Therapy with Charis Stiles, LCSW
Meet Charis
I’m a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) living in the SF Bay Area. I provide virtual therapy to folks across California and Oregon. My approach is gentle, but direct, and with a heavy dose of humor. I identify as a fat, queer, white cisgender (elder) millennial mom, managing daily life with autoimmune disorders. When I’m not working, I’m reading romance novels, dancing with my toddler, and trying my hand at ceramics.
I’m a gemini sun/Capricorn moon/gemini rising.
An eclectic approach
Using eclectic techniques, I work with individuals to deepen their relationships with themselves and their communities. I assist clients with centering themselves in their values and softening their inner critic. Using self-compassion and somatic practices, I help clients reconnect with themselves and re-parent themselves. I help clients learn to replace shaming cognitive patterns with messages of validation and comfort. I coach folks on recovering from eating disorders, managing anxiety, living with neurodivergence, setting boundaries, and developing self-worth.
Recent Interviews, Presentations, and Workshops
Making Your Clinical Practice Weight Inclusive, presentation December 2025
ADHD Deep Dive: Disordered Eating, Weight Stigma, and Clinical Inclusivity, presentation for NeuroPebble November 2025 (available here).
Fat Positive Everything Podcast, January 2025. Fat Pregnancy
Fat Joy Podcast, July 2024. Feeling Belonging, Accepted, and Lovable.
Fat Liberation and Therapy, Presentation to Liberation Institute SF, March 2022, and Presentation to Integral Care, May 2022
Introduction to HAES for Clinicians, presentation May 2021
Cultivating New Fat Liberations: Growing a Movement Ecology with Fat Rose, Fat Studies Journal Published April 2021
Braving Body Shame Virtual Conference Interview, January 2021