Nourished: The Intention and Inspiration behind a therapeutic group
By Katie Crager, LMSW, Therapist at The Performance Sanctuary
I am forming this group with a simple and deeply held intention:
to create a safe, grounded container of connection around food and one’s body.
Not a space where food is the center of fear, pressure, or performance.
Not fraught with harmful narratives of right / wrong or good / bad,
juiced with judgment.
Not a space where food is the center of fear, pressure, or performance.
Not fraught with harmful narratives of right / wrong or good / bad,
juiced with judgment.
Rather, a place where food can return to what it has always been meant to be:
a source of nourishment, presence, and belonging.
Where the body can be experienced as our bridge into being.
For many of us, experiences around food and our bodies have become:
Overwhelming.
Isolating.
Charged with judgment.
Triggering. Activating. Pressurized.
Tense.
Bloated.
Hollowed.
Inflamed.
Activated.
The table..or even the plate..can carry layers of family dynamics, shame, comparison, body image distress, and overfocus.
What once may have been simple becomes loaded.
What could be nourishing becomes needled.
This group is an invitation to come back.
Together, we meet food not as a problem to solve,
but as a bridge..
back to the body,
back to safety,
back to connection with yourself and others.
Here, meals don’t have to mean everything.
They don’t have to be perfect.
They don’t have to be scrutinized or defended.
Instead, we explore neutral nourishment:
Meals that matter without becoming moral.
Food that fuels without defining.
Eating that supports embodied balance rather than control.
This space is somatically informed and trauma-aware.
We work gently with what arises during a meal:
Pleasure.
Sensory exploration.
Delight.
—or—
Discomfort.
Activation.
Fear.
Numbness.
Through co-regulation, shared presence, and optional grounding practices, we learn to ride the waves together.
We practice naming and noticing sensation.
Differentiating the stories of the mind from the signals of the body.
Softening judgment.
Opening space for acceptance.
This is not about right or wrong foods.
Not about perfection or fixing.
It’s about presence and ease.
It’s about giving yourself what you truly trust
and receiving the rich, quiet nourishment that’s already available when we slow down enough to feel it.
When food becomes the first relationship we tend with care, something else becomes possible.
We show up at the table.
We show up with others.
In laughter.
In heart.
In abundance.
Meals become moments again..
simple, savory, sweet.
A practice of giving and receiving.
Food. Fellowship. Fullness.
Carrying us into the rest of our lives with more capacity and less fear.
Here are the details for the group I am running!
Nourished: Weekly Virtual Meal Support Group
A weekly virtual support space for anyone navigating eating disorders, disordered eating, or body image challenges.
Format: Virtual • 1-hour sessions
Ages: 16+
Structure: Drop-ins welcome
Cost: Sliding scale $45–$60 per group
Superbills available
This group will be held through The Performance Sanctuary in Ballston Spa, NY, and is open to participants wherever you are.
I am currently collecting interest for this group.
If you feel that a supportive, embodied, and compassionate meal space like this could benefit you—or someone you support—I invite you to express interest here:
There is no pressure or commitment—just a way to let me know this kind of support would be meaningful for you.
If this resonates, you are welcome here.
Come as you are.
Let food be the bridge back.
