CALM Counseling Austin

04/06/2026

Mastering the “pop-in” 🤍

Spontaneous hangs > perfectly planned ones.
Keep food simple—snacks, leftovers, something to share—and let it be about connection, not performance.

Sometimes belonging just… pops in.

04/01/2026

It’s easy to think our relationship with food is the problem.

But often, it’s a response shaped by our history of attachment and connection.

A way we learn—over time—to
seek comfort or move away from pain
in ways that feel available to us.

Not because we’re doing something wrong,
but because we’re adapting to something deeper.

When we slow down and get curious about our patterns,
we start to shift the question from
“What’s wrong with me?”
to
“What is it that I’m needing?”

And that’s where real change begins.
Not with control, but with understanding.

03/26/2026

03/23/2026

Still soaking in the wonder from the Psychotherapy Networker Conference ✨

Honored to connect with Dr. Arielle Schwartz — fellow New Harbinger author. Her work continues to profoundly shape the fields of somatic therapy and trauma-informed care, and it was a privilege to learn from her.

This conference brought us into the presence of trauma and addiction therapy icons — Dr. Janina Fisher and Ruth Cohen, MFT — fellow teachers with the Academy of Therapy Wisdom. Their contributions have profoundly impacted the field, and it was incredibly meaningful to have the opportunity to meet them.

The brilliant Dr. Ramani Durvasula — who was beyond kind, generous with her time, and even recorded a special message for Kate’s mom (one of her biggest fans 💛). A moment we won’t forget!

A special dinner with Dr. Orna Guralnik and her esteemed colleague Dr. Eyal Rozmarin — thoughtful, engaging, and deeply inspiring conversation.

We may have… slightly overcommitted at the book tables 😅 Enough to start our own therapy library (and we’re not mad about it).

Grateful for the conversations, the learning, and the reminder of how powerful this work can be when we come together.

03/20/2026

Conference magic ✨

Still taking it all in from Psychotherapy Networker Symposium 2026 — getting to be in the room together, learning, connecting, and feeling so deeply aligned with this work.

And truly… a pinch-us moment meeting two incredible New Harbinger Publications authors:

In awe of .alexandra.solomon whose work continues to expand how we understand relationships, intimacy, and ourselves.

And so inspired by for bringing such honesty, nuance, and depth to the conversation around how we live in and care for our bodies.

Grateful to be in community with people who are so deeply committed to bettering the mental health landscape 🤍

03/17/2026

We’re living in a time where food has become increasingly individualized, optimized, and controlled.

Eat this, not that.
At this time, in this amount.
For this outcome.

And while obviously good nutrition is important, this kind of rigid thinking quietly pulls us away from something deeply human: eating with each other.

Shared meals regulate our nervous systems. They create rhythm, belonging, and memory. They invite us to soften—to be a little less perfect and a little more present.

But longevity culture rarely accounts for that.

It measures what we eat… not how we eat. Not who we eat with. Not what happens in our bodies and relationships when we feel safe enough to linger at the table.

The paradox is that in trying to extend our lives, we can unintentionally strip away the very experiences that make life feel full!

More life, less living.

What if part of caring for our health looked like: calling a friend, sitting down for a meal, and letting that be good enough?

03/11/2026

Before we were therapists…
Before we were co-authors…

We were just kids learning about connection.

Kids who noticed when relationships felt safe.
Kids who felt it when they didn’t.

Like many people, we grew up in a world that said the problem with food was discipline.

Eat less.
Control more.
Try harder.

But working with clients taught us something different.

Our relationship with food isn’t just about food.

It’s about attachment.

It’s about the ways we learned to soothe ourselves, protect ourselves, and survive disconnection — in a world full of it.

That’s why we wrote Hungry for Connection.

To help people understand:

• why food became comfort
• why diets never solved the deeper hunger
• and how connection can transform our relationship with food

Because underneath so many struggles with food is the same quiet question:

“Am I safe with others?”

And healing begins when we start answering that question differently.

✨ Book coming October 2026

03/03/2026

We are how we eat — not what we eat.

Research on the social determinants of health shows that behavior follows conditions. Food access, economic stability, chronic stress, and community safety all shape eating patterns. Attachment science tells us the same thing: when we feel safe, our nervous systems regulate. When we don’t, eating often becomes a tool for coping.

Restriction, bingeing, grazing, numbing — these aren’t moral failures. They’re adaptive responses to stress, insecurity, or unpredictability.

Instead of asking, “Why can’t I control myself?”
Try asking, “What conditions am I eating in?”

Healing starts with safety — not shame.

02/23/2026

When Punch was rejected by the other monkeys at a zoo in Japan, he clung to a stuffed toy from IKEA for comfort.

Therapists call these “transitional objects” — something we hold onto when we don’t have access to the real thing. A bridge. A stand-in. An artificial attachment that helps us survive when connection feels out of reach.

For many of us, our eating disorder has functioned the same way.

When the world feels rejecting…
When belonging feels uncertain…
When we don’t feel safely held by others…

We reach for something that regulates us.
Something predictable.
Something that doesn’t leave.

It makes sense.

Artificial attachments aren’t weakness.
They’re adaptations.

But they’re not meant to be permanent homes. Punch needed acceptance. He needed the real thing.

And when he finally experienced it — he loosened his grip.

What we truly hunger for isn’t control.
It’s safe, mutual, authentic connection.

02/14/2026

In a world shaped by surveillance capitalism, unstable systems, and weight stigma, we’re constantly watched, measured, and monetized.

So we learn to watch ourselves.
We track. We restrict. We shrink.

Not because we’re failing but because we’re adapting.

Healing isn’t found in more control.
It’s found in connection, care, and collective resistance.

Everyone deserves safety without hypervigilance.

02/12/2026

Valentine’s Day isn’t just about romantic love.
It’s about the relationships we live inside of every day — including the one we have with food and our bodies.

Insecure attachment often shows up as:
• Hypervigilance around eating
• Body monitoring and comparison
• Fear of “getting it wrong”
• Control as a substitute for safety

Healing isn’t another self-improvement project.
It’s learning to feel safe enough to let go — of shame, fear, mistrust.

In “Hungry for Connection”, we explore how attachment repair helps shift from body surveillance to self-attunement — and from control to trust.

If you’re ready to practice a more secure relationship with food and your body, we hope you’ll read along 🤍

02/08/2026

Intuitive eating isn’t just about food — it’s about safety.

When trauma or insecure attachment shape our inner world, our body’s signals can feel confusing or untrustworthy.

Healing our relationship with food often begins with repairing our relationship with ourselves and with others.