Meet Jody Green, Eating Disorder Therapist for Athletes at Kindful Body

Please join us in welcoming Jody Green, the newest addition to Kindful Body’s clinical team! Jody is trained in EMDR and comes to us with a breadth of experience not only specializing in eating disorders, but also working with athletes and clients in addiction recovery. 

Jody has always held compassion for those struggling with eating disorders. As an athlete growing up, Jody often observed the disordered behaviors of her peers. 

“A lot of people I cared about were not okay and I saw how it took them away from life and their potential to be great,” she shared. “This always stuck with me and ultimately brought me to study psychology.”

Keep reading to learn more about Jody from a Q and A interview!

What is your approach to working with clients?

My approach is holistic and specific to each client because I’m a Humanistic/Client Centered Clinician, which is therapy lingo for “I see you for who you are and I accept you.” It means you can show up in whatever way and you will be treated with respect and care and given a safe space to be. I am here to guide and support you as you reach your goals. 

Describe the clients you are best suited for working with:

I love working with people who are curious, open-minded, and ready to learn about themselves and try new things to challenge maladaptive behaviors. A person that can say “I’m in the weeds and I need some help” is my ideal client.

Similarly, what is the best way for someone to know they have found the right therapist or clinician to work with?

I think it’s a good fit if you feel accurately heard and like you can be yourself and not be judged if things aren’t going super great. Feeling safe is always important when it comes to sharing vulnerable stuff. It may take a little time to get there, particularly if you're feeling anxious about it. It certainly can feel strange at first getting to know this new person/therapist and begin opening up to them, but I think your intuition will let you know.

Is there any similar theme, trend, or behavior that you notice in a lot of your clients? If so, how do you work to help them move forward?

Something I frequently see is this limited awareness of self-worth and value as a person beyond the moral rules, restrictions, and judgments of diet culture messages. Diet culture is a cruel $76 billion dollar beast that causes so much harm and permeates most aspects of daily life. It’s nearly inescapable; so the answer is building insight, awareness, and conscious resistance toward its demands. We don’t have much control over making it go away, but we can change how we think about and interact with it. 

In what ways do you think the mental health field, especially as it relates to eating disorders, is currently evolving? Where would you like to see it go in the future?

Since I began working in the field I have seen so much positive change with radical acceptance of diversity in bodies and representation that wasn’t there before. I think this helps shift the narrative by representing a more accurate reality in popular media. When people see someone that looks like them they feel more allowed to exist and be themselves without having to conform to rigid and harmful standards. I also love that Health At Every Size and Intuitive Eating are becoming the standard of practice in ED treatment. This is such an important shift in recovery and society. I would love to see both of these concepts become mainstream knowledge. That would prevent a lot of suffering.  

What is something you wished everyone understood about counseling/therapy and the importance of taking care of your mental health?

Your mental health is the foundation of your life, just like your physical health or the foundation of your home. You live here! Wouldn’t you like to feel assured that your mind is a safe, strong, and healthy place to be and experience the world? Believe me, I know it can feel overwhelming to work on improving and healing your mental health but as the saying goes, “Everywhere you go, there you are.” It can be tempting to avoid it and pour yourself into work, hobbies, or other people but your mind is the filter through which you experience the world. It's worth the maintenance and care to keep things running smoothly, especially when life’s terrain gets more challenging.  

If you weren't a therapist, what career might you have?

I think I might have been a detective (think X-Files), a wildlife conservation biologist or maybe a farmer. I love helping others and finding solutions to complex problems. I also love animals and being outside so I’d like to help protect endangered species. As for farming, I grew up with my grandparents farming and I love the whole process of growing beautiful flowers, connecting with nature and food. I can see myself doing more of that in the future and maybe incorporating mental health care into gardening for an Ecopsychology program. 

What do you like to do in your free time?

I love being outside and exploring new places with my husband. We do a lot of camping and pretty much every outdoor activity. I also have a small garden that brings me joy to tend. 

Schedule With Jody!

Are you ready to take the next step on your healing journey? Jody is currently accepting new clients! She would love the opportunity to connect with you, as well as learn more about your reason(s) for seeking help. 

To begin working with Jody or any of our clinicians, contact us to schedule a free one-on-one consultation, or simply call or text (415) 323-6755. You can begin your recovery today with a simple click of a button!