Being weight-inclusive does not only mean that I support your health regardless of your weight (although I do!); it also means that I recognize the barriers and stigma associated with living in a large body, and work to address these on a systemic level.
To be weight inclusive is to center bodies historically and currently marginalized, not merely to 'see beyond' weight.
It also means the following:
I will use the language you prefer when discussing your body shape/size. I support body autonomy and choice when it comes to your therapy and dreamwork goals! But it also means I don't recommend weight loss or work with clients specifically on weight loss or management goals. I don't view large bodies as a problem needing to be solved. (note: I am happy to work with you on health goals (if health is a value of yours), but health and weight are not the same thing.)
Instead, I may gently nudge you to consider the costs of a weight-focused life. I may provide education that is in opposition to what you may have heard your entire life. And I will sit with you through any disbelief, anger, and grief that arises.
Being weight-inclusive means understanding that living in a large body does not mean weight (or even weight stigma) is your desired focus for therapy or dreamwork. You deserve a space to work on your own goals, free from weight-centric care.
Finally, my weight inclusive perspective is part of a liberatory lens and praxis, which includes other interrelated factors such as racism, classism, settler colonialism, capitalism, homophobia and transphobia, misogyny and more, and acknowledges how these factors marginalize people and result in significantly impacted individual and community health.
