Our Mission:

To provide support, community and trauma-informed resources for Every Body impacted by eating disorders, diet culture and body oppression.

Why we do what we do:

In the U.S. alone, 30 million people struggle with an eating disorder (ED) and this number only accounts for those who are able to receive a formal medical diagnosis.
Despite the prevalence and severity of this disease, only 20% of those who struggle ever receive treatment. The other 24 million cannot access the care they need to heal due to overwhelming financial barriers that exist and systemic oppression and bias steeped into our healthcare system that creates harmful and often hostile environments within treatment settings.

These barriers have left the vast majority of people who struggle to fend for themselves, which is an incredibly difficult pursuit given the physical, mental and emotional toll that eating disorders take. Additionally, even for those who are able to access formal treatment, the rate of relapse is anywhere from 35-41% (depending on the symptoms present) within 2 years of discharge. When only 20% of those who struggle in the first place are able to receive treatment, and almost half of those people are relapsing, it is clear that the system is broken. 

Ophelia’s Place was founded as a stop-gap, offering community-based support and accessible recovery tools to all those who struggle– because no one should have to die due to a lack of resources.

The system for ED treatment has never really worked, and it’s become increasingly clear that the medicalized treatment system continues to fail those it is supposed to serve.

We seek to build something different– something that not only helps to meet the needs of those who suffer but offers community care, sustainable and accessible tools and resources for healing, and education that uproots the socio-cultural factors that contribute to eating disorders and body oppression in the first place. 

We envision a world where…

  • People in all bodies are liberated from eating disorders, body-based oppression and the dangers of diet culture and anti-fatness

  • Every Body has access to, and can embrace healing and embodied living

  • Beauty is not based on a set of socio-political appearance ideals, but rather, is an outward expression of inner connectedness and radical self love

  • The diverse spectrum of bodies, is not only accepted and respected, but celebrated

  • Safety, wellbeing, and sense of worthiness are accessible to all, and not dependent upon possessing dominant cultural identities

  • The needs of the most marginalized are centered, creating a ripple effect of healing for the collective

 

The values that guide our work:

  • At Ophelia’s Place, we believe in creating a safe container for community members to show up authentically and vulnerably with one another. This means both owning our subjective experiences, as well as making room for the subjective realities of others, with the understanding that because power dynamics play a role in our interpretations, the safety of the most marginalized will always be prioritized. We believe in a transformative justice approach to harm, wherein accountability processes are a collective responsibility.

  • We wish to create a space where everyone, on our team and in our community, can show up as their whole, messy selves; where there is no expectation to abandon our personal selves at the door. We believe that through honoring the unique gifts, limitations, and experiences of each other, that we can actually show up more fully for this work and our community. To us, showing up authentically and in integrity means endeavoring to operate from our values, especially through difficult conversations and situations.

  • We believe that in order to eradicate eating disorders and the suffering that accompanies them, we must approach this work through a justice-informed lens. We recognize that there are many different factors that contribute to the development of an eating disorder, including the systems of oppression that lead to a hierarchy of bodies. We seek to dismantle these systems so that we can carve out more equitable and safe spaces for people in all bodies.

  • Emergent Strategy comes from the work of adrienne maree brown, and for our purposes, the core of it is about honoring the fact that Change is inevitable. Through honoring that, we can choose to move with it and shape change towards the healing we wish to see. This process starts with taking intentional, micro, individual actions and trusting that those actions matter, and will end up being a part of macro patterns of change for our collective healing.

  • We believe that in order for our work to create waves of change and healing across our community, it needs to be grounded in sustainability; here, by sustainability we mean working in ways that don’t lead to a state of burnout or constant overwhelm, and allow us to continually show up for this work in the long haul. We prioritize quality, intentionality, and thoughtfulness, and reject the notion that “more is better.”

 

Why choose Ophelia's Place to support you on your recovery journey?

We bring a unique framework to the eating disorder field, and believe the following concepts are critical to healing from eating disorders and body shame, at a personal and community level.

You’ll find this framework woven into all that we offer, teach and share in community:

 
meet the ophelia's place team: holly lowery, holli zehring, julia tedesco, maryellen clausen
 

Julia Tedesco

Chief Administrative Officer

Holli Zehring

Chief Executive Officer

  • I’ve been officially working in the eating disorder field for 8 years, but Ophelia’s Place was created after I told my mom I needed more support, following receiving treatment for my eating disorder. I was 17 at the time, and my mom took that conversation and ran with it. Together, we built the foundation for the organization.

    I’ve led countless support groups, educated and presented on eating disorders and body image, and work to identify the needs in the community and create effective and creative solutions that actually ignite change in people's lives.

    In addition to my 20+ years in the eating disorders world, I am a certified Enneagram coach, and am currently obtaining my trauma resiliency certification.

    I combine my lived experience, nonprofit knowledge and passion for growth & transformation to breathe vision and leadership into our organization.

MaryEllen Clausen

Founder

Holly Lowery-Davis

Chief Operating Officer

  • In addition to my own recovery, I've coached dozens of clients in recovery from their own eating disorders and body image struggles, presented these issues to doctors, therapists, psychiatrists, teachers, nurses, coaches and more since 2017, and led over 150 support groups for folks in recovery and their families.

    I have a degree in communications, and am our team’s “builder,” bringing our vision into a tangible reality through project coordination, web design, copy writing, resource & content creation, and team leadership.

    This work lights me up, and it’s a privilege to get to be part of co-creating this world we envision, alongside such a rad team & community.