The three of us started working together in 2018 at a local eating disorder treatment facility, which had recently started a program to treat binge eating disorder. The first client we all worked with was Denise P. We got to know her fairly well during this process. One of the most transformational steps in Denise’s journey was the moment she named her eating disorder voice as a way to externalize her eating disorder from herself. For this voice, Denise chose the name “Dolores”. Dolores had been plaguing Denise for decades, and three days prior to her 61st birthday, Denise was ready to evict Dolores from her life for good. 

 

As part of the treatment program, we worked with Denise on creating a self-compassion practice, cultivating her inner truth, and connecting to her authentic self. Because Dolores’s voice had been so loud for so long, Denise had been struggling with these pieces of the puzzle. Then, one day during a group session, Denise said, “she spoke to me last night.” 

 

“Who spoke to you?” we asked. 

 

Denise replied, “My recovery voice. She was very quiet, shy, and hiding, but she was there. I was so curious about her. So I said, ‘Hello, can you tell me your name?’ and she quietly said, ‘I’m Jasper.’”

 

In thinking of our business name, we wanted to honor Denise and her incredible journey to reconnecting to Jasper. Working with Denise changed our lives, and her journey represents the journey of so many others like her who we aim to support. At Liberating Jasper, our goal is to help people reconnect to their innate wisdom and rebuild their relationship to food and body so that they may live authentically, whoever their authentic selves are.