The Food Allergy Brain Episode 5: Jenna Tso, LCSW

This week on The Food Allergy Brain, Mia sits down with Jenna Tso, a licensed clinical social worker based in California who specializes in food allergies, chronic illness, and anxiety. Jenna brings both professional expertise and lived experience to her practice, having grown up with anaphylactic food allergies herself.

They discuss Jenna's personal journey from experiencing a severe allergic reaction in college to becoming a food allergy-informed therapist. Jenna shares her experience navigating adolescence and young adulthood with food allergies, including the challenges of self-advocacy, the isolation of college dining halls, and the mental health toll of constantly minimizing her needs to fit in. She also opens up about outgrowing some of her allergies in recent years and what that shift has meant for her relationship with food and freedom.

The conversation explores Jenna's therapeutic approach, including CBT, fear ladders, and exposure-based techniques like allergen proximity challenges. Jenna also introduces brainspotting, a powerful somatic therapy for processing food allergy-related trauma and PTSD. She shares how she runs virtual support groups for food allergy teens, young adults, and parents, and why peer connection is so essential for healing. The episode closes with Jenna's vision for a truly integrated, trauma-informed support system that addresses mind, body, and spirit in food allergy care.

Where to Find Jenna Tso:

Instagram: @thefoodallergytherapist 

TikTik: @foodallergytherapist 

Website: www.jennatso.com

Find Mia Silverman (Allergies with Mia):

Instagram & TikTok: @allergieswithmia

Website: allergieswithmia.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Welcome to the Food Allergy Brain. I'm your host, Mia Silverman, a food allergy advocate, content creator, and master's student in clinical psychology. This podcast explores the mental and emotional side of living with food allergies through conversations with experts and people doing important work in this space. Before we begin, please remember that everything discussed on this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice. For questions about your own health, food allergies, or treatment, always consult with a qualified doctor or medical professional. Today's guest is Jenna So, a licensed clinical social worker based in California who specializes in food allergies, chronic illness, and anxiety. Jenna not only works with clients navigating the mental health impact of food allergies, but she also brings lived experiences to her practice, having grown up with anaphylactic food allergies herself. In this episode, we talk about Jenna's personal journey from experiencing a severe allergic reaction in college to becoming a food allergy-informed therapist. We discuss the mental health impact of food allergies during adolescence and young adulthood, the challenges of self-advocacy, navigating college dining halls, and building confidence after medical trauma. Jenna also shares her therapeutic approach, including CBT, fear ladders, support groups, and brain spotting for processing allergy-related trauma. Without further ado, let's get into today's episode. Jenna, so welcome to the podcast. It's such an honor to have you on today.

SPEAKER_01 1:33

Yay, I'm so excited to be here. I know we've been connected for a while, so it's nice to finally get a chance to chat like this.

SPEAKER_00 1:40

Yes, for sure. So I'd love to begin with just, you know, for those that don't know who you are, could you just share a bit about yourself?

SPEAKER_01 1:47

Yeah, um, my name is Jenna. I am a therapist in California. I specialize in food allergies, chronic illness, and anxiety. Um, but before I was a therapist, I was born with anaphylactic allergies and asthma myself. And so I started out on Instagram, you know, just making a blog about safe restaurants and sort of food allergy tips in college. And then that blog sort of became my um therapy page. And um, yeah, now I'm I'm lucky to specialize in this very much emerging niche in the mental health world, and um, I still post on that page and you know, spread awareness.

SPEAKER_00 2:24

That's so amazing. And so you mentioned you have food anaphylactic food allergies. What are you allergic to, first of all?

SPEAKER_01 2:31

Yeah, well, so really exciting. Um, I'm only allergic to dairy now. Dairy is my anaphylactic allergy. Um I'm very allergic to dairy, but um, growing up, I was allergic to dairy, eggs, beef, and pork. And I also have like a bunch of environmental allergens, as I'm I'm sure a lot of food allergy folks do. Um, but recently in like the past couple of years, uh, I had like allergy testing done. I'm also on Zolair, and I kind of got the okay for my allergies to like start um, you know, trying like oral food challenges of small amounts of the eggs, beef, and pork. And I've been able to tolerate those. So now I'm no longer uh technically allergic to them. They were never as severe as my dairy allergy. Um, so it was never on like the anaphylactic or contact scale. But um, yeah, it's awesome that now dairy is my only, you know, allergen I have to worry about.

SPEAKER_00 3:23

That is huge. First of all, congratulations. I mean, upgrowing allergies is always such a hard thing to do, and it's a win when it does happen. So congrats for that. How do you feel? Like, when did this happen that you were able to like pass these challenges and now eat it freely? Like when was this?

SPEAKER_01 3:38

This is really recent. Yeah. No, I feel I feel amazing. I mean, I'm so lucky. I I when your world is is limited, you know, for a while. I mean, for your whole life. Like I just I had never even eaten eggs or a steak or you know, things like that. So it's huge when, oh my gosh, when so much is opened up now. And even going to certain restaurants, like for instance, I think a lot of Asian cuisine, um, I would have to be careful just with like eggs or beef or pork. But usually for my dairy allergy, Asian restaurants, I would have like a lot of luck there, like East Asian, um, especially sushi, things like that. But now it's amazing. I mean, I feel like I can go into a sushi restaurant and pretty much eat everything except for like a Philadelphia roll, you know? So people that have like mayo, just there's a lot of things that you know, eggs are in, especially. So it's it's been huge. I'm really, really thankful.

SPEAKER_00 4:28

Wow, that's so awesome. And so when were you diagnosed with your food allergies? And how did you find out you even had these allergies in the first place? Like, did you have a reaction to it when you were young? Like, what was the story behind all that? Oh yeah, oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:42

I was like fresh out of the womb, and I had a reaction to formula in the hospital. Um so, like, first days alive, um, I had reactions and the doctors were confused. I was also born in the 90s. They're like, what's going on? And um, yeah, and my mom at my neither of my parents have allergies. So my mom was, you know, drinking milk, all the things. And so I also was reacting to her breast milk. So they weren't sure what was going on with me. And then um, they did a lot of blood testing and allergy testing. My mom did like elimination diets, and she noticed that, especially when she eliminated dairy, that I was able to tolerate her breast milk. And um, yeah, on all of the allergy testing, I think it showed that my milk one was like off the charts. So um I was diagnosed within my first year of life. It was really early for me. So this has kind of been just the way I have this is all I've known. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:39

Wow. And so, because you know, typically, like, you know, pork and what was it going steak or like beef you can't, you couldn't have, right? Yeah, and so that's not very typical. Usually it's like, you know, allergies like peanuts, trina, that's like the top nine. That's not the top nine. So, how is that like how is it navigating that throughout like your childhood, like you know, high school, college? Because, like, you know, if you're going in the dining hall, they're definitely gonna be serving beef for sure, or even at the grocery store, that's everywhere. Like, how would you how was that growing up for you?

SPEAKER_01 6:09

Oh, yeah. I mean, growing up, my parents did a great job of they were on top of it, like they were really, really attentive. My mom was a stay-at-home mom for most of my childhood, and um, she did just so much of the advocacy for me. She often would volunteer at my school, like she was really present. So I honestly didn't notice, like, there were there were, of course, moments where yeah, I would notice, oh, I can't have what other people are having, but I usually had like a safe substitute from home. Um, my parents did a really good job of making me feel still included. It was really when I entered adolescence in high school, and it's like, oh, okay, I'm in these social situations, you know, I'm starting to feel awkward or embarrassed. I'm starting to feel like I'm different, especially because in the middle of eighth grade, I moved from Oregon to Southern California. And so I'm like, I'm the new kid, and I have like these embarrassing allergies that felt like just a big I'm different label. And so I really was struggling to advocate for myself. I just wanted to minimize them. I didn't want anyone to know. I would always show up to social occasions and would eat before and would just be like, oh, I'm not hungry. So it was really challenging for me. And then especially when I went to college, I actually did my undergrad at the University of Toronto in Canada. So I'm in a new country, know no one there. And in at that school, at least at the time that I was there, they had really poor food allergy practices, and I had such a poor time with the dining hall, like you were kind of uh theorizing. And so that was by far like the most challenging time for me, especially going to the dining hall. Originally I was promised, oh, we'll be able to accommodate you. Just come and talk to our chef, and there will be something safe each day. That was not the case. There were days where there wasn't something safe, and it got to a point where I had to meet with the chef and he said, I don't think we can accommodate you. I think you should talk to the dean about getting a partial refund. And that's what I did. And then I just had to spend the rest of my freshman year um with a microwave as my only cooking device and a mini fridge, and that was how I made it work. Wow, for all four years of college. For that was just my first year when I was living in the dorm. Okay. Longly after that, I moved off campus because I'm like, I need my own kitchen, right?

SPEAKER_00 8:25

Ain't no way it ain't no way. Wow. Wow. And so, you know, just having those allergies, like, how did that affect your mental health overall?

SPEAKER_01 8:35

Oh, yeah. I mean, going into college, I I feel like in high school I was really focused again. I had moved to this new place. In high school, I was really focused on just assimilating and fitting in and being accepted. And by the end of high school, I finally felt like I'd gotten that. And then I'm moving to somewhere new, which partially was on me. Like, did I have to go so far? No, but I really liked the program there. I wanted the new experience, I wanted to push myself. Um, but going to- Toronto's a really cool place too. You can't go wrong with Toronto.

SPEAKER_00 9:03

Like, I don't blame you for that.

SPEAKER_01 9:04

I don't blame you. It is exactly. I know you're on the East Coast, it sounds like you've been there. Yeah, it's a great city. Yeah. So I wanted to have that new experience, but going into college again, like I still felt like I hadn't really cemented my own self-advocacy skills. I hadn't really um communicated about my allergies a lot to people. I didn't feel solid going into college. I still felt like if I went to a restaurant, I kind of wanted my mom to do the advocating for me to the staff. Like it still wasn't really comfortable for me. So going into college, it was a really big transition. And I struggled initially to make friends. Um, just the school I was at was very competitive academically. I felt like in the dorm building I was in, people became friends like overnight. And I missed like the friendship, the one day where you could make new friends, which probably isn't what it is, but that's how it felt. Um and so I ended up kind of frantically joining clubs, and then I actually joined a sorority, and that was really where I found like my people. Um, but in that sorority, I was sort of back in that place of like, I just want to be accepted, I want to assimilate, and I don't want people to think of me as weird or different. So again, like that was a really stressful environment for me with my allergies, and it all sort of came to a head at the end of my freshman year. Um, it was the sorority formal, which they have every year, and it was a dinner. They were having it at an Italian restaurant, which you can imagine with my dairy allergy, like not ideal.

SPEAKER_00 10:30

Did you have the beef allergy still, or that was already you outgrew that during college? No, I still had the eggs and beef and pork as well. I mean, Italian has like, you know, bologna's, that's beef and pork too. Pasta has egg in it. Oh my god, I can't even imagine.

SPEAKER_01 10:42

Anyway, go on with your story. No, so you can imagine I'm already like having a lot of anxiety about this dinner, right? And so I go to um the VP of risk management, she was the one who was coordinating this whole dinner, and I had let her know about my allergies. I was very, you know, specific. And I said, hey, if this restaurant, if they don't feel comfortable, like just let me know because I will totally eat ahead of time. I'll bring my own food. Like, I just really didn't want to have an issue. But she was so confident. She was like, I've had endless conversations with the staff, they really get it. And I'm not blaming this on her at all, um, because I do think she really did like advocate for me. But obviously, something happened in the kitchen when they were trying to serve me just my plain, yeah. I was supposed to just have literally plain boiled noodles with like marinara sauce on it. And apparently they like sprinkled parmesan and then scraped it off when they realized. And you can imagine, um, I ended up having a reaction and it was very severe. I was hospitalized. Um, but that reaction, you know, as traumatic as that was, it, you know, really needed to happen for multiple reasons. Um, one, I think reactions are actually important like checkpoints, and it highlights like your own skills deficits and where you need to be more prepared, um, the areas that you need to build your confidence in with your allergy management. And also I think there are such important learning and growth opportunities. Like, even though there's so much trauma and sadness and fear with them too, like my reaction showed me, whoa, I am scared to use the EpiPen on myself. Like, I hesitated for way too long. And so after that, I like practiced with my practice EpiPen, and I really had to work to get through that fear. And that reaction also was the catalyst for me starting therapy for the first time, seriously, in my life. And that was so impactful for me. I had an amazing psychologist at the school that I was at that I worked with. She was amazing, but she didn't know anything about food allergies. So I had to do a lot of educating and helping her understand just like how severe it is and how much it permeates every arena of your life. And she was so understanding and like really got it once I educated her. But she was the first person that said to me, like, wouldn't it be awesome if you could do this for someone one day and that you don't have to explain everything to them? They just got it. Like, how cool would it be for you to be like a food allergy-informed therapist? So she was really the first person that put that in my head. So again, if I didn't have that experience with that reaction at this Italian restaurant, I'm not sure that I would have, you know, gone down this path as quickly as I did, you know, to become a therapist. And I'm not sure that, you know, it would have really made me like hone in on my advocacy skills and my allergy management. I it really forced me to fine-tune all those areas that I wasn't confident in.

SPEAKER_00 13:38

Wow, that's beautiful. I feel like that whole phrase that goes, everything happens for a reason. While it's so cliche, it's honestly so true. I feel like that's a perfect example of this. How, you know, obvious that reaction sounds so trauma traumatizing, and I'm so sorry to go through that, Jenna. But I'm so thankful that you're able to take that as an opportunity to learn and grow from it and help you evolve as a human and someone that has allergies and learn how to advocate for yourself because I feel like those kinds of experiences like teaches you a lot. And so I'm glad you have that outlook on it instead of just kind of viewing it as like this terrible thing you can't learn from it, you're viewing it as something that you can learn from and use it to not only help yourself but also help others. So I love that answer so much. That was like beautiful. I know that also I was doing some stalking and not in a creepy way, but just doing some research on you. And you have this blog that you kind of touched on, I think, briefly um earlier in our conversation, and you started it after your anaphylactic reaction. Is that true? Yes. And has it also like kind of helped you kind of navigate your allergies and just like like how has that kind of helped you cope with it? Has the blog helped in that way?

SPEAKER_01 14:39

Totally, yeah. I originally, your your stalking is correct. I I started it after that reaction. Um, it sort of came from a place of yeah, like, ooh, I I need to find my voice. And I feel if I feel really ashamed and embarrassed of this part of me, this thing that I have to manage, like maybe there's an opportunity to challenge that fear and put myself out there, but also like maybe there's a community out there of people that I can connect with because I felt very alone in my day-to-day life. I didn't know anyone with um, you know, anaphylactic allergies. I knew some people with like some mild food allergies, but I was really made to feel my whole life like, whoa, you have this, you know, really severe thing that I've never heard of. And so it was amazing when I remember after my allergy, just sort of looking online, and I think I did find a few people with food allergies that had Instagram pages, and that it was inspiring to me. Like, okay, maybe I could, you know, help other people feel less alone in this. And also it was sort of a way for me to like um in hindsight, I was I was in a sorority when I started, you know, this blog, and everyone at the sorority saw me have that reaction at that sorority dinner, right? And I think I viewed that experience as a learning opportunity for the whole sorority, you know, and so I thought maybe um maybe I can help uh implement first aid protocol in this chapter and help educate them about allergy awareness. And also maybe I can start this Instagram blog and my friends can follow it if they want. And it's kind of like a lower pressure way for me to share about this part of my life that I feel a little uncomfortable talking about in person, if that makes sense, you know? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:22

Wow, you're I don't know if I can say this word, but you're a badass, Jenna. Like that's a hopefully I can say that. Um that's amazing. Good point. Um, I was I want to keep it somewhat PG, but I feel like I can say that word once every blue moon. It's okay. Hopefully no one will get mad at me for that. But that I really mean that though. Like, I think, and so did you end up like doing like a first aid kind of like like course or something to kind of like teach your sorority sisters? Like, how did that end up playing out?

SPEAKER_01 16:48

Yeah, yes. Um, I ended up, uh it's so funny. I ended up that next year, I ran for the position of VP of risk management, the person. Yeah, who the who plans these events, but also they, you know, are supposed to manage risk. They're supposed to um have some sort of first aid protocol and um know where the first aid kit is and talk about harm reduction and um safety. And so I did. I did, I led a PowerPoint presentation on anaphylaxis and allergy protocol. Um, we also we I did other presentations on like um a CPR and you know, even using like Narcan, different things. Um, so I really took that job seriously and I did use that as an opportunity to like use my voice and you know, just step into that advocate role because I realized I am not gonna be the one and only person with allergies that steps through this sorority's doors. And if I can make this easier for the next person, that is so worth it. And if they can look at their manual or look at their past presentations and say, oh yeah, I remember we have a protocol for this, or oh, remember a couple years ago when that girl gave that presentation, like that is what made it worth it. And that was also part of my motivation for the Instagram page. I wanted just, yeah, the people who wanted to follow it to be able to see it and for it to just kind of be in their in their minds a little bit. Oh yeah, Jenna has this allergy, or oh, like I didn't even realize these are some things I should consider. Um, and I really did notice once I created the page that people did start to become more aware around me just because before I wasn't really talking about it, I wasn't, you know, reminding them of it, and it just increased their overall awareness. So it was a really positive um effect.

SPEAKER_00 18:28

It must be like so empowering for you too, just being able to like take that experience and use it to educate others and your sorority and now like have like, you know, online platform where you can educate people. Now you're a therapist too. I want to kind of get into that because that's such a just a really cool story of how you know you've dealt with these allergies and now you're able to help others that are in a similar situation. And so you mentioned you had that, you know, school or like that school counselor at your university that kind of put that first idea into your head about being like a food allergy specialized um therapist. And so, you know, when you started going to grad school, do they have any sort of like health psychology classes or any classes on like allergies or chronic health conditions or anything in that regard?

SPEAKER_01 19:15

I feel like you kind of know the answer to this, maybe, could just by the tone of your voice. Uh no, at least not in the program that I was in. Um I I did take one class that was more geared towards like working um in like a health setting, like whether it's hospitals or in outpatient mental health care. Um, just because I ended up, I got my master's in social work and I chose social work. I mean, there's so many different pathways you could take to becoming a therapist, but there were three different tracks you could choose. Um, there was like an older adult track if you wanted to do more hospice social work. There was um a child track if you wanted to do more like um working in the child welfare system, and then there was like more of a mental health track, which is what I chose. So um I think I took one class that was like health related, but to be honest with you, that was it. There was no focus on chronic illness or especially food allergies. And to this day, when I interact with other therapists, um, they're usually surprised to hear about my specialty. And there's usually there's some, there's some curiosity, like, oh, like why what's the need there? Like, why is that a uh a therapy specialty? And then once I explain it to them, people usually understand and uh realize, oh wow, actually, food allergies, there's this huge mental health component. Um, but a lot of people don't don't get it still, even even other therapists.

SPEAKER_00 20:42

Really? That's so I mean, I do think that like food allergy psychology and just therapy is still pretty niche, even though there's such a high demand for it, and there's such a I feel like there is some sort of like mental health crisis amongst the food allergy community to some degree, whether it's you know experiencing bullying, um, or just like some sort of like food allergy-related anxiety, food fear, um, PTSD from anaphylactic reaction. So the fact that like there's even to this day, like I just like I'm in grad school now and we have like one health site class and that's it. So I'm like, oh, maybe when you were in grad school there was something, but even I guess like it's still slowly progressing where we're even able to address like the just how psychology and health, like physical health do interact to some degree, but that's really interesting and not surprising, but also not surprising. Um but I guess that shows that. You need to teach a class. Yeah, you can do it together or something, co-teach. Um, and overall, like, did you enjoy your grad school experience? Like, how how was grad school for you overall?

SPEAKER_01 21:45

Yeah, I loved it. Um, I thought it was like an amazing two year experience. I loved getting to really focus on stuff I was passionate about, like in school, you know, not having to take a bunch of general ed requirements, but actually being able to, you know, learn. Learn about theories and things I'm interested in. But honestly, the best part of grad school for me is at least the program that I was in, you had to do a clinical practicum each year. So, you know, we would have two days of class a week, but then we would have three days at our practicum. So most of your program is you in clinic being a therapist or social worker in some capacity. And so that was where all the real learning happens. And that was where I grew so much, learned so, so much. So my first year, I worked at a um, it was at a child and family clinic that was connected to a domestic violence shelter. So I was doing therapy with parents and kids there. And then my second year, I was at an adult outpatient mental health clinic in LA, and I got to have a lot more experience with like substance use and psychotic disorders there. Um, so I got great experience at both, but both very different.

SPEAKER_00 22:54

Wow. I love to transition more to you being a therapist. First of all, at least from your TikTok, you took your clinical licensing exam. Is that congrats? And are you officially now you're a clinical licensed social worker? Yes, that's correct. That's amazing. Congratulations on that. I'm super curious about the group therapy sessions. Like, can you walk me through what that's like, like how that's laid out, what exercises you do, how it's just how you facilitate that? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:23

So I'll I'll clarify that currently I don't have any group therapy sessions right now. Um, about a year and a half ago, I did a 10-week closed therapeutic group for moms of children with food allergies. And so in that group, I developed like the curriculum for it. And so we would have um, we would usually start out with some icebreakers and kind of a check-in, and then we would do like a group sort of mindfulness activity, and then each week there was a different theme, and I would usually have like some sort of um therapeutic uh activity for us to partake in. And um, I would give worksheets, we'd be tackling different things like managing anxiety when your child is undergoing, you know, food allergy treatment programs, um, different things like caregiver fatigue, grief, like how to process grief with your child with food allergies, um, trauma after an anaphylactic reaction, like vicarious trauma. So we we talked about a lot of different things, and I would love to do that group again. Um, but I've been more shifting my focus to support groups. So the difference is that I'm not acting as a therapist in support groups. So I currently I'm facilitating four support groups, two are just through my private practice, and then two I do in partnership with the Center for Chronic Illness, which is like a national organization. So the two that I do are for adults with food allergies, and that's open to everyone in 50 states because I'm just a support group facilitator. So I'm just moderating discussion. I come in and I always have, again, like I have icebreakers, I have a theme, I have discussion questions, but I take my therapist hat off and I'm not giving psychoeducation, I'm not doing therapeutic modalities or techniques. I'm just like Jenna, the person with allergies in that group. And same with my group for parents of children with food allergies. That's purely a support group. So there's no therapeutic or psychoeducational component. Um, that's how I'm able to do it for people in all 50 states. And um, additionally, the other two groups, I have um a group that I do that's for free because the Center for Chronic Illness um does it in partnership with App Fed, which is like the national organization for EOE. Um, and so that group is for tweens with EOE. So I think it's like 11 or 12 to 15 years old. And then I also do another group with them that's for um folks in Florida who are croneous healthcare patients. It's for folks with chronic illness. So um I have four groups in total, but those groups I'm not a therapist, if that makes sense.

SPEAKER_00 25:55

Yeah, that makes complete sense. And so I actually would like to ask like another question regarding like these support groups, then, because I've been to some and they can be kind of awkward at first. So, like, what kinds of icebreaker questions do you ask? Are they more food allergy related? Are they more kind of general questions? Like, how do you approach that?

SPEAKER_01 26:12

Yeah, oh my gosh, they totally. I mean, it can be so awkward at first. The good thing is once you have done a group once and usually some of the same familiar faces come back the next time, it's easier as the group goes on because there's a shared sense of rapport there. You're not having to start from scratch, and people start to look forward to it, they remember things about each other, and you can sort of tie in last group's themes, things that people brought up, and you can use that to structure your next group so it's relevant. Um, but in terms of starting off the group, I mean, I have to run through like my disclaimer, I have to run through like the group norms each time, like things like confidentiality and you know, being mindful of time and space, being mindful of advice giving, that sort of thing. But once I get through the logistics, I very much am like, hey, like feel free to interrupt me. I'm gonna like have these things for us to talk about and I'm gonna like guide discussion. But if you come in with your own stuff, if you're like, I need to get support on this thing that happened this week, if you have a question, like this is your space. So I really try to like structure it so that people feel comfortable and they feel like this is their time and that they can ask for what they need. Um, and I try to do a mixture of like fun and light questions, especially to start. Um, and then like some more thought-provoking questions, but I usually start off a little bit more um like on the lighter side, and I don't dive into food allergy stuff all the way because I also want us to remember that we're people outside of our health conditions, you know. So, like I remember some of my questions that I had at my group um yesterday was like, I love to do check-in mood one through ten, like ten being the best mood, where are you at just right now? And then I think I asked, like, what's uh a win and a setback that you've had in the last month since we've met. And then I also asked, um, what's your current obsession? And this could be a TV show, it could be a food, it could be a skincare item. And everyone has such fun things to share. And of course, people end up having the same obsession, then they end up talking about that. So that's kind of an example of what I might start out with.

SPEAKER_00 28:19

I love that. And so to kind of switch gears to more of like your one because you do also one-on-one sessions with like clients. That's correct. So, what is, in your opinion, the most effective therapeutic modality for your clients who live with sweet allergies? Would you say what is like your therapeutic approach?

SPEAKER_01 28:38

There are a couple approaches that I like. Um, most of all, I mean, I I call myself an eclectic and a relational therapist, which is like a funky way to say that I don't stick to one thing strictly. I tailor my approach to every client that I meet, to their individualized needs, and that I'm relational, meaning that to me, the most healing part of the therapeutic relationship is the relationship. It's the trust, the bond, the therapeutic alliance. So if they don't trust me, if we don't have good rapport, like there is no healing that's really being done. Um, so for me, I like foundation is have a good relationship, have that trust. Um, and then once I get to know the person, then I can kind of start to parse out like what might be some modalities or techniques that could be useful for them. But I'm not going in being like, ah, I'm gonna use all CBT with this person, you know what I mean? Yes, yes. But CBT, you know, sometimes it gets a bad rep. Um, that is one thing that I'm trained in. I do like CBT as a foundational talk therapy, and I think especially with food allergies, when you're dealing with certain cognitive distortions, certain unhelpful, rigid thinking patterns, um, I think it actually can be very helpful to get into the practice of noticing and catching those thoughts and being able to evaluate, you know, the accuracy of those thoughts. Because even with food allergies, we often we do catastrophize. Maybe there are certain situations that we're avoiding that we don't necessarily need to avoid. Um, I also even, for instance, uh earlier today I had a session and we were doing um a CBT approach. We were mapping out a fear ladder. So we had like literally a picture of a ladder, and starting at the first rung on the ladder, I had them identify what's like a low anxiety-inducing situation for you that would be like a two out of ten on the anxiety scale. So, like it's something that maybe you could do, but it's just gonna evoke a little bit of nervousness. And then we work our way up mapping all these types of situations that are related to food allergies up to the top, the 10 out of 10 anxiety-inducing situation. And we have that relate to maybe one of their overarching goals that they want to work on in therapy, like, you know, expanding my world, being able to go out to restaurants with my food allergies, that sort of thing. So that is a CBT approach, like being able to create a fear ladder and then like systematically work on those fears over time addressing them, increasing your confidence and scaffolding and climbing up the ladder to eventually address the top fear.

SPEAKER_00 31:17

I love that. That is so cool. I think it's a great way to visualize kind of like the different types of fears you have and like how they are definitely achievable to like navigate and deal with. That's really cool. Um, I guess to kind of add on to that, because you probably have clients that you know probably experienced allergic reactions or anaphylaxis, depending on like, you know, how severe.

SPEAKER_01 31:37

I'm so glad that you're mentioning that um because another therapeutic modality that I'm trained in that I really like is called brain spotting. And that is um a more somatic approach where you're utilizing an eye position to help someone access memory capsules and emotional material that they don't have access to in their typical like higher thinking talking brain. It's in their limbic system. And to get to the limbic brain, we have to do some bilateral stimulation. So listening to some special music, and I guide them into this like sort of focused mindfulness processing where they're finding this visual spot to look at that's linked with a typical emotion or perhaps a memory, and they're able to reprocess that traumatic material. I actually I have my little brain spotting pointer right here. Yes, yeah, you may have heard, you may be more familiar with EMDR. Um so, yes, if I was starting a brain spotting session with someone, especially maybe they had a traumatic allergic reaction or they have, you know, food allergy-related trauma, brain spotting is so great for that because we hold so much in our bodies, so much of that trauma is left over. And you might even like enter a situation that reminds you in some way of that reaction, and your body might start tensing up, your throat might even start to even like tighten or get a little raspy, and then that could trigger a whole slew of worries, right? You're like, Am I having a reaction? All of that stuff. So brain spotting is awesome for that. So, how I would start a session, I first would want to ask someone, um, what is the issue that you want to work on? What's causing you the most distress today? And I would have them identify what that is. Sometimes I might even ask them, like, if I could wave a wand, like, what would you want to change today? And then I sort of go through and I ask them a series of activating questions to really like cue up that issue in their mind and get them to like really feel it. While I'm asking these questions, I'm having them listen to this special bilateral stimulating music. Um, so they're listening in the in their headphones while also talking to me. And as I'm asking these questions, I might say something like, um, what is the worst part of this issue for you? I might say, like, how intensely can you feel this emotion right now? Scale of, you know, one to ten. I might ask one word at a time, what are the emotions that you feel about this? Or how far back do you sense this issue goes for you? Um, and what has this cost you? How has this affected your view of yourself? So you see these activating questions, they're really getting you activated to think about whatever this issue is. And then I will have them then identify in their body where they feel that sensation. So, for instance, if the issue is like anxiety about maybe my food allergies, then I'll after I kind of have them get activated, I'll have them identify where in their bodies they're holding that anxiety. And I find that after helping someone go through those questions, they usually are able to identify, like, oh, I feel like a tightness in my chest, you know, where I feel like this tension in my shoulders. But some people aren't able to feel it in their bodies, and that's okay. That often means that maybe they are more of a dissociative person. Um, so they it it's still it, it's brain spotting is still effective for them, but they just might have a hard time feeling it's possible their body is like numb or the the trauma, whatever it is, might be so overwhelming that it's too much to feel it in their bodies. Um, but still, if I if they can feel it in their body, I have them identify where that is. And then from there, there's several ways to brain spot, but I kind of can choose what method I want to do. Um, but the kind of simple way to do it, you know, would be to sort of um have my little handy stick.

SPEAKER_00 35:23

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 35:24

And I would ask, you know, if this is at eye level for them, and they would say, you know, yes, or I would adjust it. And like, let's say, is this at eye level for you? Uh no.

SPEAKER_00 35:40

Uh actually a little bit lower, a little bit lower. Okay, tell me when I think that's good. That's good. Okay. But looking at you just right now, so yeah.

SPEAKER_01 35:50

Okay, okay. Just for the sake of demoing, I was like, let me let me show what I would do. Um and then I would sort of have them again, I would cue up that issue again. I'd say, you know, going back to that, let's say they rated the anxiety on a scale of um one to ten, let's say they rated it a seven out of ten. Going back to that anxiety, that seven out of ten, that tightness in your chest. When I put this pointer in the middle here and you focus on it, do you feel that anxiety any more, less, or about the same? And I kind of pause, let them, you know, check in with themselves. And it's fascinating, but you actually will feel a difference, especially if I move it over here and I have you look at it over here, they might be like, oh, I actually feel it way less when it's on that side. Like, that's weird. And then I'll try over here on this side too. So I'll usually try, you know, three different fields, like right, left, center. And then it it depends on the client. And again, this is just one way to brain spot. There's a lot of ways to do it. But um, I'll also I might try going up and down. Once we've found maybe which side they feel that anxiety the strongest, then maybe I say, okay, what if I move it up here? And I might even say, let's go off the screen. If I move this off the screen and you look even past the computer in your own environment and you look at that spot, do you feel that anxiety any stronger or less? And I might also go low and have them see that, see how they feel down there. And it depends. Some clients, we might want to stick on the activation spot, which is where they feel the anxiety or the emotion uh the strongest. But for some clients who might have um a lot of trauma or they might be more dissociative, that might be too overwhelming and outside of their zone of tolerance. So we might actually go to the lower spot where they feel the anxiety lower because that's their resource spot. That's where they're actually maybe able to access feelings that are the opposite of that anxiety, maybe things of calm, control, groundedness, and they're still able to process a lot of important emotional material, but from a more resourced space. So their system doesn't like shut down, if that makes sense.

SPEAKER_00 37:58

That is so fascinating. Thank you for that demo, Jenna. Oh my gosh, that was so cool. And like, is this like a newer thing? Kind of like is this like evidence-based? I mean, it probably is a I don't know why Elsie would be doing this in the first place if it wasn't evidence-based.

SPEAKER_01 38:16

I know, yeah, I I promise I didn't make this up. No, I mean, there no, I I I can't remember the creator of brain spotting, his name is David Grand. Um, there is evidence to back up the efficacy of brain spotting. I actually know um in the Sandy Hook shooting, um, they did a a big like map of all of the evidence-based approaches that people used um when um treating survivors of that shooting and their families. And brain spotting was one of the most effective modalities. So I think that it's going to increase in popularity. I think it's it's relatively newer. Um, I can't don't quote me on when it was created, but um I love it. I love it because one, I know it's a little weird. Like once I find that spot with someone and we decide to stay there, they're still listening to that special music, and I just go quiet. So as a therapist, I'm not talking. And I would say, okay, I just want you to focus on that spot. Again, thinking about that anxiety, that seven out of ten, that tightness in your chest. And I'm here if you need me, but I want you to just notice what happens and see where your brain goes with curiosity. And I go quiet, which is strange as a therapist to not be talking, but it's actually really helpful because we're trying to keep them in their limbic brain. When we ask questions, when we talk too much, we bring them back up to their higher thinking brain, to their prefrontal cortex. We don't want them there. And so it's so powerful when you go quiet and you watch someone drop in, and when they're looking at this spot, when they're listening to that music, so much powerful healing happens. They, their brain has all the information they need. They just need to make the connections and to be able to sit in the space with someone that's really scary, I think, for someone to think, oh my gosh, I have to go back to that feeling, that anxiety, like, ah, I don't want to do it. But it's actually so healing when you have someone that you are attuned to, someone that's connected to you, someone safe that's there to hold the space with you. You're not in it alone. So it can be a very powerful healing experience.

SPEAKER_00 40:20

That is, I mean, I just learned so much from this, especially from this conversation, this section, especially. Wow, that is really cool. And I thank you again for sharing that with me, Jenna. And I'm glad that that is effective because I feel like you know, going into anaphylaxis is really traumatic. So finding ways to kind of help cope with like the PTSU or just the trauma that you feel after is so important. So I'm glad that this is a technique that works. We need more of those, and this is super unconventional, and I love it. So overall, for from yourself and your experience with your allergies and even like with the clients that you have, what's one positive thing your food allergies have brought into your life?

SPEAKER_01 41:00

Oh my gosh, so many. I mean, it's made me challenge so many of my fears that I had my fears of being seen, my fears of being a burden, of being different. Like I carried so many of these negative core beliefs when I was younger that I really had to challenge and squash. And it's made me have a greater sense of purpose. I feel like my life, my suffering has a meaning, like I'm making a greater impact. I've connected with so many people I wouldn't have connected with if I didn't have this thing. It's increased my empathy. I mean, my awareness of just other disabilities and health conditions. Like it's made me more resilient. You know, I've when when you live with an anaphylactic allergy or life-threatening health condition like I have, like I've had so many near-death experiences in my life. And that also it shows you how precious life is and it puts things into a different perspective. Like I don't take a lot of things for granted, you know, my health, being able to eat at a safe restaurant, like these things are life-changing for us that a lot of people walk into any restaurant, they don't care, you know, that's normal for them. But I think it's giving me a new perspective and increased awareness and empathy that I'm I'm so glad that I have.

SPEAKER_00 42:12

That's a great answer. So thank you for sharing that, Jenna. And then my last question I ask every guest of mine is if you could design the ideal emotional and medical support system for food allergy families and patients, what would that look like to you?

SPEAKER_01 42:29

Ooh, okay, it would be an integrated one. And what I mean by that is an allergist office, you know, or some sort of healthcare setting. First of all, one that is like trauma-informed and calming when you enter it. It's not like sterile and scary. Like even in the architecture, like it, you know, walking into uh an office, like certain things are trauma-informed and certain things aren't. Like just yeah, being mindful of what makes people feel safe and comfortable. Um, but also something that's integrated. So doctors, it's not just doctors and medical assistants there, but there's also like integrated mental health support. You know, there are licensed therapists there that are trained in this. Like, I also would love if there's um kind of a more somatic or homeopathic component in the sense of like, I think there's other forms of healing, even just besides therapy, that are so powerful. Like, what if we have, you know, like massage therapists? What if we have like yoga practitioners? What if we have a sound bath or different things? What if we have like um equine therapy? You know what I mean? Or like um, I I have a friend who is a therapist and she does surf therapy, like hello there therapy? Yes. Therapy sessions in the water on a surfboard. That's so cool. That's so cool. So, in my ideal uh scenario, it it would be all integrated and there's no hierarchy. Like No one is more important than the other. We all are equally important in supporting this family. And I think that really, to me, represents the holistic approach that I have. Like mind, body, spirit, all this is very integrated. And I think the piece that's missing in a lot of allergy, you know, clinics and programs is first of all, there's a lack of mental health screening in the beginning. And I think there should be screening to determine your level of food allergy anxiety. There is like a valid, you know, um scale of food allergy anxiety measure now that's out there, but who uses it? Like not a lot of the clinics that I've talked to, you know. So if that was implemented and then people were given resources in the beginning, they were given support groups, referrals to all these allergy-informed therapists, I think that would make such a difference. And then also if there was integrated support along the way at these food challenges, these things that are very anxiety-inducing, um, I think that would be life-changing. And then, yeah, in my ideal world, like a really nice, chill office where we're helping mind, body, spirit, we're working with it all.

SPEAKER_00 45:03

Well, sign me up. I want to go to that whenever it opens. I love that so much. I think definitely integrating like yoga or like movement or other types of approaches is really different. I didn't, I haven't even, like, none of my guests have mentioned that. So that's why this question is so interesting because everyone's a kind of a slightly different answer. And so I love that answer so much. So thank you. And so now, Jenna, for those that want to, you know, follow you on your socials or maybe even like do one of your support groups, where can they find you? And I'll make sure to link all of it in the description um of this podcast. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 45:35

So my website is www.jenna, J E N N A. So Tiaz and Thomas S O.com. So it's just my name. And on my website, you can see my full offerings, including individual therapy if you're in California, and my support groups. Um, and you can also just message me on there. There's all my contact info. If you'd like to follow me on socials, on Instagram, I'm at the food allergy therapist, all one word. And then on TikTok, which I'm starting to get into, I'm inspired by you trying to trying to get on there. It's very uh exposing. Yes, that's one way to describe it, but I agree. On TikTok, I'm just food allergy therapist. Um, so yeah, best way, probably my my website if you want to reach me directly or get in any of my groups or um, you know, see if I'm a fit for working with you individually.

SPEAKER_00 46:27

Thank you all for listening to today's episode. I hope you all have a wonderful day, night, afternoon, wherever you're from, and I'll see you next time. Bye.