Understanding All Parts of Yourself
Instead of fighting the parts of you that binge, restrict, criticize, or people-please, we get curious about what they’re trying to protect and what they might need.
Maybe you’re here because
You are self aware. But insight alone hasn’t set you free.
You have read the books. You have listened to podcasts. You may have already spent years working on yourself. You understand a lot about who you are and why these patterns happen.
01
You deeply want to take care of yourself in a healthy way, but you still find yourself turning to food and feeling out of control—even when you promised yourself this time would be different.
02
You want peace with food and your body, but part of you is afraid that loosening control will make everything worse. You aren’t yet sure what genuine self-trust would look or feel like.
03
You are capable, thoughtful, and deeply caring toward others. But offering yourself that same care—without first earning it—feels much harder.
04
You say yes before checking in with yourself. You override your needs, accommodate others, and keep going—until food or your body becomes the place where everything you have been holding finally shows up.
Food may be the doorway
But it isn’t the whole story.
Food can become a quick and reliable source of comfort, pleasure, relief, rebellion, or escape.
This can be especially true for those of us who have spent years tuning into others’ needs, managing emotions for others, or automatically doing what we think a “good” partner, mother, daughter, friend, or professional should do.
The goal isn’t to become better at controlling yourself. It’s to build enough trust and inner capacity to choose what is aligned for you—even when that means disappointing someone, tolerating discomfort, or doing something you have never given yourself permission to do before.
The deeper transformation
Imagine a life shaped by self-trust instead of self-abandonment.
The work may begin with eating, but it can open the door to a life shaped by self-trust—one with more peace, pleasure, meaning, and room for your own desires, including the ones you may have buried years ago.
This could be anything, from more quiet mornings petting your dog peacefully, not thinking about your food plan for the day, to creating new adventures and deepening connections with friends and loved ones.
Greater capacity
Create more room for what truly matters—not by learning to carry more, but by releasing what isn’t yours, staying present with discomfort, and choosing the people, responsibilities, and desires that are genuinely aligned.
Connection
Feel deeply connected in your relationships and to yourself.
Purpose
Make choices shaped by what matters to you, not by what you were told you should want or do.
Vitality
Feel energized and nourished so you can experience more creativity, play, and deep appreciation for the life around you.
Freedom
Trust your needs, your boundaries, your body, and your inner knowing — and experience the freedom on the other side of that work.
Deep worthiness
Move beyond trying to think yourself into worthiness. Feel deeply lovable and worthy in your body, so you can naturally extend this love to others.
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
The approach
Evidence-based. Deeply human.
Warm, curious, direct, and collaborative support — with room for complexity, creativity, and the pace your system actually needs.
Prefer email? Write toinfo@drshawnhondorp.com
Making Peace With Food & Your Body
Move away from rigid rules and reconnect with hunger, fullness, satisfaction, and your body’s signals, so food can take up less space in your life.
The Science of Sustainable Change
Drawing on decades of psychological research on motivation and behavior change, we explore what actually supports lasting change, without relying on willpower, shame, or more self-control.
Rebuilding Self-Trust
Learn to respond to yourself with compassion rather than criticism, make choices that reflect what matters to you, and create more room for the life you genuinely want to live.
Work with me 1:1
Deep, lasting change — from the comfort of home.
I offer both therapy and coaching, depending on your goals, location, and the kind of support you’re seeking. You do not need to know which is right for you before reaching out—we can talk through that together during your consultation.
Therapy is available through secure video sessions in Michigan and other PSYPACT-participating states where I’m authorized to practice, with limited in-person availability in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Coaching availability is not limited to PSYPACT states.
- 60-minute intake or initial session
- $250
- 45-minute follow-up session
- $210
- Therapy insurance
- In network with Blue Cross Blue Shield
During your consultation, we can discuss your goals, location, and what kind of 1:1 work would fit you best. You do not need to decide before reaching out.
Prefer email? Write toinfo@drshawnhondorp.com
Your guide
Hi, I’m Shawn.
I’m Dr. Shawn Hondorp, PhD — a clinical health psychologist, speaker, and host of The Innovative Therapist Podcast.
I have more than two decades of experience in the research and clinical worlds of eating and weight concerns. I’m deeply committed to my own growth and to finding innovative, evidence-based ways to help clients move beyond insight and create meaningful change in their everyday lives.
My work focuses on what sits underneath behavior change: self-trust, emotional patterns, people-pleasing, identity, relationships, creativity, and learning to build a life that nourishes rather than depletes you.
I believe you are worthy of exquisite care — not once you have changed enough, achieved enough, or finally gotten it right. Now.
My style is warm, curious, direct, collaborative, and occasionally playful.
Reflections from women I’ve worked with
What if you’re capable of more than you realize?
One of the most meaningful parts of my work is watching women step into versions of themselves they didn’t even know were possible.
Women who once questioned every decision begin to trust themselves. Women who spent years putting everyone else first start honoring their own needs, setting boundaries, and stepping into greater leadership at home and at work.
“I wish I’d learned this sooner.”
I’ve heard versions of that reflection from women of all ages.
And here’s something surprising.
Many women worry that prioritizing themselves will make them selfish or self-indulgent. But often, the opposite happens.
When we learn to fiercely honor and communicate our needs, we have more capacity to show up as generous, loving, and compassionate partners, friends, parents, and leaders.
We stop carrying what was never ours to hold. We give from a place of choice rather than obligation, without continually abandoning ourselves in the process.
And sometimes, alongside the freedom and joy, comes grief.
Because what if you never needed more discipline, willpower, or another strategy to fix yourself? What if there’s already so much more of you waiting to emerge?
With the right support, curiosity, and compassion, we can begin to loosen the patterns keeping you stuck and make room for possibilities you may not have imagined yet.
The goal isn’t just to feel better about food or your body.
It’s to trust yourself enough to live a life that’s genuinely yours.
A gentle first step
You don’t have to figure all of this out by yourself.
A consultation is simply a conversation: what has been happening, what you would like to be different, and whether working together makes sense. No plan. No pressure.
Prefer email? Write toinfo@drshawnhondorp.com