We were lucky to catch up with Cherie Miller recently and have shared our conversation below.

Cherie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about the best advice you’ve ever given to a client? (Please note this response is for education/entertainment purposes only and shouldn’t be construed as advice for the reader)

One of the best pieces of advice I can give clients, which is a large part of what I help them do when we work together, is to really understand what your values are and live a life based on those values. I realize it might sound obvious, but we often don’t live that intentionally. Sometimes we aren’t actually sure about our own values because we’re living out of our parents’ or society’s values and not our own. Other times, we might be just be so distracted by the pressures and responsibilities of day-to-day life that those things take over. For example, I work with people who struggle with obsessing about losing or maintaining their weight because being thin feels really important to them. However, when we do work on figuring out their values, we always discover that being thin isn’t actually one of them. Their values might be kindness, adventure, personal learning and growth. When you compare how much time, money, and energy is spent on trying to be thin instead of your real values, you can make a decision to start building a life based on those values instead of constantly trying to micromanage your body. I once wrote in my own recovery that I didn’t want my epitaph to read, “She was really good at trying to be skinny.” I wanted to live a life with so much more meaning than that, and I truly believe that in in our heart of hearts, most of us do.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a therapist who specializes in helping people make peace with food and their bodies. I love doing this work because I struggled with an eating disorder and body hatred for a long time, and life on the other side of those things is amazing! I remember crying in the shower one day, looking at myself with disgust, and thinking with absolute despair that it would never get better. I honestly believed I would always struggle with those things and my clients usually do too. In our culture, accepting your body regardless of what it looks like and being kind to yourself with food is like an act of rebellion. We are bombarded daily with messages about how we’re not good enough, especially when it comes to how we look. There’s always some push for us to buy a diet drug, try a weight loss program, buy the cellulite cream… The message is clear, particularly for women: Smaller is better. Breaking up with diet culture and calling a truce with food and your body is liberating. Yes, that process is certainly difficult, and the pain and work involved can feel like too much at times, but it’s possible and so worth it.

I knew when I was going through my own recovery that I would one day want to help others, and so I’m really grateful to God to be doing this work every day. I have a group practice in Southlake, Texas called Nourished Soul Center for Healing that specializes in eating disorders, substance use, OCD, trauma, and women’s issues. I have a kick-butt team of therapists and dietitians who are some of the most incredible human beings I’ve ever known, and I’m excited about all the things we’re doing. We now have groups and workshops, in addition to our 1:1 services, and there are ideas for even more things we hope to do be able to do in the future. Being able to help people’s change how they see and treat themselves and how they show up in the world is an incredible privilege.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

After I had my daughter four years ago, I took a break from my private practice and stayed home with her. My mom also had cancer, and I wanted to be available to take her to appointments. Even though I genuinely love my job, family is very important to me, and being fully available for them was priority in that season. From a business perspective, it was tough because it was challenging financially, and I felt like I was missing out on opportunities in my field. When I finally went back to work about a year and half later, it was like starting over in some ways. But I would not have changed anything about my time away and I don’t regret it all.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

I worked in the corporate world for 10 years before becoming a therapist, and even as a therapist, I’ve worked in mental health facilities run by corporations. I don’t feel like a single place I’ve worked treated their employees well, and it has always been my goal as a CEO and manager to build something different. I really want my team to enjoy their job, feel like they’re treated well, and know they’re appreciated for the value they bring to our group. I also want them to feel like it’s a place where they can grow professionally and personally. I make mistakes in all this of course, because I’m a human being growing and learning like every one else, but I believe that succeeding in those goals is dependent on building a healthy team culture and honest, caring relationships with each team member. I value authenticity and humility, and try to model that for my staff. I think sometimes managers think you need to be a bit aloof or pretend you have it all together and know everything, but that’s not how I operate. You can be confident and professional while still being accessible as a real person and humble about your shortcomings. I’m okay with owning my mistakes and want my team to know it’s okay for them to make mistakes too. I also want to create space for them to be real and vulnerable about their hopes, dreams, fears… because the truth is, all of that overlaps with and affects our work. I want their jobs to add joy and meaning to their lives, not be an obstacles for that.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.nourishedsoulcenter.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/foodfreedomtherapist
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nourishedsoulcenter
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cheriemiller/