Today we’d like to introduce you to Niki DuBois.
Hi Niki, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, board approved supervisor, and a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist. I decided to pursue a career in psychotherapy due to my own journey and healing process with substance use and an eating disorder. I remember when I was struggling and having a particularly hard day, I was feeling very hopeless, I made a commitment to myself that if/when I am able to recover from my eating disorder and maintain sobriety that I would make it my life’s mission to help others do the same. I absolutely love my job, it is such an honor to walk along side my clients as they work towards defining what recovery will look like for them and then working towards that! I also run three support groups to help create a community for those that are seeking recovery. I firmly believe that recovery does not happen alone, we need other people.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The path has not been an easy path, I first had to recover from my eating disorder before I could pursue my career in the eating disorder field. Actively choosing to work against what your eating disorder might be telling you is no small feat! In today’s culture of thinness at the cost of health, it is a radical act to stop pursuing weight loss and to work on accepting your body as it is. I would be remiss not to add that accepting my body has been made easier from the privilege I have of being in a thinner body, society is not actively trying to get rid of my body type and that is a privilege that I own.
As a business owner, there was the self-doubt that maybe I would not be able to make it on my own. I was nervous that I would not have a full practice and would not be able to sustain my business. My partner, Matty, encouraged me to take the leap into private practice and my family has been supporting me and rooting for me along the way.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Umbrella Psychotherapy?
I am a psychotherapist that specializes in treating eating disorders and substance use disorders. I work with teens, adults, and families. I also run an eating disorder skills group for teens and two eating disorder groups for adults, and I hope to run a few more in the future! Creating a community was integral in my recovery and I am proud and honored that I am able to help create community. Something that sets me apart is that I am vocal about my recovery. I don’t share specifics with clients but they know that I have a lived experience of substance use disorder and eating disorder.
I want your readers to know that regardless of whether they have an official diagnosis or not, they deserve support in changing their relationship with food and their body.
I am really proud of the work I have done with my clients and I really love that some of my teens in my skills group have been with me for a little over two years and they actually want to come and be in the group. 🙂 Recovery is hard but it never has to be lonely or boring.
Something else that I do that sets me apart, I take therapy outside of the therapy room. I have gone to restaurants with clients as they challenge themselves to eat a fear food, I offer to accompany clients to buy new clothes if their bodies change along the recovery process and I offer to go to the grocery store with clients. The grocery store can be challenging for clients with an eating disorder.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I really like listening to the podcast Science Vs.. It is not specific to substance use and eating disorders but they cover a lot of topics in the “wellness” space that my clients struggle with like whether seed oils and processed foods are bad and they share the science on whether various diets are meeting the claims that they say they are like the ketogenic and intermittent fasting.
Maintenance Phase, Food Psych, What the Actual Fork are also helpful podcasts for eating disorder education.
Pricing:
- My in-person adult group costs $50 per session
- My in-person teen skills group costs $60 per session
- My virtual adult group costs $50 for the entire month!
- My individual fee is $175 for 50 min
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.umbrellapsychotherapy.com
- Instagram: @umbrellapsychotherapy
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/nicoleduboistexas
