February 2, 2006 Issue                                               

©2005 The Chestnut Hill Local

Hiller takes a holistic approach to weight loss
by KRISTIN PAZULSKI

Emily Clark, a holistic counselor, recently joined forces with Erdenheim’s Woudsma Chiropractic. Her specialty is weight loss, a subject of interest to more than a few Americans.

Ever wonder why we reach for food when depressed, stressed, or really upset? Emily Clark, a holistic counselor who just recently joined forces with Erdenheim’s Woudsma Chiropractic, believes this impulse is the body’s attempt to balance two types of food –“primary” and “secondary.”

Clark categorizes a person’s hobbies, career, family, exercise, spirituality, etc., that create the details of our lives as “primary food.” The substance we put into our mouths is “secondary food.” When one food-type suffers — for primary food, it can be a change in career or problem in the family — then we must balance it out with the other food type. Therefore, when our “primary food” causes stress or depression, we rely on the “secondary food” to balance us out.

Hence the eat-a-pint-of-Ben&Jerry’s reaction to a break up.

Clark also points out that the type of “secondary food” a person eats can lead to imbalance and can potentially cause depression or stress. Reaching for a chocolate chunk cookie to combat depression, for example, can actually have the reverse effect since white sugar and flour may trigger depression.

As a holistic counselor, Clark finds ways for her clients to defeat problems otherwise combated with side-effect-ridden medications, temporary dieting and other treatments that have already failed them. But these solutions, Clark said, usually fail because they “mask” the issues that are actually causing a person’s problem such as weight gain, stress or depression.

Clark’s counseling approach is to study clients individually and to structure a plan around their personal issues and problems, ensuring that they are working to improve not only their diet but also their lifestyle. She works with them for six months, creating and testing a variety of lifestyle options to discover what works best for each client.

She also believes that restructuring one’s lifestyle to include healthier habits, instead of taking away foods as a diet suggests, leads to a long-term and even permanent solution because it doesn’t have the negative aspects of deprivation and will-power. “It takes an entire life to get where you are with your eating habits,” Clark said, so it takes a little while to break that down and restructure.

Clark offers a free one-hour initial consultation session, and the program offers a variety of perks such as access to her lending library of books and tapes, recipes, a health food tour and more. She is also available to her clients 24-7 via phone or email for advice, counseling and motivation. “Sometimes a five-minute pep talk really helps,” Clark said.

Clark resides with her husband and three children in Chestnut Hill – also where she grew up. She practices out of her home, as she has for three years, and just recently was asked to coordinate with Woudsma Chiropractic, where she just set up an office last week.

Kimberly Woudsma, owner of the chiropractic, said she had wanted a holistic counselor for a while, but was waiting to find someone with Clark’s expertise and enthusiasm. When Clark called to propose a lecture, Woudsma asked if she would be interested in working with her company.

Clark is a graduate of The Institute of Integrative Nutrition in New York City and an accredited member of the American Association of Drugless Practitioners. Her passion growing up was dancing, and she performed with the Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet, among other schools, and attended Germantown Friends School.

She considered pursuing a career as a nutritionist, but didn’t want to be a traditional diet advocate, so when she learned of the Institute’s program, she immediately dedicated herself to the two-year program. For more information, visit www.nourishingplaces.com or call 215-242-2044.