Episode 76: Martha Peirce

Martha Peirce, MSEd., RP*

-Educator, Trainer, Consultant

-International Trauma Specialist (in the process)

Martha spent the first fifteen years of her career teaching foods, nutrition, and quantity food service courses at the high school and college levels in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Ontario, Canada.

She began her own recovery from an eating disorder, food addiction, and alcoholism over thirty-five years ago. In time, after much healing and further professional development, she started a new career.

For over 30 years she has worked as a counselor and psychotherapist in private practice specializing in the treatment of addictions (especially food addiction), eating disorders, trauma, and codependency.

Long before there was science to back up the concept of food addiction, Martha noticed in her own healing journey and that of many of her clients, sensitivity to healthy foods and an individual’s inability to eat certain healthy foods within moderation. This seemed comparable to the alcoholic’s craving for alcohol and the “phenomenon of craving” hence the concept of “food addiction.” Her work was validated by that of Kay Sheppard’s initial writing: Food Addiction: The Body Knows (www.kaysheppard.com).

Martha had the opportunity to co-facilitate Recovery from Food Addiction workshops with Kay Sheppard early in her career. She receives ongoing supervision and training from Dr. Kate Hudgins, an internationally acclaimed expert in the area of treating trauma, addiction, and eating disorders. In recent years she has also had the opportunity to co-facilitate workshops with Dr. Kate Hudgins (www.therapeuticspiralmodel.com).

From 2015 to 2019, Martha was honored to be a Senior Clinician and part of the Team that developed the 28-day in-patient and 5-day out-patient programs for the treatment of Food Addiction at Renascent (www.renascent.ca). It was discovered that the client was best served via the Team approach which included the Head Cook, Cooks, and the Dietician (Mary Bamford, RD) collaborating with Food Addiction Counsellors, and Martha, the Senior Clinician because of the complex nature of food addiction pathology and recovery process. During her affiliation with Renascent, she has been made aware of research that is now validating her grassroots personal and professional experience with food addiction treatment and recovery.

Martha maintains her passion for her vocation and continues to maintain a full and rich private practice!

*Registered Psychotherapist with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario

In this Episode:

Martha’s personal story and AHA moment

Her thoughts on specific food plans

12 Steps

Codependency

Residential Treatment

Many take-aways

The content of our show is educational only. It does not supplement or supersede the professional relationship and direction of your healthcare provider. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified mental health providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition, substance use disorder, or mental health concern.