What Does it Mean to Be HAES-Aligned in Eating Disorder Therapy?
At Body Liberation Collective, being Health at Every Size (HAES)-aligned shapes everything we do. Curious about what this means? Let’s explore it together.
We’ve Been Sold a Lie About Weight Loss
So many of us have been taught that happiness lives on the other side of weight loss. That smaller bodies mean better health, higher self-worth, and more joy. This message has been repeated by doctors, media, and culture for decades—it makes sense if part of you still believes it.
But research (and lived experience) tell us a different story: weight loss isn’t a reliable or sustainable path to well-being. Diets may produce short-term change, but most people regain the weight (and often more). And while cycling through diets, people are left with shame, self-blame, and disconnection from their bodies.
What HAES Really Means in Therapy
Being HAES-aligned means therapy honors your body—not your body’s measurements. Instead of asking, “How can my body change?” we ask, “What does healing feel like for me?”
Wellness here isn’t tied to size—it’s rooted in autonomy, self-trust, and liberation. HAES-informed therapy might include:
Gentle check-ins around hunger and fullness, guided by curiosity—not guilt.
Exploring how your body has carried trauma or stress, rather than measuring how it looks.
Using Body Trust practices to reconnect with inner wisdom.
No food policing. No scale-driven rules. No judgment.
Why Traditional Care Can Miss the Mark
In most healthcare settings, weight bias is still deeply embedded. High-weight clients are often misdiagnosed, blamed, or dismissed. This can delay real treatment and reinforce shame.
HAES flips that script. It begins by dismantling weight stigma, creating a space where your body is respected as it is—so the focus can shift to healing, resilience, and well-being.
Does HAES Actually Improve Outcomes?
Yes. Studies show that HAES-aligned care improves:
Body image
Self-esteem
Mental health
Physical health markers (like blood pressure and cholesterol)—all without focusing on weight loss.
That’s because the emphasis is on sustainable, compassionate care—not chasing an arbitrary number on the scale.
Common Questions About HAES
Q: Isn’t HAES just about “doing nothing” for health?
Not at all. HAES encourages care rooted in self-respect, nourishment, and trust—not weight-based prescriptions. It’s about choosing health behaviors that support you, not shrinking your body.
Q: How might HAES look in therapy?
It may look like exploring your relationship with food without judgment, processing how trauma shows up in your body, or learning skills to support self-compassion and resilience.
Q: Does HAES apply to adolescents?
Absolutely. Adolescents are still building their sense of self-worth. HAES helps protect them from internalizing the harmful idea that value is tied to appearance, while fostering autonomy and body trust early on.
HAES-aligned therapy isn’t a quick fix. It’s a liberatory framework—an invitation to step out of diet culture’s grip and into a relationship with your body that is rooted in respect, curiosity, and care.
At Body Liberation Collective, we believe you deserve to show up as you are—and to find healing that doesn’t require you to shrink yourself first.
Interested in seeing if this therapy framework is a good fit for you?
Schedule a complimentary consultation with our HAES-aligned therapists today.