Know ● Claim ● Own ● Live
Your FULL Story™
Speaking, therapy, Writing, & Education
Licensed Psychotherapist & Eating Disorders Specialist
Psychology Today Columnist | Lead Author, My Child Has an Eating Disorder (Bloomsbury Academic)
As Featured In
If you’re here, something may feel confusing or overwhelming.
Eating, body image, and self-worth issues have a way of narrowing what gets seen and what gets shared.
At the heart of all my work—therapy, writing, speaking, and education—is this:
Your FULL story matters.
(Even the painful parts—and the ones you learned to hide.)
Hi, I’m Alli Spotts-De Lazzer,
LMFT, LPCC, CEDS-C, IEDS.
I work with
Individuals
Parents & Families
Organizations
Media
For around 20 years now, I’ve specialize in helping individuals develop a more self-assured relationship with themselves and their lives, and helping parents more confidently support their children (adolescents and adults) in eating disorder recovery. My approach centers on self-acceptance—not as resignation, but as a foundation for meaningful change—across therapy, education, writing, advocacy, and speaking.
It can be difficult to find meaning in struggles or long-standing patterns we don’t like about ourselves. With the right guidance, those experiences can be understood—not erased—and can become a doorway to greater steadiness, self-appreciation, and inner peace.
Each role I hold is distinct and intentional. Learn more about my background and expertise below (and for more detail, click the About tab), or explore therapy, parent eating disorder support, confidence coaching, speaking, or books below.
Guest Expert on WGN
Services, Speaking, & Writing
Clinical Expertise
Alli Spotts-De Lazzer is a licensed therapist, eating disorders expert, educator, speaker, and author with nearly two decades of clinical experience. She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC), Certified Eating Disorders Specialist and Approved Consultant (CEDS-C), and Inclusive Eating Disorders Specialist (IEDS). She serves as adjunct faculty in Antioch University's Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology program.
Drawing from both clinical expertise and personal recovery, Alli offers a grounded, nuanced perspective on eating disorders. She is the lead author of My Child Has an Eating Disorder: An Essential Guide for Parents of Kids, Teens, and Adults (Bloomsbury Academic, 2026), which she conceived and guided from proposal to publication. She is also the author of MeaningFULL: 23 Life-Changing Stories of Conquering Dieting, Weight, and Body Image Issues (Unsolicited Press, 2021), and a contributing author to Body Image and Self-Esteem (Independence Educational Publishers, 2024). Through her Psychology Today column, academic journals, and publications such as Medscape and Verywell Mind, she has published more than 100 articles.
A frequent speaker, Alli presents at conferences, universities, training programs, and community events. Her expertise has been featured in outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, TIME, Newsweek, and numerous national television news programs.
Committed to public-facing education, Alli created and directed #ShakeIt for Self-Acceptance!, a national mental health initiative recognized across the country—from Capitol Hill to the former Staples Center. She has also facilitated a no-cost support and education group for friends and family of individuals with eating disorders since 2011.
Alli has held leadership roles with the Academy for Eating Disorders and the International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals, contributing to the development of the national CEDS curriculum and serving as CEDS faculty. She’s a cofounder and host of MeaningFULL Conversations, a monthly multidisciplinary eating-disorders discussion and consultation series established in 2023.
Her honors include the 2017 Member of the Year Award from the International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals, an invitation to serve as an expert reviewer for the American Psychiatric Association Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Patients with Eating Disorders (2022 draft), service as an expert panelist for Harvard Alumni for Mental Health, and recognition of #ShakeIt for Self-Acceptance! Day by the Mayor of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles City Council.
A Broader Perspective
Check out this free 2-minute video where I walk you through one way you can start claiming Your FULL Story now (FYI, by clicking, you’ll be added to my mailing list).
This resource is educational and not a substitute for psychotherapy.
NOTICES
Coaching and therapy are distinct. The rights of a coaching client are different than the rights held by a therapy client.
By law, therapists must provide a good faith estimate to comply with the No Surprises Act.