Kel O’Neill is a UK-based counsellor, educator, researcher, and lived-experience advocate specialising in eating disorders. She is the founder of Mental Health Bites, creator of The Eating Disorder Recovery Companion, and the curator of VOXED – Voices of Experience in Eating Disorders. Kel’s work focuses on ethical, trauma-informed practice, challenging stigma, and bridging the gap between lived experience and professional knowledge.
This week, we discuss:
- What VoxED is and why Kel created it.
- Why eating disorder education often feels inaccessible, and what VoxED is doing differently.
- How VoxED broadens “lived experience” to include clinicians, carers, researchers and community voices.
- Why lived experience shouldn’t be tokenistic, and how it can be valued as expertise.
- Why the eating disorder field needs shared spaces for nuanced, difficult conversations.
- How recovery goes beyond food and weight to identity, meaning and living.
Timestamps:
- 00:00: What is VoxED?
- 02:10 :Where did the idea began (EDAW 2021)
- 05:10: Who's speaking at VoXED
- 06:40: Moving beyond “tick-box” lived experience
- 08:10: The purpose of VoxED: shared space + shared power
- 14:40: Why change has been slow in eating disorders (and what’s missing)
- 21:10: Recovery beyond food and weight: identity, meaning, and living
- 42:10: VoxED details: date, access, recordings, and low-cost tickets
VoxED conference details:
- Date: Friday 13th February
- Format: Fully online (9:00–18:30, with breaks)
- Tickets: self-select pricing options £20 / £37 / £50
Resources & Links
If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and share the podcast to help us spread awareness.
Sending positive beans your way, Han 💛
