#212: How Your Attachment Style Impacts Your Relationship with Food with Therapists Kate Garland and Vanessa Scaringi
How do our attachment styles shape our relationship with food, body image, and disordered eating?
In this episode, I’m joined by therapists Vanessa and Kate to explore the powerful connection between attachment theory and eating behaviors—why food can feel like safety, control, or comfort, and how early relationships influence the way we cope today.
If you’ve ever wondered why your patterns with food feel so hard to change, this conversation will help you understand them with more clarity and compassion.
In this episode, we cover:
*What attachment theory is and the four main patterns: secure, anxious, avoidant, and disorganized
*How attachment patterns are linked to disordered eating and body image struggles
*Looking as food behaviors through the lens of seeking safety and regulation
*The difference between comfort-seeking and numbing (and why both can show up in any eating pattern)
*How relationships and family dynamics can trigger changes in eating behaviors
*The impact of diet culture, GLP-1 medications, and social media on body image and food choices
*Why “rupture and repair” is essential for healing your relationship with food and your body
*Practical ways to build a more secure, compassionate relationship with eating
Find Kate & Vanessa on Instagram: instagram.com/calmcounselingatx/
Vanessa Scaringi is a licensed psychologist based in Austin, Texas, working with adolescents, young adults, and adults. Through individual, group, and family therapy, she helps clients build self-awareness and recognize patterns that may be getting in the way of the life they want. Her work centers on creating a safe, collaborative space to explore difficult experiences, while integrating insight-oriented and evidence-based approaches to support meaningful, lasting change.
Kathryn Garland is a licensed clinical social worker, supervisor, and certified eating disorder specialist. Her approach is collaborative and grounded in curiosity and trust, integrating psychoanalytic, relational, and mindfulness-based frameworks. She works with adolescents, adults, and couples navigating anxiety, depression, trauma, identity, disordered eating, body image concerns, and chronic illness. Her experience spans foster care, community mental health, college counseling, and eating disorder treatment, including leading an adolescent intensive outpatient program. Her work focuses on helping clients move through barriers, navigate transitions, and create meaningful, lasting change.
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Apply for Abbie’s Group Membership:
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Social media:
Find the show on Instagram: @fullplate.podcast
Find Abbie on Instagram: @abbieattwoodwellness
Enjoying this podcast? Please support the show on Substack for bonus episodes, community engagement, and access to "Ask Abbie" at abbieattwoodwellness.substack.com/subscribe
Group program:
Looking for more support and concrete steps to take to heal your relationship with food and your body? Apply for Abbie's next 10-week group program: https://www.abbieattwoodwellness.com/group-coaching
Already been at this anti-diet culture thing for a while, but want community and continued learning? Apply for Abbie's monthly membership, which meets every other week: https://www.abbieattwoodwellness.com/circle-monthly-group
Social media:
Find the show on Instagram: @fullplate.podcast
Find Abbie on Instagram: @abbieattwoodwellness
Podcast Cover Photography by Anya McInroy
Podcast Administrative Support by Alexis Glaubach
Podcast Editing by Brian Walters
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