice PPO, UnitedHealthcare, UHC Student Resources, UMR, Optum, Oxford, Golden Rule, United Behavioral Health and Meritain. Out-of-network clients can use claims submitted on their behalf or superbills. Restorative does not accept EAPs, Medicare or Medicaid, and is out of network with Cigna, Magellan and HMO plans. See insurance details.
Your confident self waits for you within
Let's begin the healing and liberation today. Together, we'll:
- 1Explore the roots of your body imageHow you developed the view of your body as a problem.
- 2Process painful memoriesAny negative memories you have of discrimination or bullying because of your appearance.
- 3Rebuild your self-imageMost importantly, you'll learn how to rebuild your self-image with compassion and love.
Request an appointment
- Send a request through our secure client portal.
- We verify your insurance benefits and confirm your first session.
- Meet Katie online for your 55 to 60 minute intake.
Questions first? Contact us