Send us Fan Mail

Food allergy treatment looks very different today than it did 17 years ago.

In this episode, Dr. Elizabeth Hawkins joins me for a deeply personal conversation about navigating food allergy treatment as a parent long before many of today's options were readily available.

Elizabeth is a psychologist, celiac patient, and a celiac and food allergy parent. Her younger daughter has a complex history of multiple severe food allergies alongside asthma, eczema, and environmental allergies, and their family has navigated multiple forms of treatment. We talk about how her experiences shaped what she sees as a psychologist working with food allergy families. We also explore what parents facing immunotherapy decisions today can learn from those who have been navigating these choices for years.

This conversation is about more than choosing a treatment. It's about living with uncertainty, knowing your child, making decisions within the reality of your family's circumstances, and finding a way to move forward without letting fear make every decision for you.

Follow Dr. Hawkins on IG @foodallergypsychologist and dr-elizabeth.com

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Special thanks to Kyle Dine for permission to use his song The Doghouse for the podcast theme!
www.kyledine.com

Find Dr. Whitehouse:
-thefoodallergypsychologist.com
-Instagram: @thefoodallergypsychologist
-Facebook: Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, Food Allergy Anxiety Psychologist
-welcome@dramandawhitehouse.com

Send us Fan Mail

What does it really take to support a child through oral immunotherapy?

The medical protocol is only part of the experience. For children, OIT can involve fear, uncertainty, frustration, procedures, new sensations, and a lot of big feelings—sometimes without the words or skills to communicate what's happening.

In this episode, I talk with Kelsey Mora, a dual-certified Child Life Specialist and Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, about the emotional and developmental side of supporting kids through food allergy treatment.

Kelsey brings nearly a decade of hospital-based child life experience together with her training as a therapist, giving her a unique perspective on helping children and families navigate medical experiences. She's also the creator of The Method Workbooks, including The Y Method, an interactive workbook designed to help children understand food allergies and immunotherapy while building communication and coping skills.

We talk about preparing children for OIT, helping kids understand what's happening in their bodies, coping with anxiety during treatment, giving children appropriate choices and control, and supporting the whole family through the process.

Follow Kelsey:
@childlifetherapist
childlifetherapist.com
The Y Method: https://a.co/d/0cYsEAPW

Find my book, From Fear to Freedom:
On Amazon - https://a.co/d/0iiOwy04
On bookshop.org -
https://bookshop.org/p/books/from-fear-to-freedom-a-workbook-for-navigating-allergy-immunotherapy-amanda-r-desio-whitehouse/62f4d096796ed48c?ean=9798995147404&bkshp-astro=t

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Honest conversations about mental health, relationships, purpose, and being human.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Special thanks to Kyle Dine for permission to use his song The Doghouse for the podcast theme!
www.kyledine.com

Find Dr. Whitehouse:
-thefoodallergypsychologist.com
-Instagram: @thefoodallergypsychologist
-Facebook: Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, Food Allergy Anxiety Psychologist
-welcome@dramandawhitehouse.com

Send us Fan Mail

What does it look like when a family is navigating multiple complicated medical journeys?

In this episode of Don't Feed the Fear, I sit down with Natalie Grijalva to talk about her experience with her son's food allergy immunotherapy and her son's additional medical challenges related to Kawasaki disease.

Natalie started her Instagram account @createlikeamom as a space to explore and express her artistic pursuits, but motherhood led her in a different direction and she now uses the account to raise awareness about food allergies and Kawasaki.

We discuss what it takes to make treatment possible for a child when life is already complicated. We discuss the emotional and practical realities of navigating multiple medical concerns. We also talk about Kawasaki disease awareness and the importance of learning from other chronic illness communities—even when our diagnoses and experiences look different.

Many families within the food allergy community find themselves navigating their own unique combination of medical concerns. This conversation is ultimately about hope, persistence, and finding meaningful connection even though none of our stories are exactly the same.

Follow Natalie @createlikeamom and her artwork @dragonflycanvasco

Order From Food to Freedom
on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0bT0HjQi
or on bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/from-fear-to-freedom-a-workbook-for-navigating-allergy-immunotherapy-amanda-r-desio-whitehouse/62f4d096796ed48c?ean=9798995147404&bkshp-astro=t

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Honest conversations about mental health, relationships, purpose, and being human.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Special thanks to Kyle Dine for permission to use his song The Doghouse for the podcast theme!
www.kyledine.com

Find Dr. Whitehouse:
-thefoodallergypsychologist.com
-Instagram: @thefoodallergypsychologist
-Facebook: Dr. Amanda Whitehouse, Food Allergy Anxiety Psychologist
-welcome@dramandawhitehouse.com