Interested in Cooking Therapy?

We need food to survive, and we also hold beliefs and attitudes about food that were informed by an array of factors.
If you grew up poor, you may have experienced food insecurity, hunger, or living in a “food desert” with little access to fresh, nutritious ingredients.
If you’ve internalized messages about your body and what it should, or shouldn’t look like, maybe you have adapted to a pattern of disordered eating: starving yourself, or binging and purging.
And finally, there’s a reason it’s called “comfort food”. Whether it’s the powerfully addictive combination of fat, sugar, and salt, or the “mouth comfort” starchy carbs like bread and pasta bring you, many people use food to self-soothe.
But a lifetime of using food as your go-to coping mechanism can bring a slew of chronic illness, pain, and unhealthy habits.
Whether your relationship to food was formed by scarcity, denial, punishment, or stress-eating, cooking therapy addresses these challenges through an experiential, embodied, mindfulness approach. You can create a new relationship to food for yourself; one that is healthy and intuitive, that nourishes your body and mind.
You can read more about cooking therapy here, or here. Cooking therapy can be billed to most health insurance plans including Medicaid.

Farmer, N., Touchton-Leonard, K., & Ross, A. (2018). Psychosocial Benefits of Cooking Interventions: A Systematic Review. Health Education & Behavior, 167-180.

Garcia, A., & Privott, C. (2023). Meal Preparations and Cooking Group Participation in Mental Health: A Community Transition. Food Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 85-101.