71. Reclaiming the Black Body: Understanding Eating Imbalances and Healing for Black Folks with Alishia McCullough, LCMHC

Episode 70 of Body Justice is truly a gift of wisdom from my dear friend and colleague, Alishia McCullough. In this episode we talk about some of the core concepts from her book, Reclaiming the Black Body. In this episode we explore:How EDs show up for Black girls/womenShifting terminology from Eating Disorders to Eating Imbalances Adultification Bias and the Hypersexualization of Black women and femmesThe ties between colonization, the trans Atlantic slave trade and eating imbalancesThe trafficking of Saartjie Baartman and the conflation of fatness and blacknessIntergenerational body traumaMaternal disdain and rejection of daughters as a survival tactic from enslavement What healing looks like through this lens, what it means to truly Reclaim the Black BodyAbout Alishia: Alishia McCullough (LCMHC) is a millennial Licensed Clinical Mental Health Therapist and owner of Black and Embodied Consulting PLLC. She specializes in somatic therapy, trauma healing, and eating disorder treatment with a focus on cultivating embodiment and fostering anti-oppression. In 2020, Alishia co-founded the Amplify Melanated Voices Movement, a global movement to elevate the voices of Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color online and in-person. Alishia currently runs the self-paced online course Reimagining Eating Disorders 101. She  was awarded the 2023 Alumni Award from the Department of Psychology for the noteworthy contributions she has made to the field. An accomplished writer, Alishia is the author of a collection of poems called Blossoming, and  Reclaiming the Black Body now available in bookstores nationwide. In her work, Alishia centers the intersectional narratives of Black, Brown, Indigenous, Asian, dual-heritage, and individuals indigenous to the Global South, andor those who have been racialized as 'ethnic minorities' experiencing mental and emotional distress. She also specializes in working with those living with eating disorders, upholding the values of body justice and fat liberation. She was one of the Mental Health Influencers in Meta's 2022 Well-Being Collective. Alishia's work has been featured in Bustle, WordInBlack, STAT News, BlackGirlNerds, Essence, Reckon, Wondermind, Pen America and Forbes.*As always this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute individual medical or therapeutic advice. Please reach out if you are interested in becoming a therapy or coaching client: www.eatingdisorderocdtherapy.com or visit my instagram for more info: @bodyjustice.therapist