12-12-2015 Sydney -“An Evening With Oprah” Photo Credit: George Burns

Meeting Oprah was a full circle moment in my personal and professional journey. Having been deeply influenced by her work during my recovery from an eating disorder, this experience brought together my past, my healing, and the work I now do with women around emotional eating, trauma and self-worth.

As a 25 year-long viewer of The Oprah Show, Saturday I crossed my number one off my bucket list – I met Oprah at the Sydney VIP Sound Check & An Evening With Oprah.

I know…cool right?!

Meeting Oprah was everything I imagined it would be. She is the real deal – present, authentic, warm and inviting. Her self-deprecating sense of humour is hilarious – this woman can truly laugh at herself!

12-12-2015 Sydney -“An Evening With Oprah”

Photo Credit: George Burns

Oprah was exactly as you would imagine, present, authentic, warm and engaging. There was an ease about her, and a genuine ability to connect with people in the room. Her humour and self-awareness were evident throughout the evening.

I was seated near the front and was one of a small number of people invited to ask a question during the sound check.

At the heart of the work I do as a psychotherapist is supporting women to understand themselves more deeply, particularly in relation to emotional eating, trauma and the underlying feeling of not being good enough. I had intended to ask Oprah what brings her a sense of value, meaning and purpose.

Instead, in the moment, I found myself sharing my gratitude.

There were many guests on The Oprah Show over the years who contributed to my healing from early childhood wounding, disordered eating and a later period of existential and spiritual questioning.

I spoke with Oprah about how stories like Rudine’s had a significant impact on my recovery, and how this continues to inform the way I work with women today.

She shared that Rudine’s story had also profoundly affected her, influencing how she approached her work, the way she interviewed guests, and the direction of the show.

We also touched on the role of spirituality in healing. In my experience, this is often missing from many models of eating disorder treatment, despite being central to both the development of these struggles and the recovery process.

After the Q&A, we were invited onto the stage to have a photo taken with Oprah. After my official photo, she looked at me, gave me a high five and said:

“So you suffered with an eating disorder and now you help people recover, that’s great, good on you.”

Looking back, this experience felt like a bridge between who I was and the work I now do.

My own recovery from chronic dieting, binge eating and bulimia led me into psychotherapy, where I now support women to explore the deeper patterns beneath emotional eating, trauma and low self-worth.

This work is not about fixing symptoms, but about understanding them, and developing a more compassionate and connected relationship with self.

Meeting Oprah didn’t change the direction of my path, but it sure did affirm it.

Please note that the photos in this blog are intended for VIP participants’ personal and social media use only. No further distribution or sale is authorized.