Season 2, Episode 5: Overcoming an Eating Disorder – Sabine Tendas
This episode discusses eating disorders, cultural stoicism, vulnerability, depression, and body image.
Join us for an inspiring and deeply personal conversation with Dance Movement Psychotherapist and Transactional Analyst Sabine Tendas as she shares her transformative journey from struggling with an eating disorder in a culture that valued toughness to becoming a therapist who heals through the power of movement and embodied expression. This honest discussion explores how vulnerability and self-compassion can transform our relationship with our bodies, and why integrating movement into therapy offers profound possibilities.
In this compelling episode, Sabine openly shares:
- Growing up in Sardinia in a culture that encouraged stoicism and toughness
- Struggling with an eating disorder as a young woman
- The shame and isolation of her eating disorder
- Seeking therapy and experiencing the power of being supported and held
- Learning to embrace vulnerability through her therapeutic relationship
- The inspiration to train as a psychotherapist herself
- Being a keen dancer throughout her life
- Experiencing the healing power of movement during a period of depression
- The realisation that dance could be integrated into therapeutic practice
- Training internationally in Dance Movement Therapy
- Her journey from Sardinia through Spain and Brazil to the UK
- Developing a unique approach combining talking therapy with movement and bodywork
- Working with clients to heal distress through physical expression
- Using embodied therapy to access what words alone cannot reach
- Transforming her own pain into compassionate therapeutic practice
This essential conversation offers invaluable insights for anyone struggling with eating disorders, body image issues, depression, or interested in somatic and movement-based approaches to healing.
Key Topics Discussed:
- Cultural messages about stoicism, toughness and emotional expression
- Eating disorders as a response to emotional pain
- The mind-body connection and embodied trauma
- The healing power of being held and supported in therapy
- Learning vulnerability and self-compassion
- Depression and finding solace through movement
- Dance and creative expression as therapeutic tools
- Somatic therapy and body-centred approaches
- Training in Dance Movement Therapy internationally
- Integrating multiple therapeutic modalities
- Accessing emotions through the body
- Healing distress through physical expression
- Using lived experience to support clients authentically
- The transformative power of movement and embodiment
Learn more about Sabine Tendas.
