Socially Constructed Bodies

NOTE: You have the opportunity to sign up for an additional workshop at a discounted rate. If you'd like to register for Relational Justice in Couples Therapy: Linking Emotion, Power, & Societal Context for $75 (that's two workshops for just $200), there will be a discount provided in your confirmation email. Should you have any questions about your registration or discount, please email hello@lisakays.com.

CEs for this workshop are provided by Continuing Education of Illinois, in addition to ASWB. Continuing Education of Illinois is an accepted CE provider for LMFTs and LCPCs in the state of Oregon. If you are not sure if your state will accept these CEs for your profession, please consult this map. If you still aren't sure, please email lisa@lisakays.com for further clarification.

Socially Constructed Bodies: Implicit Bias, Cultural Competence, & Body Justice

Facilitated by Paula Atkinson, Lisa Kays PLLC invites you to attend this course that explores the psychosocial aspects of weight and body shape, the broad range of social sciences including anthropology and sociology that create the way we think about weight and health, and the implicit biases therein. Participants will gain knowledge about body shape, “health” and weight issues in our current society, the definitions for one’s weight status, and the relationships between body size, weight and actual health. Participants will also be asked to explore their own thoughts, feelings, and ideas about their own bodies and how to manifest optimal health, sanity, and peace in their relationships with food and body size.

There will be discussions about the relationship between weight ideals, perceptions, concerns, body image, self-esteem, and identity. We will examine these factors across history and various cultures, and how these ideas influence health and identity. We will also explore the topics of fat phobia, size-ism, thin idealism, and weight stigma and how these intersect with other forms of oppression as well as how they influence all aspects of health. Also discussed is eating disorders and the many manifestations of disordered eating that can occur.

Learning Objectives

After completing this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Name 3 specific tenets of each of the following; medical, psychosocial, moral, and social/cultural perspectives on weight and health and how these tenets affect beliefs about “obesity” and the treatment of people in larger bodies in our country.
2. Evaluate 3 research studies on weight stigma and disordered eating in the United States. Also subject 5 media/news reports to critical analysis for bias and validity.
3. Name 5 ways in which each of the following; social media, capitalism, and the diet industry, affect attitudes, practices and cultural norms when it comes to body shape and weight.
4. Describe specifically the ways in which the following 6 maladies; disordered eating, negative body image, food obsession, food addiction, exercise compulsion and diet cycling, may manifest differently in individuals.
5. Define the following 10 factors: body justice, body liberation, intuitive eating, thin idealism, fat phobia, body positivity, diet mentality, joyful movement, the fat acceptance movement, and the ‘Health At Every Size’ approach.

This course is appropriate for social workers at the following levels of practice: beginning and intermediate. Because the course is highly participatory and draws heavily on clinician questions and scenarios, it is applicable to a wide-range of social workers at varying levels of experience. Indeed, social workers will walk away with different take-aways depending in their level/experience in practice, as outlined below:

Beginner: Beginning social workers will have an opportunity to explore how social media can and does impact their practice, and to start to develop their own values and identity—based on and informed by the NASW Code of Ethics and experiences of more advanced clinicians—related to how they may or may not interact with social media and/or integrate it into their work.

Intermediate: Intermediate level social workers who may have developed a more cohesive professional identity and values will be able to explore how social media may or may not fit into that identity and their values. They may explore and benefit more from discussion of strategies for managing clinical scenarios related to social media based on those that have emerged in their prior experience. In addition, they will have an opportunity to reflect on and review practices they have been engaging in and to assess their appropriateness in light of the NASW Code of Ethics and input from other clinicians.

Paula D. Atkinson is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker, working as a psychotherapist in private practice. She is also a yoga teacher, certified at the highest level, a Reiki practitioner and a writer. She has been working for years with those who suffer from disordered eating, food obsession, exercise compulsion and body hatred. She treats clients of all sizes and identities with a weight neutral, anti-diet, body liberation approach. Paula proudly identifies as a body justice activist, teaching courses on the myths of current measures of health, our culture's thin worship, and the oppression of people in large bodies as a professor of Weight & Society at George Washington University, as well as to other mental professionals, clinics and organizations. Paula is a Health At Every Size registered practitioner, a member of The International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals, the National Association of Social Workers and the Association of Social Work Boards.

Relational Justice in Couple Therapy: Linking Emotion, Power, & Societal Context

Workshop Agenda

• 11:00am - 11:15am ET: Introductions (including race + pronouns, identity as it relates to body size) and reason for attending this workshop
• 11:15pm - 11:30am ET: Icebreaker/Reflective Exercise & Discussion
• 11:30am - 12:30pm ET: Overview and exploration of the following questions: What does weight mean in our current society? What are my personal beliefs about weight and health? What is the “obesity epidemic”? How do we define who is “overweight” and who is not? What is BMI? What influences body image and body ideals? What influences dieting? When did we start dieting? What is Fat Phobia & Size Bias? How does it intersect with other forms of oppression? Who does it serve?
• 12:30pm - 1:30pm ET: Case Studies and exploration of the following questions: What do we think “causes” Eating Disorders? What is food addiction? What roles do food corporations play? What do we know about the current Body Positive Movement? Where do we go from here? How do we serve clients from a size inclusive, body justice perspective?
• 1:30pm - 2:00pm ET: Final reflections, Q&A and Evals

Details

Date: Saturday, June 22, 2024

Time: 11:00am - 2:00pm ET

Location: Online via Zoom

CEs: Participants successfully completing this workshop and the course evaluation will receive 3 Continuing Education credits.

Fees: $125

In order to receive CEs and certificate, attendees must attend the full workshop and complete a course evaluation. CE certificates will be emailed within one month of receiving evaluation.

“Lisa Kays, #1526, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. Lisa Kays maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 1/27/22 through 1/27/25. Social workers completing this course receive 3 Category I continuing education credits.”

If you have questions or concerns about the course content, references, or content evaluation, contact Paula Atkinson at pauladatkinson@gmail.com.

If you have questions or concerns about registration, facilities, accommodation for disability, or course administration, contact Lisa Kays at lisa@lisakays.com.

Any concerns, complaints or grievances related to this workshop may be addressed to Lisa Kays at lisa@lisakays.com.