Colleen Perry is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the state of California (MFC38937). Her mission is to care for, nurture, and enhance the self worth of women. She focuses on inspiring and encouraging them to meet their needs in order to live in their higher self, based in courage, purpose, and joy versus fear, duty and obligation.

She is a speaker and writer on women's issues and works with various organizations, professionals, and the public. She is the co-founder of “Through the Looking Glass” a support program for women with eating disorders and body image problems. Her practice focuses on treating teenage girls and women of all ages who are suffering from the emotional effects of dealing with eating disorders, anxiety, depression, sexuality, and relationship issues.

Ms. Perry has lectured on topics such as “How to Recognize an Eating Disorder”, “The Dangers of Dieting and Self-mutilation” (cutting), and “Cultural Images of Women in Advertising.” As a guest panelist for “The Thin Line” a production about eating disorders, she provided information to enhance the understanding of this life threatening issue to the audience. She appeared on “The Larry Elder Show” as a guest expert concerning overweight teens and how to deal with verbal abuse from family and friends.

Ms. Perry has provided management, leadership and sales training to various corporations such as Mead Johnson Nutritionals, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Ben & Jerry’s before launching her private practice. She brings her past corporate experiences to provide structured leadership and professional quality to the programs and groups that she facilitates.

When asked about her motivation behind her practice, she responds: “My goal is to help teenagers and young women navigate their way through our culture which, I believe, diminishes the value of women and all of our gifts. We are bombarded with images of unrealistic beauty. Often we are taught to value the feelings and needs of others before our own… restricting our voices and distilling our spirits into a pretty package. I envision a world where women feel joyful about living their lives knowing their beauty and power lies within them.”

Blog Entries by Colleen Perry

Treating Chronic Pain - There is a Better Way!

10 Comments | Posted August 27, 2009 | 04:10 PM (EST)


When it comes to the problem with healthcare in the U.S., I tend to agree with Dr. Andrew Weil that "what's missing, tragically, is a diagnosis of the real, far more fundamental problem, which is that what's even worse than its stratospheric cost is the fact that American health care...

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Plagued by an Inner Critic

4 Comments | Posted July 9, 2009 | 05:02 PM (EST)


Are you afraid to feel angry, jealous, lonely, helpless or anxious? It's no coincidence that four out of seven clients I have seen this week have all had the same paralyzing fear about expressing their feelings to someone they love, be it a parent, lover, friend, or wife. What they...

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Saving the Lives of Those Who Save Yours

3 Comments | Posted May 29, 2009 | 09:36 AM (EST)


Doctors in the VA are under pressure NOT to diagnose PTSD, because a diagnosis of PTSD leads to increased benefits and disqualifies the soldier from re-deployment. Bodies are at a premium here, folks, with many soldiers being deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan numerous times. Hardball on msnbc.com reports that the...

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Renewing Yourself for Spring: A Personal Journey

Posted March 26, 2009 | 12:32 PM (EST)


I was asked to write about ways to renew yourself for spring. My first thought was, "Oh no, am I doing anything that would count as 'renewal' aside from chasing down my accountant to get my taxes straight (from 2007 no less)"! Or having the urge (I didn't say I...

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Step #5: Practice Gratitude Daily

Posted March 3, 2009 | 02:46 PM (EST)


If you're anything like me, you're up to your eyeballs in people telling you that you should practice gratitude on a daily basis. At least once a week there is a headline blog on the Living Section of the Huffington Post about gratitude. I've noticed in my own life that...

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Do You Hate Your Body?

Posted February 18, 2009 | 11:08 AM (EST)


Step #4 Look for Solutions...stop submitting, stop rebelling.

Do you hate your body? Do you try to diet thinking that if you just lost 10 pounds, your life would be miraculously improved? Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired of your struggle with weight? Then practicing...

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You can Recover from Chronic Dieting

Posted February 1, 2009 | 09:43 PM (EST)


Blog on Step #3...Look for Answers...don't stop until you've found them.

There are reasons why you are a chronic dieter, and if you have an eating disorder, there are reasons for that too. Do you know what they are? My guess is, probably not. That's why you're reading this! It's...

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How to Free Yourself From Dieting - Step 2

Posted January 20, 2009 | 04:15 PM (EST)


Seeking Help and Support is step #2 in ending the battle of chronic dieting. It's also the second step in recovery from an eating disorder. If you've been dieting all of your life in order to attain thinness, then you may not be able to achieve body satisfaction and meet...

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The 12 Steps of Recovery from Chronic Dieting

Posted January 13, 2009 | 03:18 PM (EST)


Last week I invited you to welcome in the New Year by stopping your dieting. I gave 2 compelling reasons why diets don't work for lasting weight loss, set point and water balance. This week I'm going into more detail on the first step toward "diet recovery": Admit you have...

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New Year's Resolution: To Be Happy in 2009, Stop Dieting!

Posted December 30, 2008 | 10:34 AM (EST)


It's that time of year again folks... time to make that all-important New Year's resolution. I feel like the odd-one-out by having a different goal for myself than to lose weight. In fact, the phrase "On Monday I'm starting my diet" has become so common place in our culture, no...

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Tips for Positive Change in the New Year

Posted December 23, 2008 | 03:31 PM (EST)


With the New Year approaching, I know I'm not the only one thinking about changes I'd like to make in 2009. To do this, I ask myself, what qualities really worked for me this year and what qualities didn't serve me so well that I can "let go" of.

...
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The Way I See It: Combat Vets and the Problem With Coming Home

Posted December 16, 2008 | 11:33 AM (EST)


A recent article in People magazine asked the following questions "What's happening at Fort Bragg?" and "Is the Army doing enough to protect its women?" Three female soldiers from the nation's largest army base have been murdered in the past six months allegedly by spouses or boyfriends that have served...

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The Way I See It- Let's Make PTSD a Household Name.

Posted December 7, 2008 | 09:58 PM (EST)


PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder may not be a "household name" yet, but it soon will be. As our combat veterans return from Afghanistan and Iraq, we will be inundated, as a country, with cases of PTSD and TBI, traumatic brain injury. Are we equipped as a nation...

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The Way I See It: Why Thankfulness and Selfishness Go Hand in Hand

Posted November 30, 2008 | 08:36 AM (EST)


Last week, I wrote about the benefits of selfishness, especially to those of us who are people pleasers. I had no way to predict the flood of responses I received from women expressing their gratitude that someone was giving them permission to take care of themselves FIRST. Here's what...

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The Way I See It

Posted November 20, 2008 | 11:49 AM (EST)


Be more selfish this holiday season and you will have a better holiday. Many of you doubt my last statement don't you? But I invite you to answer these questions for yourself:

• Do you give of yourself to others only to be disappointed in what you get back?
...

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If You Still See Black and White You Need New Glasses

Posted November 12, 2008 | 12:41 PM (EST)


If You Still See Black and White, You Need a New Pair of Glasses!

I was standing around Peet's Coffee in Santa Monica the other day waiting for a friend. While I waited for my coffee to be made a black man, I later found out his name is Carl,...

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A Scathing Look at "Celebrity"

Posted November 7, 2008 | 02:23 PM (EST)


When I read the news yesterday that Joaquin Phoenix was giving up acting and getting out of the business, I felt strangely proud and full of admiration for him. I have always wondered why more celebrities don't come to this same decision, especially the ones who are always complaining about...

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The Dark Side of Designer "Must Haves"

Posted October 28, 2008 | 02:52 PM (EST)


Did I really just see a picture of Sarah Palin's 7yr old daughter, Piper, carrying a Louis Vuitton handbag? Are you kidding me? I was so struck by this picture and the fact that nobody seems to be commenting on the absurdity of the situation, that I felt compelled to...

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Battling the Great Depression

Posted October 27, 2008 | 03:34 PM (EST)


An out -of -work money manager in California loses a fortune and wipes out his family in a murder-suicide. A 90 year old Ohio woman shoots herself in the chest as authorities arrive to evict her from the modest house she called home for 38 years. A record 500,000 homeowners...

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