About Me
I am a therapist (LSW) at the Main Line Center for Eating Disorders, committed to compassionate, evidence-based care for families and individuals navigating eating disorders and body image challenges, particularly those with experiences of queerness, transness, and/or chronic illness.
I'm Sarah Rose Smiley, M.S.c., M.S.S. (she/they). I am a therapist and artist who specializes in eating disorder recovery and body image healing. Drawing from my own lived experience, my work centers queer, trans, chronically ill and disabled clients through trauma-informed, compassionate, and creative approaches.
I firmly believe that healing our relationships with food and our body is inseperable from disconnecting from systems of diet culture and fatphobia, white supremacy, and ableism. I center Health at Every Size (HAES) and fat liberation. In my practice, I invite clients to reconnect with their bodies, hunger, creativity, and sense of joy through a variety of modalities including Family Based Treatment, person centered therapy, and art-making.
Outside of my clinical practice, you can find me making art, reading on a cozy couch, feeding the stray cats in my neighborhood, or sharing a meal with loved ones.
Under LCSW Supervision with Amy Mack, LCSW
My Philosophy
Homebody is a therapeutic philosophy grounded in the belief that a different relationship with the body is possible.
When you've lived with an eating disorder, finding home within your body can often feel out of reach. If you're also navigating the world as a chronically ill/disabled person, queer person, trans person, and/or a person of color, these challenges are magnified and interconnected. I offer a supportive, affirming space to explore those challenges and reconnect with yourself.
My approach is compassionate, trauma-informed, and creative. I integrate Family Based Treatment (FBT) and person-centered therapy with art-based and relational practices to help clients explore emotion, build insight, and reconnect with their bodies in safe and meaningful ways.
I work with families with children struggling with eating disorders, and individuals of any age.
Core Therapeutic Values
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Our relationship to our bodies is informed by the world around us.
Recognizing that racism, sexism, queerphobia, transphobia, fatphobia, classism, and ableism inform our experience in our bodies, and that healing our relationship with our bodies must incorporate this understanding.
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We live in a toxic culture that disconnects us from our bodies.
Healing our relationship to food and our bodies must include a sharp critique of the diet culture and harmful beauty standards we are fed from birth. I operate from a weight neutral, anti diet, fat liberation perspective.
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Respect and care for your unique body, at every size.
Even if we may not love our bodies, we advocate for body acceptance and respect, recognizing that all bodies are worthy of care regardless of size, shape, or ability.
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Reliable guidance, rooted in science.
Recommendations and strategies are grounded in the latest scientific research and best practices in nutrition and health. I am committed to continuous learning to provide you with the most effective, ethical, and up-to-date care, while also recognizing that much of the research on eating disorders has focused on a particular demographic (white, middle class, thin, cisgender, heterosexual straight women.)
