Sydney Benator, RD, LMSW
They/Them
I aim to create therapeutic spaces where all the parts of you feel welcome, heard, and understood. I believe you are the expert in your own experience, and it is my role to act as a source of accountability to ensure your values are aligning with your actions. I am passionate about helping my clients deconstruct the beliefs they might hold rooted in diet culture, capitalism, heteronormativity, and white supremacy to reconstruct an authentic relationship with food, bodies, and themselves. Ways I support clients in doing this is through education on the nervous system, EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing), and somatic/attachment therapeutic techniques. As a registered dietitian and a social worker, I approach eating disorder recovery in a holistic manner that considers the complex dynamics of emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual recovery. Becoming embodied can be daunting, but that does not mean it always has to be serious. Together we can use humor, art, play, movement, writing, and more to co-create spaces most suited to your own journey. It is my hope that after working with me, you will understand how your personal experience has shaped who you are today, you will feel confident with new tools to navigate life’s challenges, and you will see a clear path toward emotional healing. I believe that you already have everything within you to become liberated from your eating disorder, and it is my intention to help you see that too.
Sydney takes Blue Cross/ Blue Shield, Cigna, and Aetna insurance.
Sydney’s Education:
Master’s Degree in Social Work: University of Georgia
Bachelors of Science, Nutrition and Dietetics, Coordinated Program: University of Texas at Austin
Theoretical Orientation:
My theoretical orientation is integrative: I pull from many theories and interventions based on what is best for the client. I center Person Centered Therapy, which is rooted in an egalitarian relationship between the client and therapist. The main tenant of Person-Centered Therapy is creating a therapeutic space where you can enter and be yourself with no judgement. Person Centered Therapy is also grounded in curiosity. Therapy is a time for us to remain curious about your past, present, and future together to discover who you are, your worth, and your values. I also incorporate a narrative approach in my counseling work. This means we focus on storytelling, a powerful tool for insight and healing. We will examine the story you have learned about yourself from social, cultural, and familial history, and re-author it together. You will be able to see your challenges as separate from yourself and to find your own voice in this spaciousness. In an eating disorder context, this means distancing yourself from your eating disorder to understand your own needs, wants, and desires. The narrative approach allows you to take your power back even when you feel powerless. In addition, I apply elements of polyvagal theory, attachment theory, and adaptive information processing theory (the theoretical basis of EMDR).