My Life as an Eating Psychology Coach: Michelle Powell

What made you want to become an Eating Psychology Coach?

All of my life, I had trouble with food. I always remember secretly eating food out of the cupboard when nobody was looking, and eating it quickly. I remember visits to my grandma’s where she would bake some yummy cake. I would eat one piece and then steal chocolates out of the cupboard. There was something truly wrong with my relationship to food. It got a lot worse as I became an adult, and it was dysfunctional and affected every aspect of my life.
In 2010 I built the courage to go and get assessed after being caught mid binge by a housemate. After three assessments, I was diagnosed with bulimia and body dysmorphia.
That set me on a path to my own recovery and healing journey, but also wanting to support others. That’s when I came across Marc and The Institute for the Psychology of Eating and I knew it was what I had to do.

What do you love about being an Eating Psychology Coach?

Helping others heal from their issues around body image and eating issues. It is truly empowering see others have breakthroughs with their own relationship to food and body and see them truly comfortable in their own skin for the first time in maybe their life.

What does your practice look like?

My practice is mainly 1:1 Skype sessions with mainly international clients. I specialise in helping women heal around body image and emotional and binge eating issues. My core program is titled The Body Love Experience. I have added modules on self-love, self-care, and embodiment practices.
I am also currently working on a Body Image Journal that is a fundamental part of the program, which I am hoping to launch early 2017 for sale on my website. I will also be holding my first event with the plan it will be extended into a series in February next year on each of the modules of the program.
I also run a free monthly support group to help support others in those first initial stages of healing and understanding their relationship to food and body.

How did your education at the Institute prepare you to work successfully with clients?

The training at IPE helped me immensely. It helped me understand and heal some of my own issues around food and body, which gave me the ability to empathise with my own clients. It allowed me to appreciate the breadth of food and body issues out there and how to work with clients in a supportive way.

What was your favorite aspect of the Training?

There were so many aspects that I loved about the Training! I loved the live teleclasses with Marc the most; I loved the community of other coaches (I am still friends with several other coaches), I loved the Facebook group, and I loved the online platform. It suited my style of learning. I also loved that in the first few modules, the assessments were on the integration of the materials from within your own personal experience. It really made you understand the materials more.

How has being an Eating Psychology Coach impacted your professional life/financial well-being?

The Training is what my now career has been built on. Without the Training, my business wouldn’t be what it is. I wouldn’t have the chance to help make the impact in people’s lives that I do now.

How has being an Eating Psychology Coach impacted you personally?

It has impacted my personal life in a very positive way. All of my friends and loved ones have said that when I did the program, I transformed. I had purpose and direction. I always knew I wanted to work in health and wellness but wasn’t sure in what capacity. In terms of personal relationships, my partner at the time saw the change in me from still working through my recovery from bulimia into a person that was healing and accepting of herself.

What do you see for yourself in your future as an Eating Psychology Coach – where is your work evolving towards?

I worked with a business coach earlier this year and said to her, I am aiming for global domination with my program. I want to spread the message about body love, body acceptance, and body positivity far and wide. I have big plans to do this over the coming 24 months, that includes speaking at events worldwide, writing two books, and launching an online program that can be accessed from anywhere in the world.

Why Would You Recommend the Training to Others?

Because it truly is life changing! It is real, authentic, healing and you are so incredibly supported through the work in every possible way. By far the best decision of my professional career in a long time.

Anything else you’d like to share?

The world needs more of us! There needs to be a global healing around our relationship to food and body. I see so many people of all ages, male and female, with life-long pain around both their relationship to food and body. From teenage girls, to middle aged men, there needs to be more education and support and IPE is the best grounding and education you can get.

NAME: Michelle Powell
BUSINESS: Eating Psychology and Body Love Coach, Empowerment Health and Wellbeing
WEBSITE: michellepowell.com.au

BIO: I am an Eating Psychology and Body Love Coach and currently training to be a life coach. I am passionate about health and wellness, self-love, and positive body image. I love to coach people who are ready to make positive changes in their lives, and want to achieve their dreams to live a fulfilled life.