A Bariatric Psychologist's Story

Bariatric surgery is a medical procedure that modifies a person’s stomach and sometimes intestines to help them lose weight. In the eating disorder recovery world, this topic isn’t discussed often because so many professionals take an active stand against fat phobia and, by extension, intentional weight loss.

Our guest today brings together two worlds that don’t typically converge. She entered the field of bariatric psychology as an eating disorder professional. She shares her own lived experience of recovering from disordered eating through intuitive eating, her belief in rejecting dieting, and her awareness of fat phobia and how it shows up across society and in the lives of the individuals she assesses. At the same time, she is part of the process for one of the more invasive weight-loss procedures.

You may be wondering why we’re talking about weight loss surgery on a podcast focused on eating disorders. And I agree that there are settings, like meal support groups, where discussing this would clearly be harmful. However, on this podcast, my goal is to create a space where nothing is unspeakable, where the human experience in all of its complexity is welcome, where people from different disciplines and ideologies can come together. I enter this conversation with trust in you, the listener, to take care of yourself and feel free to skip any content that doesn't feel right for you.

Alisha B (pseudonym used for reasons we’ll share in the episode) is a clinical psychologist. She began her work as a clinician focused on eating disorders and disordered eating and has her own history struggling with food, substances, body image, and emotion. As her professional life evolved, she became a bariatric psychologist who is passionate about her work and has helped over 1800 patients on their weight loss surgery journeys. She works in private practice in a rural community where she is the sole bariatric psychologist. She has published a chapter on bariatric psychological evaluations and presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS).

More on Elka: https://cubacubcounseling.com/

Elka’s book, Binge Eating Demystified https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FD493WZ3