Meet Liza Williams and Kristen Lingle | Eating Disorder Informed Dietitian , Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Liza Williams and Kristen Lingle and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Liza and Kristen, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Liza: When starting to think about next steps in my professional career, I wanted to do something where I had more of a choice in my daily work and future along with greater flexibility around work/life balance. I have an entrepreneurial spirit and this came as an opportunity to be creative in my nutrition philosophy and professional development as an eating disorder informed dietitian while learning what entrepreneurship is all about. Through that process, I have had the chance to get to know a wider network of professionals and resources in a variety of fields to help build community and greater awareness around the link between nutrition and mental health. Too, the outpatient setting felt like a space where I could be a greater advocate for those struggling with eating disorders and their loved ones as well as implement public health approaches. Overall, starting this business has allowed me to choose how I spend my time on a day to day basis, to pursue a variety of avenues that bring financial success, to spread awareness around mental health and nutrition, and to live more presently in my personal and professional life.

Kristen: I have always been interested in starting my own business, but juggling family responsibilities and fear of the unknown had given me pause earlier in my career. After working in a number of different settings my confidence grew, and I began to feel it was something I needed to do. As a healthcare provider and public health professional, I have witnessed the difficulties people have accessing behavioral healthcare, and I wanted to be a part of the solution. I believe interdisciplinary holistic person-centered care is associated with improved health outcomes, and want to be one of the providers delivering that type of care. Oftentimes anxiety, depression, and eating disorders can be thought of in society as purely mental health issues that a pill can fix, when in reality, one’s social environment, physical environment, genetics, nutrition, overall physical health, and life experience are all vital contributors to one’s health, mood, and current behaviors. I wanted to develop a practice that honored all the determinants of health, and worked to improve one’s quality of life in a multifactorial way.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We offer an interdisciplinary collaborative holistic approach to care. We provide comprehensive and individualized support of a client’s mind and body, and strive to work within the context of one’s physical environment, social environment, genetics, biology, current state of health and desired state of overall well being. Eating disorders, anxiety, depression, and disordered eating thoughts and behaviors may present differently from person to person regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic background, but can have common coexisting diagnoses and similar severe complications if not treated. And because each individual has their own relationship with food and their body, our hope is to create a space and community where clients feel comfortable exploring their personal connection to the world around them.

We use evidence-based practices and a Health At Every Size®, non-diet approach, and encourage balance in food, wellness, and coping skills. Our name is Balance Health Consulting, and we truly promote balance. A balanced life may require a balance of working on improving yourself and accepting who one is. A healthy lifestyle may include a variety and balance of foods. You may need to balance both accepting reality and working to change it. As healthcare providers, we aim to help balance prevention of possible future adverse health outcomes with treatment of current difficulties. Both of us have backgrounds in public health, and use a holistic lens that focuses on prevention and viewing the client as an expert of their own body and lived experience.

The services we offer within our office include nutrition counseling, psychotherapy, and medication management. Clients can see one or both of us based on their individual needs. We both also are engaged in community events such as talks and cooking classes with other businesses, schools and groups that use similar approaches and who provide opportunities to spread education and awareness.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
With only 48 hours to explore this big city, inevitably some wonderful attractions, activities, and food will be left out, but here is a possible 48 hours in town!

DAY 1:

Morning: Head to Virginia-Highland Village for breakfast, and get an incredible breakfast sandwich from Kinship Sundry. After breakfast, visit some of the shops in the village like Virginia-Highland Books and Moosh. Go from the Village to Piedmont Park and explore the park and the Atlanta Botanical Gardens.

Midday: Walk from Piedmont Park down the Atlanta Beltline to Ponce City Market. Enjoy the murals along the Beltline, and some great people watching. Explore the market and check out the food hall for lunch, where there is something for every taste and mood. Make your way to the rooftop of PCM for beautiful views of the city, and to play some Skeeball, mini golf and other rooftop games.

Afternoon and Evening: Sample a beer at Orpheus Brewing next to Piedmont Park. Then head to dinner for fresh pasta at Bocca Lupo in Inman Park or La Tavola in Va-Hi.

DAY 2:

Today we think we would visit some museums! After having some coffee and breakfast, we would head to the Center for Civil and Human Rights in downtown Atlanta, a museum that connects United States Civil Rights to today’s human rights challenges. Then we would stop at the Italian Market in Va-Hi for lunch. After lunch we would venture over near Emory to visit the little known museum at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC museum has permanent and changing exhibits related to different local and global public health topics. After the CDC, our next stop would be to a local farmers market or the Dekalb Farmers market to buy provisions to make dinner at home!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Liza: That’s a hard question. There have been so many people and experiences that I would dedicate my success to. I would like to dedicate this shoutout to my family as well as the following individuals who contributed to the journey of me getting to where I am today: Ken Kneidel, Barret Butler, Jennifer Wills, Elysse Miller, Holly Pudwill and Cassie Gaub. Also, I am immensely grateful to Kristen for trusting in me as a business partner and driving change in the mental health and nutrition fields.

Kristen: I very much appreciate the support and encouragement of my children and my fiancé, as well as friends and former professors. I would especially like to acknowledge my late professor Dr. Gary Wallace. He was an advocate for holistic psychiatric and medical care, and taught in an unconventional way that encouraged others to think outside of the box.

Website: https://balancehealthconsulting.com

Instagram: @balancehealthconsulting

Linkedin: Kristen Lingle, Liza Robinson Williams