About the author
Kathy Kater, LICSW is a St. Paul, MN psychotherapist and an internationally known and respected author, speaker, and consultant who has specialized in treatment and prevention of the full spectrum of body image, eating, fitness and weight-related concerns for over 30 years. She became frustrated that progress in understanding these problems had not been matched by effective prevention, and when her own daughter was about to enter 4th grade, she authored Healthy Body Image: Teaching Kids to Eat and Love Their Bodies Too! This comprehensive prevention curriculum, published in 1998 by the National Eating Disorders Association and updated in 2005, was among the first of its kind to demonstrate significant, measurable improvement in weight related attitudes among pubescent children, and was recommended by the U.S. Department of Health, Office of Women's Health in their BodyWise information packet for educators,
The newly titled Third Edition of this book, Healthy Bodies: Teaching Kids What they Need to Know has been fully revised to reflect the latest research and current cultural environment affecting body image, eating, fitness and weight in developing children. Kater’s book, Real Kids Come in All Sizes; Ten Essential Lessons to Build Your Child’s Body Esteem (Broadway Books/Random House, 2004; Spanish Edition, 2006) was written as a companion guide for parents, healthcare providers and others interested in the well-being of children.
Kathy Kater provides presentations and training workshops for schools, colleges, universities, hospitals, medical groups, and community organizations across the country. She is frequently interviewed by nationally distributed magazines and newspapers. The research outcomes for her curriculum have been published in professional journals, and her work is widely respected by eating disorder treatment and prevention authorities throughout the United States and other countries.
Books by Kathy Kater
- Healthy Bodies: Teaching Kids What They Need to Know (2012)
- Healthy Body Image: Teaching Kids to Eat and Love Their Bodies Too! (2005)
- Real Kids Come in All Sizes: Ten Essential Lessons to Build Your Child's Body Esteem (2004)
“Unlike self-criticism, which asks if you’re good enough, self-compassion asks what’s good for you? It taps into your inner desire to be healthy and happy. If you care about yourself, you’ll do what you need to do in order to learn and grow. Valuing ourselves in a deep way makes us want to make choices that lead to well-being.”