Creating a Healthier Relationship With Your Body: Finding Inclusive, Body-Accepting Support
For many people, conversations about health and wellness have historically been closely tied to weight, appearance, and body size. Messages from society often suggest that health looks a certain way or that changing your body is a requirement for feeling confident, worthy, or accepted. These messages can have a significant impact on mental health and the way people relate to themselves.
The Health at Every Size (HAES) approach offers a different perspective. Rather than focusing on weight loss as the primary measure of health, HAES promotes body acceptance, respect for body diversity, and access to compassionate healthcare for people of all sizes.
At its core, HAES recognizes that bodies naturally come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, abilities, and experiences. It challenges the idea that someone’s health, discipline, or value can be determined by their appearance. Instead, it encourages individuals to focus on behaviors that support overall well-being, such as nourishing their bodies, engaging in movement that feels enjoyable, managing stress, building meaningful relationships, and caring for their mental health.
Research on weight stigma and body image continues to highlight the importance of a more inclusive approach to health. Studies have found that experiences of weight stigma and body-based discrimination are associated with increased stress, anxiety, depression, disordered eating behaviors, and avoidance of healthcare. Researchers have also found that shame-based approaches to health are often ineffective and can negatively impact long-term well-being.
This is why inclusivity within therapy matters.
A body-accepting therapist understands that mental health concerns do not exist separately from a person’s relationship with their body. Many individuals have spent years receiving messages that their bodies are wrong, unhealthy, or something to be fixed. Therapy can become a powerful place to unpack those messages, build self-compassion, and develop a more peaceful relationship with one’s body.
A HAES-informed therapist may support clients in exploring topics such as body image, diet culture, perfectionism, self-worth, eating concerns, identity, and the emotional impact of stigma. Rather than assuming weight loss should be the goal, they collaborate with clients to determine what health and wellness mean personally.
Finding a therapist who practices body acceptance can make a meaningful difference. Here are a few tips for finding a supportive provider:
1. Look for HAES or Body-Neutral Language
When researching therapists, pay attention to the language they use on their website, social media, or professional profiles. Look for terms such as “Health at Every Size,” “body acceptance,” “body neutrality,” “weight-inclusive,” or “anti-diet.”
A therapist who uses these terms is often signaling that they understand the importance of separating health from weight and appearance.
2. Ask Questions Before Starting Therapy
It is completely appropriate to ask a potential therapist about their approach before scheduling an appointment. You might ask:
“Do you use a weight-inclusive approach?”
“How do you support clients who are struggling with body image?”
“How do you approach conversations about health and wellness?”
Their response can provide insight into whether their values align with your needs.
3. Notice Whether You Feel Respected and Understood
A good therapeutic relationship is built on trust and safety. Pay attention to whether the therapist listens without judgment, avoids making assumptions about your body or health, and creates space for your experiences.
Therapy should be a place where you feel accepted as a whole person—not reduced to your appearance, weight, or behaviors.
A HAES-informed approach does not mean ignoring health. Instead, it means recognizing that people deserve respect, compassion, and access to care regardless of their size or shape.
Everyone deserves support from a therapist who sees them beyond societal expectations and helps them build a relationship with themselves rooted in acceptance, understanding, and self-compassion. A more inclusive approach to therapy creates space for healing—not by asking people to change who they are, but by helping them feel more at home in themselves.
Learn more: How can therapy help develop a stronger and more compassionate relationship with oneself?
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