Some days, thoughts about your body can take up more room than anything else. You check your reflection, compare yourself to others, skip the photo, change your outfit three times. It can be tiring, and it can make the rest of life feel smaller. Body image counselling in Ottawa can help you quiet those thoughts and get some of that space back. This post explains the daily habits that keep body worries loud and how counselling works on them.
This post is general information, not a diagnosis.
When the mirror gets the loudest vote
Negative body image is more than not liking a photo now and then. It is when thoughts about how you look show up again and again, and start to steer your choices. Maybe you turn down a beach day. Maybe you dread shopping for clothes. Maybe a passing comment replays in your head for days.
Negative body image in Ottawa looks the same as anywhere else. It affects people of every shape, size, age and gender. It often starts in the teen years, but it can begin or come back at any point in life, such as after an illness, a pregnancy or a big change.
You do not need to have an eating disorder to get help. If thoughts about your body are taking up a lot of space, that is reason enough to talk to someone.
Body checking, comparing and avoiding
Three kinds of habits often keep body worries going.
Body checking means checking your body over and over. That might look like:
Looking at your reflection in every mirror or window
Pinching or measuring parts of your body
Weighing yourself often
Checking how clothes fit, many times a day
Comparing means sizing yourself up against others. It can happen in person or while scrolling social media, where photos are often edited or carefully chosen.
Avoiding means steering clear of things that bring the worry up. Some people avoid mirrors, photos, swimming, fitted clothes or being touched.
These habits make sense. They feel like ways to get relief or stay in control. But they tend to backfire. Checking keeps your attention on what you dislike. Comparing almost always leaves you feeling worse. Avoiding means the fear never gets tested, so it stays big. Over time, the worry gets louder, not quieter.
Small steps you can try this week
You do not have to wait for therapy to start loosening these habits. A few gentle experiments can help:
Count your checks for one day. Just notice, without judging. Many people are surprised by how often they check.
Pick one mirror to skip. Choose one mirror or window you will walk past without looking.
Tidy your feed. Mute or unfollow accounts that leave you feeling worse about yourself, and add some that show many kinds of bodies.
Wear one thing you have been saving. Try it for an hour at home, then notice how the worry rises and falls.
Thank your body for one thing. Maybe it carried you up the stairs, hugged a friend or let you taste a good meal.
Expect the worry to spike a little when you change a habit. That is normal, and it usually settles if you give it time. If a step feels like too much, make it smaller. These are experiments, not tests you can fail.
If the thoughts feel too strong to work on alone, that is not a failure either. It is a sign that some support could help.
How counselling works on body image
Counselling works on these patterns slowly and gently. It is not about changing your body. It is about changing your relationship with it.
Work often starts with noticing. When do the thoughts get louder? What do you do next? How do you feel afterward? Just seeing the pattern clearly can bring some relief.
Next, you and your therapist might choose one habit to shift. That could mean checking the mirror a little less, or wearing something you have been avoiding for a short time. Steps are small and agreed on together. You are never pushed faster than you want to go.
Therapy also works on the harsh voice inside. Many people speak to themselves in ways they would never speak to a friend. Learning a kinder way to respond can make a real difference.
Change is possible, and it is usually gradual. A review of many body image programs found real improvements on average, even if they were often modest (see Sources). Some people find it helpful to focus on what their body can do, rather than how it looks. That idea is part of body neutrality, and a small pilot program built on it was linked with short-term gains for teens (see Sources). Our post on body neutrality explains the approach.
Body image and self-esteem
Body image and self-esteem are closely tied. When your sense of worth rests mostly on how you look, every bad body day becomes a bad day about who you are.
Body image and self-esteem work in Ottawa is about widening that base. Counselling can help you notice the other things that make you who you are: your values, your humour, the way you care for people, the things you are good at. It is about how you treat yourself, not about reaching a certain look.
Some questions you might explore:
What did I learn about bodies growing up?
Whose voice does my inner critic sound like?
What would I do more of if I worried less about how I look?
When it overlaps with eating
Sometimes body image worries come with changes in eating or exercise. You might be skipping meals, following strict food rules, exercising to make up for eating, or feeling out of control around food. If that sounds familiar, it is worth saying so at the free consultation, so you can be matched with the right support. Our post on eating disorder therapy in Ottawa explains how that work looks.
Body dysmorphia is a separate concern, where worry focuses on a flaw others barely notice, and a therapist can assess for it.
Seeing a body image therapist in Ottawa
A good body image therapist in Ottawa will meet you where you are, without judgment and without any talk of diets or weight goals. You choose what to focus on and how fast to go. In the first session, you can talk about what brought you in, which habits feel hardest and what you would like to be different. Your therapist will ask questions and listen, and together you will shape a plan that fits you.
Clinicians on our team whose profiles list body image:
Our Ottawa office is at 1 Rideau St, 7th Floor, inside the Fairmont Chateau Laurier, a short walk from Rideau Station. You can also meet online from anywhere in Ontario. We have offices in Kitchener-Waterloo and Cambridge too, and a separate post on body image counselling in Cambridge.
Cost, billing and your first step
Sessions with our therapists range from $130 to $200, depending on the clinician.
We accept Health Spending Accounts (HSAs).
We can direct bill many insurers. Coverage depends on your plan, so check with your insurer before you start.
Book a free 15-minute consultation with our admin team. Share as much or as little as you like, and we will help you find a therapist who fits.
If you're in crisis: if you or someone you love is in immediate danger, call 911. If you're thinking about suicide, call or text 9-8-8 any time, day or night.
Last reviewed: October 2026
Sources
Alleva JM, Sheeran P, Webb TL, Martijn C, Miles E. A Meta-Analytic Review of Stand-Alone Interventions to Improve Body Image. PLoS ONE, 2015.
Smith AC, Ahuvia I, Ito S, Schleider JL. Project Body Neutrality: Piloting a digital single-session intervention for adolescent body image and depression. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 2023.