Holding the Mirror
Body Compassion Practices for Therapists Working with Body Image Distress
- Speaker:
- Kanjana Hartshorne, LCSW, C-IAYT, CCFP, Reiki Master
- Duration:
- 1 Hour 06 Minutes
- Format:
- Audio and Video
- Copyright:
-
Sep 18, 2026
- Product Code:
- POS151024
- Media Type:
- Digital Seminar
Description
When you’re working with clients’ body image issues, your own are bound to come up.
And – when not dealt with – they can exert a negative influence on treatment, whether through avoidance, over-identification and blurred boundaries, rescue urgency, premature reassurance, silence, or overcorrection.
In this session, body compassion expert Kanjana Hartshorne, LCSW, C-IAYT, CCFT will give you a framework for noticing and tending your own body image issues so that they do not become your clients’ burden. You’ll learn:
Strategies for examining your body image history and internalized cultural messages
A body compassion reflection tool that helps you figure out what’s yours, what’s your client’s, and what belongs to the larger culture
Techniques for compassionate accountability, ethical presence, and weight-inclusive care
Credit
Speaker
Kanjana Hartshorne, LCSW, C-IAYT, CCFP, Reiki Master Related seminars and products
Healing Hearts Wellness
Kanjana Hartshorne, LCSW, C-IAYT, CCFP, Reiki Master, is a licensed clinical social worker, certified yoga therapist, and certified compassion fatigue professional. She is the owner of Healing Hearts Wellness, a group practice specializing in holistic, somatic, and relational approaches to mental health care. Her work focuses on supporting individuals, couples, and polycules navigating challenges in their relationship with their bodies, including chronic illness, medical trauma, and prolonged diagnostic uncertainty, with particular attention to shame, grief, and the psychological impact of systemic invalidation.
Kanjana brings a nuanced, ethically grounded perspective informed by both clinical practice and lived experience. She regularly provides clinical supervision, continuing education trainings, creation and research on yoga for mental health programs, and retreats for healthcare professionals. She leads the annual Body Compassion Project CE Retreat, a transformative learning experience for therapists, and speaks nationally on the ethical integration of ancestral and spiritual practices into clinical work, bridging research-informed approaches with what she describes as a blend of science and soul.
Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Kanjana Hartshorne has an employment relationship with Healing Hearts Wellness, LLC. and Wanderhome Retreats. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Kanjana Hartshorne is a member of the Pennsylvania Society for Clinical Social Work and the National Association of Social Workers.
Additional Info
Access for Self-Study (Non-Interactive)Access never expires for this product.
For a more detailed outline that includes times or durations of time, if needed, please contact cepesi@pesi.com.
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Additional CE Info
For a more detailed outline that includes times or durations of time, if needed, please contact cepesi@pesi.com.
Objectives
- Identify at least three ways therapist body image material may affect clinical presence to impact treatment.
- Differentiate between therapist material, client experience, and broader cultural or systemic influences in body image work.
- Utilize a reflection tool to support therapist self-awareness, body compassion, and ethical clinical presence.
Outline
Therapist Body Image
- Why it’s important in treatment
- Body image history and internalized cultural messages
- Diet culture, weight stigma, racism, ableism, gendered body expectations
- Impacts: avoidance, over-identification, blurred boundaries
- Problematic behaviors: rescue, reassurance, silence, overcorrection
Clinical Tools for Therapist Body Image
- Strategies to notice therapist body image issues
- Body compassion reflection tool to differentiate therapist material, client experience, and systemic influences
- Techniques: grounding, pausing before reassurance, naming systemic influences
- Maintain client autonomy and dignity
- When to seek supervision and consultation
- Limitations of the research and potential risks
Target Audience
- Counselors
- Social Workers
- Physicians
- Physician Assistants
- Nurses
- Psychologists
- Psychiatrists
- Marriage and Family Therapists
- Other Mental Health Professionals
Reviews
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