Improving Body Image w/ a Somatic Approach, and Deb Schachter

Therapy in a Nutshell

Therapy in a Nutshell -Emma McAdam

Mental Health, Health & Fitness, Education, Health & Fitness:mental Health, Self-improvement

4.8 • 657 Ratings

🗓️ 28 October 2025

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Let's talk about body image and how to stop comparing yourself to other in this interview with author Deb Schachter. Learn the skills to Regulate your Emotions, join the membership: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/membership Rethinking Body Image from a Somatic Perspective with Deb Schachter Most of us try to fix body image by changing how we look — dieting, working out harder, or comparing ourselves to others. But what if real healing starts on the inside? In this conversation with somatic therapist Deb Schachter, we explore a radically different approach to body image — one that begins with listening to the body, rather than judging it. Deb explains how our relationship with our body is shaped by early experiences, trauma, and disconnection, and how we can begin to repair that relationship through awareness, compassion, and presence. Looking for affordable online counseling? My sponsor, BetterHelp, connects you to a licensed professional from the comfort of your own home. Try it now for 10% off your first month: https://betterhelp.com/therapyinanutshell Learn more in one of my in-depth mental health courses: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com Support my mission on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/therapyinanutshell Sign up for my newsletter: https://www.therapyinanutshell.com Check out my favorite self-help books: https://kit.co/TherapyinaNutshell/best-self-help-books Therapy in a Nutshell and the information provided by Emma McAdam are solely intended for informational and entertainment purposes and are not a substitute for advice, diagnosis, or treatment regarding medical or mental health conditions. Although Emma McAdam is a licensed marriage and family therapist, the views expressed on this site or any related content should not be taken for medical or psychiatric advice. Always consult your physician before making any decisions related to your physical or mental health. In therapy I use a combination of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Systems Theory, positive psychology, and a bio-psycho-social approach to treating mental illness and other challenges we all face in life. The ideas from my videos are frequently adapted from multiple sources. Many of them come from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, especially the work of Steven Hayes, Jason Luoma, and Russ Harris. The sections on stress and the mind-body connection derive from the work of Stephen Porges (the Polyvagal theory), Peter Levine (Somatic Experiencing) Francine Shapiro (EMDR), and Bessel Van Der Kolk. I also rely heavily on the work of the Arbinger Institute for my overall understanding of our ability to choose our life's direction. And deeper than all of that, the Gospel of Jesus Christ orients my personal worldview and sense of security, peace, hope, and love https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/believe If you are in crisis, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org or 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or your local emergency services. Copyright Therapy in a Nutshell, LLC

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome back to another episode of the Therapy in a Nutshell podcast. I'm Emma McAdam and I'm a licensed
0:05.6	marriage and family therapist. And this podcast is all about taking the life-changing, but usually kind of
0:11.5	complicated topics of therapy and boiling them down into simple, easy to understand concepts that you
0:17.2	can use in your daily life. If you find today's episode as helpful to you, please pass it on to someone else who could benefit from it as well.
0:23.6	Each podcast episode comes from a corresponding video you can find
0:26.6	on the Therapy in a Nutshell YouTube channel.
0:28.6	Also, these podcasts are educational and don't replace the advice
0:32.6	or direction you may be receiving from a therapist or other health professionals.
0:36.6	Now please, enjoy the episode.
0:38.3	If you're awkward at a party, how much easier is it to be like if I just had the right
0:43.3	outfit or if my belly were just flatter and I could have worn those jeans, maybe I'd be
0:49.3	worn well liked.
0:50.3	Maybe I would fit in more.
0:52.3	Maybe, you know, it gives us, you know, we almost call it like
0:55.4	this, um, the hope and self hate. That when we get this fantasy of what we could be, when we're
1:02.8	in a situation that feels icky, then we feel like we have some, something that we can work on.
1:08.0	It's really, really compelling.
1:11.6	Today I have a really interesting guest for our conversation. It's Deb Schachter. She's a licensed
1:18.6	social worker and has been working in the areas of body image and eating disorders for over 30 years.
1:24.6	And she uses this really interesting approach that helps people develop some new
1:27.8	skills and resources around interacting with their body image. And in our conversation, I learned
1:32.6	a ton of new ways to think with and interact with these thoughts or feelings of negative body
	...

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