Jo Reader The Fat Acceptance Therapist

23/12/2025

Did you know our Part 1 course on anti-fat bias and body acceptance is available on demand!

https://www.thefatcounsellors.co.uk/workshops/day-1

16/12/2025

Do you ever struggle to talk about body image or weight stigma in sessions? Or feel unsure how to support clients with discomfort around these topics?

✨ Part 2: Day 2 Online gives you:
✔️ Hands-on interventions you can use with clients
✔️ Tools to explore food & body rules, intuitive eating, family messaging
✔️ A safe, anti-oppressive learning environment
✔️ Confidence to hold challenging conversations without judgement 

📅 Jan 23 & 31 — live on Zoom
🎟️ Early bird discounts still available!
👉 DM for link to book & transform your practice or see bio

25/11/2025

This is why our CPD on anti-fat bias is so important for therapists and other 1:1 practitioners.

⭐️Unravelling Body Shame Part 2⭐️
Anti-fat bias in the Therapy Room

An experiential day for practitioners to learn and practice interventions and approaches to work with your clients on body insecurities and fatphobia.

Friday 23 and 31 Jan
10 - 2pm
ONLINE via zoom

BOOK HERE
Fee: £195 or...👇
£140 early bird discount

BOOK HERE
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScG4BmMIUTyfj1V1SZACqCSV7eomYvtRHfPxruVFFSXHWUnjw/viewform

25/11/2025

09/11/2025

Welcome if you're new to my page!

Did you know you can buy our course on Anti-Fat Bias and Body Acceptance to watch on demand in your own time?

"A course I would recommend for anyone wishing to see things from a different perspective." (participant)

"Cat & Jo’s passion and knowledge for this subject is contagious. They have given me confidence as an individual and as a psychotherapist that will enrich my life and professionally practice." (participant)

APPLY HERE: https://forms.gle/NcenxcPdaEEnu6J76

08/11/2025

Therapy should be a safe space for Every Body!

It was such a joy to join on The Liberation Effect 🎙️earlier this year!

and I shared our thoughts on anti-fat bias in therapy and the healing power of truly inclusive practice. It is such an important (and often overlooked) conversation - we believe that every body deserves compassion, not judgment and we want clients to trust their therapist not to inadvertently reinforce the stigma.

That’s why we run courses on this!
DM for further info or our contact details are in the show notes.

Thank you, Helen, for having us and creating space for this — we could have talked for hours! 🩵

The Liberation Effect Episode 25
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-liberation-effect/id1806624345?i=1000728172557

05/11/2025

Our Part 2 workshop on Anti-fat Bias in the Therapy Room is open for booking!

Starts January 2026
Early Bird and payment plans available!

BOOK HERE https://forms.gle/iZAqUGiZa5ABiSBdA

11/10/2025

Wow. YES! 🔥

22/08/2025

TRIGGER WARNING for weight loss mention
___________

In our local counselling networking group, the issue of weight loss injections came up this week.

This is coming up more and more in the work and as with any issue of body weight there is usually tension, awkwardness or unconscious bias from therapist or client.

Therapists who have attended our Unravelling Body Shame courses say all therapists should be exploring and prioritising this topic as body shame is so prevalent even if not the ‘presenting issue’ ~ we all have a body and this stuff is therefore present in the room about them whether you’re discussing it or not (your client’s body AND YOURS! Yes they’re noticing your body too!).

We have a few places available for our course starting on 12 Sept and there is still a discount available if you sign up today!

Part 1 ~ Anti-fat Bias and Body Acceptance (Click for COURSE INFO)
👉🏼 6 week course
👉🏼 Friday lunchtimes (1h taught course, 30m Q&A, recordings available for week after if you miss a week)
👉🏼 (if you think you would qualify for a concession, do ask)

Sign up here: https://forms.gle/poabTBCxHDgUpJBv8

22/08/2025

TRIGGER WARNING for weight loss mention
___________

In our local counselling networking group, the issue of weight loss injections came up this week.

This is coming up more and more in the work and as with any issue of body weight there is usually tension, awkwardness or unconscious bias from therapist or client.

Therapists who have attended our Unravelling Body Shame courses say all therapists should be exploring and prioritising this topic as body shame is so prevalent even if not the 'presenting issue' ~ we all have a body and this stuff is therefore present in the room about them whether you're discussing it or not (your client's body AND YOURS! Yes they're noticing your body too!).

We have a few places available for our course starting on 12 Sept and there is still a discount available if you sign up today!

Part 1 ~ Anti-fat Bias and Body Acceptance (Click for COURSE INFO)
👉🏼 6 week course
👉🏼 Friday lunchtimes (1h taught course, 30m Q&A, recordings available for week after if you miss a week)
👉🏼 (if you think you would qualify for a concession, do ask)

Sign up here: https://forms.gle/poabTBCxHDgUpJBv8

07/07/2025

This was a hot topic in our Fat Friday supervision group last week with Cat Chappell Counselling in Bristol.

the impact of Ozempic on kids is something we didn’t discuss but holy hell, of course they bc are exposed to it everywhere too .. what an excellent but very sad reminder of how anti-fat propaganda ruins children’s lives, from the incredible Molly J. Forbes 👏🏼

BLEURGHHH😡

Thanks I hate it.

I've seen first-hand the impact of the Ozempic era on children and young people as it's increasingly coming up as a topic of discussion raised by students in our workshops. They're noticing celebrities, family members and some of their fave influencers (and maybe politicians?!) bodies' changing and it's making them feel all sorts of feelings. Headlines like this don't help.

This is not about shaming people using weight loss drugs. It's about challenging a system that glorifies thinness at any cost and normalises discrimination and stereotypes based on body size under the guise of health.

Over half of kids in the UK don't like their body. It's impacting their health and well-being, educational outcomes and relationships. Poor body image in children and young people is a public health crisis.

There is literally decades of evidence behind the harms of weight stigma and the toll it takes on health, yet this rhetoric exacerbates the issue and adds fuel to the body shame fire our kids are growing up in.

Yet again, health is being reduced to a number on a scale and all about personal responsibility, ignoring the many systemic factors that massively influence our collective health as a nation.

If we really care about health we'd invest in reducing inequality, eradicating food poverty, meaningfully addressing medical weight stigma and racism, and ensuring people have access to safe housing, outdoor spaces and nutritious food. I guess that doesn't give as catchy a headline though?

There is hope, and The Body Happy Schools Programme pilots have been incredible this year. But pieces like this show how much work there is to do. It shouldn't have to be this way. Our kids deserve better.

PS if you're on LinkedIn check out post on this ♥️

05/07/2025

Parents: Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to fit some regular self-care into your summer break…to get to the end of the summer holidays frazzle-free…or at least less frazzled than usual?

Check out my blog - 'Make time for self-care: mindset tips for frazzled parents' - for some tips that you can think about now, to help you fit some time in for yourself. Find it in the comments.