Free PFLAG support group for parents, friends and families of transgender and gender non-binary loved ones

"Body Image and Eating Concerns in Gender Diverse Youth" 

This talk examines the high rates of eating disorders among gender diverse teens and young adults, explores possible causes, how unrealistic body image standards are established, and brings forth prevention strategies and the importance to curate more diverse representations of gender identity through social media.

About this month’s presenters:

Vaughn Darst , MS, RD (He/Him/His)
Vaughn Darst is the Senior Coordinator of Gender Affirmative Care with Center For Discovery and a Registered Dietitian who specializes in treating eating disorders gender diverse youth, high weight individuals, and neurodivergent youth. Vaughn received his MS in Nutrition from USC, and his BA in Critical Theory and Cultural Studies, with a concentration in Transgender Studies, from Scripps College. Prior to joining Center for Discovery, Vaughn completed two fellowships at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, and also served as a Health Educator in the Cal State System for over a decade before moving into eating disorder treatment.

Vaughn's TED Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZ31Vc8wtHc 

Ranier Castillo, MS, RDN, ACSM-CPT (He/Him/His)
Growing up, Ranier participated in sports and athletics, which motivated him to the field of wellness. Along the way, he learned that eating disorders are highly prevalent within the sports community. This inspired Ranier to build a career helping those experiencing eating disorders and body dysmorphia. He continues to help folks within a community and clinical setting, such as recently completing his fellowship at Children's Hospital of Los Angeles. Currently, Ranier is a certified personal trainer and registered dietitian with a Bachelors in Kinesiology, and a Masters in Nutrition.

A NOTE ABOUT VIRTUAL MEETINGS:
We will be utilizing Zoom features that provide the highest level of safety and confidentiality possible.  Zoom is free to you and you need not have an account to join us.  If you are new to Zoom, you can follow the links [here] for brief tutorials on all you need to know to sign on to a Zoom meeting with us.  We ask that each of you that would like to participate in the on-line support, contact us in advance by email at info@pflagmanhattanbeach.org to RSVP for the meeting.  We will cut off RSVPs at 5 p.m. on the day of the meeting.  All participants will receive a follow-up email with the link to the Zoom call and a password.  For confidentiality’s sake, please do not forward these to another participant — they are welcome to contact us directly to receive the link.

We recognize that youth may be interested in the educational part of this meeting and they are welcome to join us.  As usual, we ask that youth who may want to stick around for our support groups be joined by a parent.  Some heavy emotions can emerge in the course of our sessions and having a parent on-hand helps to ensure that the needs of any youth on the call are met.

There are some benefits to utilizing new tools like Zoom. We recognize that our typical evening support group meetings are not feasible for everyone due to work, family or other demands.  If there is a need, we would like to offer an additional support group Zoom conference call sometime during the daytime hours. If you are interested in a daytime support group, email us at info@pflagmanhattanbeach.org and let us know what times might be more workable for you.

If you need more personalized assistance and support, we remain here for you.  Email us confidentially and we will work with you to identify the best member of our team to assist with your individual needs.