Opal: Food+Body Wisdom

07/21/2025

Take a virtual tour of Opal: Food+Body Wisdom's eating disorder treatment space in Seattle, Washington. Bright big windows, clean modern decor, and more lead to 10/10 clients saying that Opal's facilities suitably help them pursue their eating disorder recovery. Not shown here is our non-clinical lodging apartment -- available for folks from out of the Seattle area. Interested in learning more? Link in our bio or go to www.opalfoodandbody.com

05/10/2025

Rediscover movement. Reclaim your body.

At Opal, we understand that exercise can be a source of both strength and struggle. That’s why our Exercise + Sport Program supports individuals in recovery from eating disorders and exercise-related issues—helping them find peace with movement and their bodies.
💛 Whether you're an athlete, a fitness enthusiast, or someone rebuilding trust in your body, we're here to guide you toward a balanced, nourishing relationship with exercise.

🧠 Move beyond the all-or-nothing mindset.
💪 Reconnect with your body in ways that honor rest, joy, and healing.
🌱 Restore your relationship with food, movement, and self-worth.

At Opal, movement becomes a part of your recovery—not a roadblock. See www.opalfoodandbody.com or our bio to learn more. Start your healing journey today.
movement

04/03/2025

Is food causing you stress ? Do you fear your weight is not okay? Do you avoid eating with friends?

You are not alone! Many teens struggle with food and body concerns. Opal could help!

Our treatment might be right for you if you are:
✔ Involved in sports, dance, or other activities
✔ High achieving + perfectionistic
✔Care about others deeply and sometimes have a hard time caring for yourself
✔ Knowing about nutrition and fitness has become an obsession

Learn more at www.opalfoodandbody.com

02/01/2025

13 years ago today Opal began to meet a Seattle community need for a higher level of care eating disorder treatment center. We have evolved and changed in SO many ways but we still remain a female owned, clinician led eating disorder treatment clinic that offers Partial Hospitalization and Intensive Outpatient for adults seeking freedom from diet culture. We are a teenager today! What will the teen years bring ?

02/15/2022

Kara is feeling lots of gratitude to Marie and Robyn, founders of Wildwood Running this week after being invited to speak at their clinic in San Fran (IRL!!!) and also recording a podcast for the Appetite (yes, we hope to release some new episodes soon!). It is so special to be a part of Wildwood's important work and mission to change the culture of sport. Excited for this next generation of athletes (and coaches) who are eager to learn and see the value of addressing mental health, team culture, disordered eating, periods, and longevity in sport!

Check out Wildwood's upcoming virtual running camps Feb 19-20 and Feb 26-27.

02/02/2022

10 years ago, Julie, Kara and Lexi took a leap of faith and opened the doors of Opal. We had 14 staff, 4 PHP clients and were filled with passion, eagerness, and lots to learn. We were all at the forefront of everything--- seeing clients, leading groups, eating with clients in meals, and going on outings. We were trailblazing weight-inclusive, higher level of care eating disorder treatment.
Fast forward 10 years later, Opal has gone through a lot of change and development. We now house about 45 staff, 18 PHP clients, a dozen or so IOP clients and we have pivoted and refined our programming and infrastructure regularly to meet Opal's needs. Although Julie, Kara and Lexi could have never imagined all they would learn in the last 10 years they hold the same deep passion for this work as they did back then. Like all relationships, we have had plenty of "good, bad and the ugly" moments- making this a place of true authenticity. And, through all the shifts and changes, clients are healing EVERYDAY in this space. The mission of Opal has been the steady and unflinching heartbeat---- it's magical to witness.

Enjoy some photos of how we are celebrating today---Opal "museum" showcasing our journey, yummy cake, and a glimpse of the roller skating party we are throwing tonight for the staff.

Ah, let's celebrate!

01/31/2022

Opal is hiring a Therapist that would offer Primary Therapy, Group Therapy and Support System Therapy (aka Family Therapy). Interested or know someone that is? Learn more here: https://opalfoodandbody.bamboohr.com/jobs/view.php?id=23&source=aWQ9MTk%3D

01/22/2022

Each month Kara and Julie offer a low cost virtual workshop series called Body Talk to pre-teens and their grown-up. This is in partnership with Great Conversations, a learning platform that helps grown ups navigate conversations with their children. Body Talk aims to empower pre-teens with information about their bodies, so that they can move and eat with confidence.

More about the workshops: ⁠
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Who: For ALL preteens 9-12 and a grown-up. For families who are looking to create healthy conversations around food and exercise. ⁠
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Eating Workshop with Julie: Conversations to build a healthy relationship with food and trust yourself as an eater⁠
-Tune into your senses⁠
-Understand your hunger and fullness cues⁠
-Personalize nutrition information for you⁠
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Movement Workshop with Kara: Conversations to build a healthy relationship with exercise and trusting yourself as a mover⁠
-Tune into your internal motivation⁠
-Know what science to pay attention to as a mover⁠
-Learn about your unique desire for moving your body⁠
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Interested? head over to greatconversations.com and look for Body Talk under programs.⁠
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Great Conversations

01/13/2022

Upcoming Event Feb 5/6: Wildwood Athlete and Coach Clinic---
Kara Bazzi, Director of Opal's Exercise+Sport Program, will be speaking on mental health and relationship with food. The hope is to help running coaches understand their impact on their athletes' relationship to food and for athletes to have some new ways to think about food. Check it out! www.wildwoodrunning.com

01/12/2022

Hello! We are back on-line! We have been in-person offering higher level of care treatment for eating disorders and decided to come back on-line in order to be back in the community conversations around Exercise+Sport, Radically-Open Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and Health at Every Size. We are committed as ever to offering eating disorder treatment that aims to free people from diet culture and look forward to reconnecting in these on-line spaces, sharing resources, and learning together! Looking forward to reconnecting!

04/29/2021

The Appetite : #111: Talking to Athletes From an Intuitive Eating Lens: A Conversation with Maria Dalzot, RD

04/21/2021