Making Sense of Responsive Feeding Therapy: Felt Safety as the Foundation

Discover how felt safety can open the door to appetite, curiosity, and connection at mealtimes.

Guest: Katja Rowell, MD

Earn 0.10 ASHA CEUs for this episode with Speech Therapy PD

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In this episode of Making Sense of Responsive Feeding Therapy, host Madi Metcalf, MS, CCC-SLP, is joined by Katja Rowell, MD, to explore why felt safety is the foundation of responsive feeding therapy. Together, they discuss how creating a sense of felt safety during feeding sessions and at home supports children with pediatric feeding and swallowing disorders by fostering appetite, regulation, and curiosity about food.

Throughout the episode, Madi and Dr. Rowell examine the relationship between felt safety and responsive feeding, explaining how a supportive environment can reduce stress around mealtimes while encouraging intrinsic motivation and engagement. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of how felt safety influences feeding outcomes and leave with practical insights for creating more effective, child-centered feeding experiences.

About the Guest: Katja Rowell is a family doctor, author, and founder of The Feeding Doctor. She is one of the authors of the Responsive Feeding Therapy White Paper. Her mission is to help children grow up to feel good about food and their bodies. She has special interests in avoidant eating and supporting adopted and fostered children. Her books include Helping Your Child When Mealtimes are Hard, Helping Your Child with Extreme Picky Eating, and Love Me, Feed Me, for fostering and adopting parents. She is a webinar contributor at Responsivefeedingpro.com.

Show Notes:

Contact Madi Metcalf: LinkedIn, Instagram, Function First

Dr. Katja Rowell - The Feeding Doctor

Self-Determination Theory as a Theoretical Framework for a Responsive Approach to Child Feeding

Responsive feeding is embedded in a theoretical framework of responsive parenting

Relationships between sensory sensitivity, anxiety and selective eating in children

Impact of a Responsive Feeding Intervention on Children and Caregivers: A Nonrandomized, Repeated-Measures Study

'Finish your soup': counterproductive effects of pressuring children to eat on intake and affect

The'picky eater': The toddler or preschooler who does not eat

Modern Attachment Theory: The Central Role of Affect Regulation in Development and Treatment

Role reversal method for treatment of food refusal associated with infantile feeding disorders