Bridge the Food Gap:
An ARFID Recovery Workbook
Coming Soon: Fall 2023


Amanda Garant MS RD LD
I am Amanda Garant, a Registered Dietitian (RD). I completed my undergraduate degree in dietetics at Marshall University (WE. ARE. MARSHALL!) and my Masters Degree in dietetics at Ball State University (Chirp Chirp!!). I have been a dietitian since 2009 and have been working with individuals suffering from eating disorders since 2013. I met Valerie while working at the IU Health Charis Center for Eating Disorders. I have 3 small children (all girls!) and because of this I needed a very flexible schedule and decided to go into private practice. I have continued to see people suffering from eating disorders in my private practice including an ever increasing amount of individuals suffering from ARFID (Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder). One of my personal goals is to provide reliable, usable content to individuals dealing with eating disorders for their own personal recovery journey or as an adjunct to their current treatment. Valerie and I decided to collaborate in order to integrate our psychological and nutritional expertise in supporting eating disorder recovery. We will have even more content coming soon!
Valerie Weesner, PhD, HSPP
I am Valerie Weesner, a licensed clinical psychologist. I completed my undergraduate degree in psychology at Miami University in my home state of Ohio, and my doctoral degree at the State University of New York at Buffalo. I have worked in a variety of different settings with individuals, parents, and families since 1993 when I arrived in Indiana. My husband Tom and I have raised two beautiful daughters who are off on their adulting adventures, and have our two black miniature schnauzers to keep us company. I made the move from private practice to eating disorder treatment at the IU Health Charis Center for Eating Disorders in 2009 to develop the family therapy component of our programming and in 2011 I became the Clinical Director. In 2013 when ARFID became its own diagnosis, we developed a protocol for working with these individuals and their families, which has continued to evolve over the years. I enjoy drawing and writing, so have found creative outlets within my work to enhance my patients' understanding of their concerns, including pictures and worksheets, and one children's book, Elsimore's Anxiety, coming out soon.

Bridge the Food Gap: An ARFID Recovery Workbook
Bridge the Food Gap: An ARFID Recovery Workbook presents an integrative approach to ARFID recovery. It is an essential tool in bridging gaps between kids with ARFID and their parents, adults with ARFID and their loved ones, individuals with ARFID and themselves, and those with ARFID and their treatment teams. This workbook first provides the building blocks to understanding what, and who, ARFID is, and the essentials for ARFID recovery.
Each chapter of this workbook is a building block to helping you or your loved one through every aspect of ARFID, mentally, emotionally, and physically. Once these building blocks are understood, the workbook then provides a bridge to specific strategies for use in the ARFID recovery journey. The tools provided within this workbook help improve nutritional needs and provide tangible experiences for increasing tolerance for fear foods in a manageable way. The worksheets are interwoven with the ideas presented; while they can be used by practitioners independently, they will be most helpful when working through the workbook step by step.