Is a Therapist the Missing Piece in Your Food Allergy Support System?

Dr. Whitehouse explores therapy as a helpful resource for those navigating the emotional and psychological challenges of living with food allergies. She offers practical guidance on how to know if you can benefit from therapy, how to find and choose a therapist who understands food allergies, and how to determine whether a therapist is the right fit for your needs. Whether you're a parent seeking support for a child or an adult managing your own food allergy anxiety, this episode will help you decide if therapy could be a valuable tool in your journey.

Tune in for expert insights on prioritizing your mental health while navigating food allergies.

3 Action Steps:

1. Ask your allergist, local allergy support group, or insurance company for a list of potential therapists. Get your free printable list of questions to ask a potential therapist here: https://www.thefoodallergypsychologist.com/digital-resources/freebiechoosingatherapist
2. If you already have a therapist you like, be open and honest with them about what might help you better
3. Check out my Allergy Empowerment 6-week online group for adults with food allergies and parents of kids with food allergies here: https://www.thefoodallergypsychologist.com/online-courses/foodallergyanxietygroup

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Some reasons to consider therapy:

1. Persistent fear/worry
 2. Difficulty managing emotions
 3. Avoiding social situations/isolating yourself
 4. Struggles with communication/self-advocacy
 5. Strong sense of guilt/blame
 6. Physical anxiety symptoms
 7. Unnecessary/repetitive label checking/washing/verifying food safety
 8. Sleep difficulties
 9. Replaying traumatic events
 10. Your thoughts or feelings about food allergies negatively impact your life in a way that you’d like to change
 
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 Types of therapists/licenses
 1. Master’s-Level Clinicians:

Licensed Professional Counselors (LPC, LPCC, LMHC, LCPC)
Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW, LICSW, LMSW, LSCSW)
Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFT, LCMFT)

2. Doctoral-Level Clinicians

Psychologists (PhD, PsyD)

3. Medical Professionals Who Prescribe Medication

Psychiatrists (MD, DO)
Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners (PMHNP-BC, APRN)

Special thanks to Kyle Dine for permission to use his song The Doghouse for the podcast theme
www.kyledine.com

You can find Dr. Whitehouse at thefoodallergypsychologist.com and on Instagram (@thefoodallergypsychologist) and Facebook (Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, Food Allergy Anxiety Psychologist)
Email: welcome@dramandawhitehouse.com

Transcript

Speaker: 0:00

Welcome to the Don't Feed the Fear podcast, where we dive into the complex world of food allergy anxiety. I'm your host, Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, food allergy anxiety psychologist and food allergy mom. Whether you're dealing with allergies yourself or supporting someone who is, join us for an empathetic and informative journey toward food allergy calm and confidence..

dr--amanda-whitehouse_1_01-31-2025_194822: 0:22

Welcome back to Don't Feed the Fear. I hope you're having a safe and healthy start to your new year and got some much needed rest over the holidays, just like me. I took some time to think about the podcast so far and to appreciate the support so many of you have given me while I took on this One one of my favorite moments was a day that I sat down to look through all of the locations that you're listening in from, and I was shocked to see that you are tuning in from every U S state. Except so far, Alaska and Hawaii, dozens of different countries and every continent except Africa. So my official goal for 2025 is to log some listeners in those places. Please share. If you happen to know someone living in Alaska or Hawaii or anywhere on the continent of Africa, who might want to give the show a listen. To be talking about our support systems. I'm going to help you think through how to consciously build a support team around you to help you feel less alone while walking this path. Food allergies can be so isolating. Sometimes I work on raising awareness and fighting back against that. This season though, I'm going to talk about how sometimes we isolate ourselves unnecessarily and why we do so. Maybe we think other people won't understand or will be annoyed with us. Maybe we are conflict avoidant or have a strong need for control and just want to do everything ourselves and not ask for help. Maybe we have asked for help and have been hurt or let down by the people we reached out to, or even by the experts and providers who we were supposed to be able to put our trust and safety in. I want to help you think about how you can break down these barriers and find the people who want to help you and have valuable support that they're willing to share with you. I want to help you seek and nurture a community around yourself. Each episode this season, we'll talk about one important role or relationship that you might need, or you might want to nurture, or you might want to consider adding to your team. We'll start here in our first episode with me, your friendly food allergy therapist. I'm going to share a little bit more about my perspective on this work. Transcribed how to know if it might be time for you to find a therapist who can help you manage your personal challenges more effectively, how to find someone, and then how to determine if they're a good fit for you. I'll start with a little exercise that I like to call my imaginary circle. This is a little strategy that I have used since shortly after I became a mother, where I imagined the absolutely perfect circle of People who love and support me, surrounding me, and who would comprise that group of people if I could choose absolutely anyone I wanted. I'm lucky that many of those are actually people from my real life. Some are people I'll never meet. Some of these people have changed throughout the years and some will remain on my list forever. And when I'm in a dark spot and really needing help, I can close my eyes and feel them around me as a cohesive unit, a team, supporting me with their words and their actions, whether from my own memory or things I've read or seen. When I'm struggling with something in particular, I can imagine which one of those people in that moment is the one that I would reach out to and if it's someone that I can't actually reach out to, I can envision and imagine what that person would say, what I've heard them or read or, or seen them do or say about that topic that might be helpful to me. So some of the people on my list who are real people are friends that I've been lucky to have since as young as elementary school. None of them have children with food allergies. Or food allergies themselves, but they let me show up messy and stressed and they listen and they're always there for me. Some of the people on the list are loved ones who have died, whose voices and support and love I can still hear and feel when I quiet my mind. And also eternally on my list are my favorite authors, Barbara Kingsolver and Brene Brown, who in very different ways remind me of my humanity each time I read their words. Think for a bit about who's already in your circle, who you would add to it if you could. And who you might actually be able to add to it in real life. This is like that game, who you would invite to dinner, but instead of stimulating conversations or mysteries and burning questions that you would love to hear the answers to anyone you choose is someone who can help you to foster your own strength and resilience and wellness. You can choose as many people as you like and no matter what combination of people you pick, they'll get along and they'll focus on helping you. So for each episode of this winter season, as we discuss different roles to fill in your life, consider your imaginary circle. Who is it missing? If you could have your dream doctor, the most amazing friend, the best neighbor to live next door and call in a pinch, who would it be? At first, don't restrict yourself with being logical or realistic. Just see where your mind wanders to and who you would choose. It'll usually show up something in the form of, Gosh, it would be so nice if I could call blank. Or if there was someone who blank. And whoever that is will give you a clue of what you're needing in real life, what's really important to you, and maybe help you down the path of finding a person who can actually meet that need. Managing food allergies creates a scarcity mindset, or a way of thinking that leads us to believe that we have to take what we can get, whatever's out there. Our choices are limited. We have to make the most of what we've got. Unfortunately, this is sometimes true. But it isn't always true. So if we approach everything in this way, we're likely to miss an opportunity or something that might be a better fit or something that we never thought we could have that's actually available to us or that we can create ourselves. I have found that this is absolutely true about seeing a therapist for food allergy anxiety and trauma. It doesn't have to be limited to what you might do. I'm be like, or what you'd expect in a therapist's office. A lot of people assume there aren't people out there who can help them because nobody understands, and I understand that that's rooted in genuine experiences of having many people not understand. Unfortunately, many people that I've worked with have actually had bad experiences with therapists. with a therapist who using traditional therapy methods that aren't quite the right fit for this type of a problem, have tried to challenge or talk people out of worries that are actually a genuine safety concern and not a thinking error or a cognitive pattern that needs to be changed. but overall, I have found that most people's expectations of therapy in general are way off. They think that you share all your problems with the therapist who gives you some great advice and it helps you solve your problems. Research shows that the biggest factor in the power of therapy to help you heal is the therapeutic relationship you develop with your therapist. Your trust and safety in the space you create together. So what really is most important is actually for you to have someone you feel comfortable with and who creates a sense of safety around discussing your difficult stuff. The rest can be learned by a therapist who truly listens and is catering their approach to you and your needs. It's not all or nothing in terms of your food allergies, the idea of therapy, and whether or not a therapist can help you. So what I mean by this is people coming into my office with stress and anxiety around their food allergies usually address it one of two ways. They think the only problem is their food allergies, Or they don't think that their food allergies are a problem, it's just the other things that they need to work on. In both cases, what's usually true is that the bad experience and anxiety from the food allergies are part of a bigger problem. They might be the root of a bigger problem, having created anxiety and nervous system dysregulation, and then that creates a pattern of unhelpful coping skill patterns that the person has developed. So how do you know if it's time to give it a try and seek out some help from a therapist? If you are living in persistent fear about having an allergic reaction, if you constantly worry about your safety, or your child's safety, or your child is constantly worried about their own safety, even in situations that are generally low risk, therapy can help you reduce that anxiety. If you're having difficulty managing your emotions related to food allergies, if feelings of fear, guilt, frustration about food allergies feel overwhelming or uncontrollable, then therapy can give you tools to process and regulate your emotions. If you are avoiding social situations and isolating yourself, if you don't go to gatherings, restaurants, or other events due only to fear of exposure to allergens, therapy can help build confidence and coping skills. If you're struggling with school, or caregiver communication, struggling with communication with your employer about what your needs are. If advocating for yourself or for your child's food allergies in any way in any environment causes significant stress or conflict for you, then you can work with a therapist to learn more effective ways to communicate and set boundaries and practice those in a safe setting so that you can beef up that skill. If you are a food allergy parent, And you feel an overwhelming sense of guilt or blame yourself for the child's food allergies then therapy can help you process these feelings to learn some self compassion and to shift to a healthier mindset. If you experience physical symptoms of anxiety, like stomach aches, headaches, a racing heart when you're thinking about food allergies, or the chance that you might be having a reaction, panic attacks, breathing difficulties, if you live in that confusing space all the time of, is this anxiety or an allergic reaction, then your nervous system is probably imbalanced and dysregulated, and therapy can help you to retrain your nervous system to not be so reactive. If you find yourself repeatedly checking labels, sanitizing, washing your hands, if you are more than necessary questioning others about, Food safety if you find that it's problematic for you in your life, then therapy can help you find a balance between caution and Calm. If you have trouble falling asleep, if you are up late at night worrying about food allergies, if you're having nightmares about reactions or you wake up due to worry and you can't fall asleep, you lay there awake during the night, therapy can give you tools for managing nighttime anxiety. If you find yourself replaying traumatic events. Past allergic reactions replay in your mind and lead to flashbacks or heightened stress. If a similar situation to a past experience triggers a memory or visual of the experience or triggers a physiological response in your body, even if you're not thinking about it or seeing it in your mind, then therapy can help you release that trauma from the body and process what happened to you. And just in general, in any way, if you find that If your food allergies are impacting the quality of your life in a way that you do not want them to be, you have the right to find help and support. If it's interfering with your ability to enjoy life, to connect with others, to take care of yourself, to participate in things that you'd like to be involved with, to do things that you want to experience, therapy is a really great safe place to find and create a path that is right for you, that balances what you need to create safety in your life. with what you want to achieve and accomplish and experience in your life. Seeking therapy for your food allergy, anxiety, or trauma is a proactive step towards managing your fears, improving your well being, fostering a safer and more confident approach to life with food allergies. It isn't a question of whether you need a therapist, but a question of whether you could benefit from one. Would it be helpful for you? Would it potentially? Make your life better. Even if you can manage alone, you might be able to be more at ease, more engaged, more available to the people and in the relationships in your life are more present with the people you love. If you had some support from someone who knows how to help people achieve that. So if you think you could benefit from working with a therapist,, I want to acknowledge to you that reaching out for therapy is a really big step. It is not easy for us to ask for help, especially when anxiety makes you second guess yourself and where we live in a society that kind of challenges and questions us at every turn about our allergies and if we really need this and if that's really a risk and are we overreacting and in a society that isn't always the most positive about people seeking help, we applaud resilience and independence and achievement. And even though there's more talk about mental health and wellness these days, there still can often be a cloud of judgment or shame or guilt about needing therapy about, do I have a mental illness about taking the time and the money away from all of our other obligations to seek out therapy. So a lot of people who are in this boat talk themselves out of it. They sit around wondering things like, Do I really need it? Is my anxiety that bad? Will the therapist even understand what I'm going through? Or will they just question it like everybody else does? So if you're listening to me talk about this and you're having those doubts, please know that they're normal. Especially if you have allergies or if you're managing a child's allergies and you're already used to just taking care of everything else on your own. But therapy isn't just for when things are unbearable, it is also for learning new skills, processing past experience, creating more ease in your life, and being healthier. Many people, even if they decide to reach out, then they get overwhelmed with knowing where to start or how do I look for a therapist. My first suggestion is to ask your allergist if they know any local therapists who specialize in working with people with food allergies. If there are, your allergist is probably already familiar with them and their work might be able to tell you a little bit about them and how to reach them. And that's a great prescreening process for you. Similarly, if you have a local food allergy group, we have one here in Buffalo. We have a Facebook group. It's super easy to reach out to the people in the group and ask Who people have worked with, who do they see? For most people, a personal recommendation is really first and foremost. But if you can't get one, probably the next important factor is finding someone who can accept your health insurance to cover your sessions. So the next step would be to call your insurance company's customer service line or log into your online portal for your health insurance program and do a provider search. There are usually options you can select, like in person or telehealth, what their specialties are, what ages. populations they work with, whether they're accepting new clients and specifics about them, like their degree or their type of license that they have. So this is another point where a lot of people get really confused and overwhelmed. I don't want to lose you here. So, there are so many different types of therapy degrees and licenses here in the U. S. and I don't even know and can't comment about those in other countries. But I'm going to try my best to help you make sense of all those letters after people's names and narrow down what might be the best fit for you and what you're looking for. Each specific credential represents a different type of training, education, and approach to therapy. So I'm going to break it down for you and talk about what each of these professionals can bring to the therapy room. The first broader category are master's level clinicians. So anyone who is. licensed as some type of a therapist or a counselor will have at least a master's degree beyond their undergraduate degree in counseling, social work, or marriage and family therapy. There are a handful of different licensed professional counselors. The letters that follow their names could be LPC, LPCC, LMHC, or LCPC. All of those people will have a master's degree in a field related to counseling. Their training focus is on general mental health counseling, general therapy techniques, and sometimes specific specialties like trauma or anxiety or family systems. generally speaking, they will focus on practical tools and coping skills to help you with whatever the concern is. A lot of times, licensed professional counselors will focus on, more of a short term or solution focused therapy to address a problem that's at hand. The next category within the master's level practitioners are licensed clinical social workers, LCSW. Sometimes it's LICSW, LMSW, LSCSW, These providers all have a master's in social work, so their training focus is on mental health therapy with a strong emphasis on systems, social justice, advocacy, their training focus is Is more on mental health therapy often with a strong emphasis on systems, social justice advocacy, the strengths of working with a licensed clinical social worker is that they are able more likely to be trained in therapy techniques and also social and environmental factors that are affecting mental health, kind of a bigger picture, zoom out kind of perspective. They will often have more experience and training and crisis intervention and in trauma informed approaches. Next is a marriage and family therapist, which might have the title LMFT or LCMFT. These are people who have a master's in marriage and family therapy. So of course, their training focuses in relationships. family systems, communication patterns. You can also find them in private practices, family therapy clinics, sometimes schools, and often in community mental health. And of course, they specialize in how relationships impact mental health and in working with couples, families, or individuals who are exploring relationship dynamics. So these providers might often focus more on attachment, on conflict resolution, and on communication skills. The next category of education is a doctoral level clinician. So some people go beyond a master's degree to earn a doctorate in psychology. That's what my degree is. We receive additional years of training and assessment diagnosis and research. There's various different types of psychologists, clinical, counseling psychologists, but if their title is psychologist and they have a Ph. D. after their name, that means that they earned, a doctorate in a program that required them to write a dissertation, which is when you write basically a book and you do your own research. Research project, you pick a topic and you deep dive into it and generate your own research on that topic. You might also see side or PSYD after a psychologist name. They're also doctoral level. The same length of training in terms of their education. It's not always the case, but often the side programs don't require someone to write a dissertation. Doctoral level. Psychologists have more training and experience and diagnosing mental health conditions more comprehensively. They might also be able to offer more testing. And certain types of testing that other providers can't give. Doctoral level clinicians can sometimes be a better fit for more complex diagnoses, for more significant problems, or complex comorbid disorders. And in some cases, they're a better fit for deeper therapeutic work. So those are the psychologists who people often confuse with the term psychiatrist. Psychiatrists are medical professionals who can also provide therapy or prescribed medication. So, If you are seeing a doctor who prescribes medication, they are likely a psychiatrist with an MD, a medical doctor, or a DO, a doctor of osteopathy after their name. Their training focuses in the diagnosis and treatment of health conditions with a concentration in psychopharmacology or the medications that treat mental health conditions. Some provide therapy, but most are focused on medication management. Other people who might also be doing that are psychiatric nurse practitioners or NPs and they have an advanced practice nursing degree with a specialization in psychiatry and in medication management. So again, they often focus on prescribing medication. I always recommend that if you're interested in medication that you do that in combination with ongoing therapy with a therapist who can do deeper work with you as well. So what type of therapist is right for you? Sometimes you can narrow down what you're looking for in your search so you don't get overwhelmed with all those titles. Ultimately, remember, credentials are important, but the most important thing is the connection that you feel with your therapist. No matter what their degree is, a therapist should make you feel heard, respected, and safe. So once you have an idea what type of providers you're going to include in your search, you can start narrowing down that list you got from your health insurance, and you can find a therapist that would be right for you. When you're looking, it's important to find someone who understands that anxiety isn't just about your thoughts. It's very deeply connected to your body and your nervous system, as I emphasize constantly here on the podcast. Food allergy anxiety is different from other types of anxiety, because oftentimes when people are anxious about something, it is an imagined, or an exaggerated or a very, very unlikely fear or a worst case scenario. When we're dealing with food allergy anxiety, number one, the danger is real. Your brain and your body aren't overreacting, they're trying to keep you alive, and the steps that you need to take and be careful of are things that you actually have to do to stay safe. And when allergies are involved, the nervous system has been impacted in a way that some other people haven't And the constant stress of scanning for allergies, your nervous system is much more likely to be stuck in a state of hypervigilance and need more than just coping skills and thinking pattern shifts in order to help you reduce the anxiety. So because of all this, it's really helpful to look for a therapist who specializes in anxiety disorders so they understand how anxiety works at the physiological level and how to address that. A therapist who specializes in trauma or PTSD, because even if you don't think of your experiences as trauma, food allergy related events can be traumatic and the nervous system experiences them that way. Particularly helpful is a therapist who specializes in somatic or nervous system based approaches, like those I talk about here on the show. If providers are telling you that they offer things like polyvagal approaches. Polyvagal theory is how we understand the role of the vagus nerve and how it regulates the nervous system and triggers and regulates the anxiety response. EMDR, many people have heard of. That's eye movement desensitization and reprocessing. This is something that can help reprocess traumatic memories. I'm not saying that it's for everyone, and everyone with food allergy anxiety should use EMDR, but it can be a good tool, and it's an indication that the provider understands more than the average person about how your nervous system works. Somatic experiencing, which are strategies to help release stored fear, tension, and trauma from the body physically. And mindfulness based approaches, which help you tune into your body and emotions in a safe way. They connect you more closely to your body and the signs and the responses is giving you. So you've got your list, you've kind of considered those different fields and what you're looking for and which type of practitioner and license will be the right fit for you. Now you can start finding their websites and looking for this type of terminology in their descriptions of the type of work that they do. Hopefully some people might be jumping out at you that you think would be a good fit. So then you start calling, you see who's taking new clients, and you hopefully make an appointment with someone. Once you make an appointment, and now here you are sitting in someone's office, you'll, want to look for whether they understand anxiety and the nervous system. A good therapist for this type of problem won't just tell you to challenge your thoughts or think positively or respond with optimistic responses when you talk about how difficult things are for you. Cognitive work, which addresses your thinking, is valuable, but it's not enough when your nervous system is stuck in survival mode. So listen for things like, do they talk about anxiety as something that lives in the body, not just the mind? Do they address the physical responses in your body, not just ask about your thoughts? Do they acknowledge how your past experiences, like your allergic reactions, shape current fear responses? And do they offer tools to regulate your nervous system? Are they experienced in teaching and leading you in breath work and grounding and body based techniques? If the therapist minimizes the severity of your anxiety, If they question the steps necessary to manage your allergies safely, if they suggest that you are overreacting in direct or even in polite and gentle terms, that's a red flag. Especially as you're building a relationship, your new therapist should be invested in making you feel heard and validated, developing trust with you, making you feel safe. Gathering all the information that they need to support you and understanding where you're at so that they can help you address your anxiety. And finally, recognizing that you know more than they do about your allergies. Even if it's someone who has a lot of experience, whether it's professionally or personally, they should acknowledge and recognize that you are the expert on what you have experienced and what's true for your body. do they listen to you and validate your experience? Therapy isn't just about strategies, it's about feeling heard and understood and connecting with the person that you're in the room with. So pay attention right from the beginning to whether they listen to you without interrupting or rushing to offer you advice. Do they seem curious and open? Do they ask questions to clarify and reflect it back to you to confirm that they understood you correctly? Or do they just make assumptions about your experience? Ultimately, you should leave feeling heard, not dismissed. Pay attention to how you feel in the room or on the screen with this person. Your body's response really matters. Do your best during these early sessions, during the session and then after the session to check in with yourself and notice. Do I feel even slightly more at ease when I'm with this person or after I speak with them? Do I feel safe enough to share openly with them when I'm talking to them? Do I notice myself shutting down or feeling more anxious than when I started? It's really normal to feel vulnerable when you go to therapy, but you should never feel judged, dismissed, pressured. So you can briefly scan your body from the top to the bottom for indicators of either discomfort and guardedness or openness and ease. Do you have tension in your head and your neck? Is your jaw clenched? Are your eyes kind of squinted and overly focused? What's your posture like? Are you leaning in? Are you open? Or are you pulling away and closed off? What's your heart rate like? Does it pick up or does it settle in? Same with your breathing. Do you feel discomfort in your stomach or do you feel relaxed? Is your energy fidgety or is it calm? Do you feel exhausted after a session or do you feel energized and motivated? Pay close attention to those things. Your body will give you the clues. Even if you feel indecisive in your mind, but remember that therapy brings up discomfort because we're talking about our most Uncomfortable and scary things. So that's not always a bad thing. Growth can often feel uncomfortable. It's tough to tell the difference between the discomfort of doing hard emotional work and the vulnerability of opening up to a new therapist and a new person, and the feeling that the therapist isn't right for you. So, some things that you can ask yourself to help you distinguish are number one, is the discomfort because I'm talking about something vulnerable. If it's the words that you're saying that are making you feel vulnerable, if it's remembering and explaining the things that have happened to you, then that might be the normal part of therapy and vulnerability of talking about hard things, but a good therapist will patiently help you work through it. They will also recognize those symptoms, even if you're not able to express it, and they will work around it and acknowledge that in the pace of the conversation. Or is your gut telling me that this person isn't a good fit? If you feel dismissed and misunderstood, like you're not truly being listened to, if they seem judgmental, they don't respect your lived experience. if the feeling of resistance in you feels like it's directed at the person that you're interacting with and not just the general idea of therapy or the room that you're going to sit in or sitting down to the computer for your appointment, if it feels more specific about the person. You don't have to continue. Sometimes people hesitate to switch therapists because they feel guilty. They don't want to start over, but therapy is an investment in your wellbeing. So if someone isn't the right fit for you, it's okay to keep looking, keep asking questions and keep working until you find the right person for your support system. Ultimately finding the right therapist is a process that can be difficult. It's okay if it takes time, you don't have to commit to the first therapist you meet and you don't have to walk away just because it feels uncomfortable at first. At the end of the day, the goal of therapy isn't just to fix your anxiety, it's to help you feel and be safer in your body and in your life. It's about learning how to live with your food allergies, or your child's food allergies, in a way that doesn't take over your world. So with the right therapist, you don't have to do that alone. So that's a lot of information I've thrown at you today, but I hope it's helpful in navigating what can be a really difficult process. I know a lot of people have this idea, I could find a therapist, but they just don't exist. Don't know where to start and so they don't put it on the list or they don't get it done. I hope this is enough to help you navigate that if you think it's something that's right for you. So the three things that you can do to take action on what I've shared with you today. Number one, if you don't have a therapist and you think you could benefit from working with one, just ask your allergist, ask your local allergy support group, or get a list of providers from your insurance company. And then you can start browsing their websites or call and have a chat with them. Chances are you feel like it'll be stressful, but you'll actually have the opposite experience and feel relief and excitement at the possibility of creating a space that's just for your own thoughts, feelings, worries, and stressors. If you'd like some support remembering and incorporating what I shared with you today into your search, Thank you Go to my website or click the link in the show notes. I've created a free printable list of questions that you can ask potential new therapists to help find the right therapist for you. Number two, if you already have a therapist that you're working with that you really like, and you think your relationship could be even better if they understood some of what we talk about here on Don't Feed the Fear, I encourage you to have an open conversation with them. Clients are often afraid to be honest with us about what isn't working or what they want to do differently, or what could help them better. Good therapists will be open to that feedback. And we want to know, because we want to do the best work with you. And the better we understand your needs, the better we can do that. So please share your thoughts, share articles or resources you love with your therapist. I do offer consultation services. So if you have a great therapist, The relationship is right for you, but you do feel like they could use some more skills and understanding specific to the food allergy piece. Then I'm available to talk with you And your therapist about some of the nuances of therapy for food, allergy, anxiety, that can help you get the most out of your time and your money that you're investing with your therapist. And number three, if the approaches that I talk about here in my podcast resonate with you, and you want me on your team, you can consider joining me for my upcoming small group for food allergy, adults, and parents. This is a six week course. It will touch on the most important things that I want you to know for managing food allergy, stress, and anxiety in a healthier way. I will teach you the basics that I take my clients through about learning about your nervous system, how to achieve better regulation. What's the specific effect of allergies on that and how it perpetuates itself, how to stop the cycle to better understand how the trauma of your allergy experiences live in your body and learning ways to release it. So you can also find the link to this online course in the show notes or by going to my website, thefoodallergypsychologist. com And under resources, you will find allergy empowerment group. You'll find more details about the group there, and I would love it. If you'd reach out to me with any other questions you might have about the group or working with me in any way, shape, or form, if reaching out for therapy seems like the right choice for you, I really hope all of the details in this episode will help to make it easier for you to find someone. Thanks so much for listening.

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the content of this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only, and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have any questions about your own medical experience or mental health needs, please consult a professional. I'm Dr. Amanda White house. Thanks for joining me. And until we chat again, remember don't feed the fear.