Varnish Lane After Hours: Empowering Women’s Health From the Inside Out

Women today are bombarded with messages to be everything to everyone –  be successful at work, a great spouse, a doting mother, an impressive cook, a social butterfly, an active volunteer- all while avoiding signs of aging, staying fit, and looking fabulous. It’s easy to constantly compare ourselves with others, whether on social media or in the flesh and feel like we are coming up short one way or another. 

Rachel Engelhart is a registered dietitian and licensed professional counselor, and Alisa Schwartz, a clinical psychologist, works with women of all ages to achieve healthier relationships with food, body image, and self-esteem.  This conversation, moderated by Ellen Crupi, Brand Ambassador 2Betties healthy snacks, with will focus on how women can take care of themselves in this stressful and competitive environment and provide practical skills for being more self-compassionate, less judgmental and happier with yourself.

Bios:

Rachel Engelhart is a registered dietitian and licensed professional counselor with a Bachelor of Science in Dietetics from the University of Maryland, College Park and a Master of Arts in Counseling for Mental Health and Wellness from New York University. Rachel works with people of all ages struggling with eating disorders, weight, picky eating, self-esteem and body image issues. She is the owner of RE Nutrition, a home-based nutrition counseling service that brings “hands-on nutrition right to your kitchen.”

Alisa Schwartz is a clinical psychologist with a private practice in Dupont Circle. She works with a wide range of older adolescents and adults with mood issues, relationship, school and career issues. She has a specialty in the area of eating disorders and body image issues. She feels passionate about helping people to increase their self-esteem and have a healthier relationship with food and their bodies.

She began her career at Renfrew, a center committed to the treatment of women with eating disorders. She then worked at Columbia University where she was the head of the interdisciplinary eating disorder team. After moving to DC in 2007, she joined the counseling center at Georgetown University and worked as both a generalist and eating disorder specialist. For the past five years, she has dedicated herself to private practice, supervising psychologists in training, and talking to parents about raising children with healthy relationships to food and body.