WENDY JENSEN
PROFESSIONAL EXPERTISE
I have 20 years of clinical work with women’s mental health, with the last 15 of those years focused on body image, eating disorders, anxiety, and grief.
PROFESSION
Therapist (LCSW)
COMPANY
Inside Wellness, Owner & Therapist. I am a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist & Supervisor through the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals (ieadp). I am a Certified Daring Way Facilitator (Brene Brown curriculums).
INSTAGRAM HANDLE
Currently: @insidewellness. Later this year: @befriend_your_body
PREFERRED HASHTAGS
#bodyliberation #bodygrief #befriendyourbody #selfcompassion #insidewellness
WELLNESS Q&A
WHAT IS THE GREATEST CHALLENGE OF YOUR PROFESSION?
Shifting the cultural narrative about the unrelenting and unrealistic beauty standards that women face. Helping women to cope with the narratives others hold on this front, even when they have worked on their own body acceptance.
WHY DO YOU BELIEVE WHAT YOU DO HAS A POSITIVE IMPACT ON YOUNG WOMEN NAVIGATING LIFE AFTER BREAST CANCER?
Research shows that children as young as 4-5 have exposure and beliefs connected to beauty standards. The beliefs and narratives that women hold about their bodies and sexuality can be oppressive and confining in the most innocuous circumstances. So, when young women are faced with the shock, grief, anxiety, and loss that surface with a breast cancer diagnosis, and subsequent body changes, it can bring up deep-seated negative beliefs about themselves and their changing bodies. Understanding the context of our emotional experiences and these triggers are paramount to making peace with our reality and our new story. Grief and loss with any major health diagnosis is heavy, but body grief is often left unaddressed. I want to help to unpack those elements and provide strategies to help women navigate body image grief with honesty, courage, and self-compassion.
WHAT IS THE MOST DIFFICULT DECISION YOU’VE HAD TO MAKE TO PURSUE YOUR DESTINY?
Leaving a job I loved to open my own business & spend more time pursuing my passions.
LIST OF TOP RECOMMENDED RESOURCES/BOOKS FOR OUR COMMUNITY
The Body Is Not An Apology -Sonya Renee Taylor
Self Compassion by Kristin Neff
WHAT IS THE BEST PIECE OF ADVICE THAT YOU EVER RECEIVED?
Fail fast, fail often, fail JOYFULLY — David Burns at a conference for therapists.
WHAT IS THE SECRET TO MAINTAINING A POSITIVE OUTLOOK?
Recognizing that two opposing truths can co-exist at the same time in the same situation, that good days can have hard moments, and that hard days can have good moments. That you can feel heartbroken and grateful, you can experience hurt and healing.
IF YOU DIDN’T HAVE TO WORK ANYMORE, WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH YOUR DAYS?
Honestly, I’d love to spend my time doing what I do now but on a larger scale: creating body image retreats for women to increase their sense of community, helping them to learn how to be truly connected to themselves, and their bodies from a place of deep self-compassion. In my free time, I’d also love to travel the globe and spend more time water skiing and wake surfing at Lake Powell. :-)