Valerie Edwards

Valerie Edwards (she/her) is a Registered and Licensed Dietitian (OR) who works with adults of all ages and genders, as well as teens (15+). She has a BS In Nutrition from Texas A&M University and a Masters Degree in Clinical Nutrition from the University of Minnesota. She has specialized in the field of Eating Disorders and Disordered Eating for 20 years, and especially enjoys helping clients make choices that create richer, more full lives for themselves. She also works with people who have medical issues related to nutrition, such as pre-diabetes or high cholesterol. Valerie takes a non-diet, Health At Every Size approach, and does not focus on helping people lose weight. She works with clients to create a more balanced, positive relationship with food and body, paying more attention to hunger and satiety cues, overall energy level, and eating behaviors.

She also loves to work with individuals around physical activity and movement. Often this takes the form of looking at one’s current lifestyle rather than focusing on the past and finding activities that are pleasurable and sustainable. For those with disordered eating, learning to fuel the body adequately to support exercise or activity is a vital part of recovery.

Valerie is a native Texan who fell in love with the Pacific Northwest, both for its nature and its people. She loves exploring the outdoors with her cattle dog mix and is an intermittent gardener. She also loves good fiction and movies.

Her approach involves listening to clients' goals and struggles, encouraging change, and suggesting experiments to challenge fears. She always believes in the power of her clients to change and recover. She is excited to be joining the clinicians at Abri and is looking forward to expanding her knowledge with Radically Open DBT.

To contact Valerie directly, call (503)505-6520 or email her at [email protected].