News & Media Blog

JCU: Interview with Dr. Kiera Buchanan

April 21, 2021

This video was made by JCU and is an interview with Kiera Buchanan, Clinical and Health Psychologist and Director of the Centre For Integrative Health.

Weight Stigma Awareness Week, 2020

Weight Stigma Awareness Week, 2020

September 30, 2020

I met Kiera in 2018 on a trip with ‘The Hunger Project’. On a bus in rural Uganda, we spoke about her work as a psychologist empowering people of all body shapes and sizes.

Coronavirus: Our Practice Policy

Coronavirus: Our Practice Policy

March 9, 2020

Until we receive clearer directions, CFIH is adopting a “better to be safe than sorry approach”. Please support us in our efforts to reduce the spread of Coronavirus.

International Women’s Day: Our Message

International Women’s Day: Our Message

March 8, 2020

On International Women’s Day, we passionately strike the #EachforEqual pose. To us, this pose symbolises equality, compassionate boundaries, allyship, and the disruption of destructive gender-based cycles.

Exercise and eating disorders

Exercise and eating disorders

February 20, 2020

In an interview with Hack on Triple J, CFIH Psychologist, Ashleigh Olive, proposed a number of red flags that can help to identify someone with or at risk of an eating disorder.

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Yesterday CFIH psychologist, Audrey, delivered the ‘Introduction to Eating Disorders’ lecture to the UQ Psychology Master’s students yesterday. We hear that the lecture was a hit, with students being well engaged and particularly interested in learning about adopting weight-neutral approaches to health and eating disorder treatment. Thank you Audrey for your ongoing commitment to creating a world for everyBODY.
Recovery from an eating disorder is always possible however, it is rarely easy. Recovery mantras or affirmations can help to keep you focused and encourage you to keep moving along your recovery pathway. Here are some of our favourites but we'd love to hears yours. Whether you're in recovery or just starting out on your journey, what mantras help or have helped you to stay the course?
Body image is a combination of the thoughts and feelings that we have about our bodies. National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) identifies four aspects of body image: 1: Perceptual body image: how we see our bodies (this is subjective and not always objectively accurate). 2: Affective body image: how we feel about and towards our bodies. 3: Cognitive body image: the way we think and the thoughts we have about our bodies. 4: Behavioural body image: how we embody our bodies, treat our bodies, and the way we behave in relation to our bodies. With this in mind, we can see how body image can be improved in the absence of weight loss through: 1: Changing the amount of thought that we give to our bodies. For example, reducing our fixation on and preoccupation with the shape/size of our bodies and giving more emphasis to other parts of ourselves and our lives. 2: We can also work on changing the types of thoughts that we have about our bodies. One way of doing this is to challenge our thoughts through Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). Alternatively, we can practice shifting our thinking style from judgement-based thinking (ie., “good”, “bad”) to objectively observing our body through mindfulness-based practices. Or we can adopt the Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) of radical acceptance with regard to our thoughts about our bodies. 3: Changing the way we embody, treat, and behave with respect to body image. We can do this through body-based practices such as yoga or other forms of joyful movement (ie., dance). 4: Another behavioural approach to changing our body image is through the way we dress our bodies (ie., covering up our bodies in shame vs wearing clothes that we feel good in). 5: The ways in which we engage in physical affection and intimacy can also shift aspects of our body image. 6: Through treating our bodies with care and respect (ie., nourishing our bodies with plenty of nutrition, getting sufficient sleep & rest, moderating our caffeine & alcohol intake, etc) we can start to feel more loving towards our bodies, thereby improving our body image. Stay tuned for how dieting and weight loss interfere with and can worsen, rather than improve, body image.