Psychology Informed Speaker on Body Image, Confidence, & Belonging: Talks for Schools, Parents, Organisations, & Conferences
What do children learn when the adults around them regularly criticise their bodies?
What happens when appearance anxiety becomes part of someone's experience of work?
How can schools, families, and organisations create environments where people have more freedom to participate, connect, and feel that they belong?
I explore these questions through evidence-informed talks on body image, weight stigma, fatphobia, confidence, and psychological wellbeing.
I am a counsellor, psychology graduate, and speaker based in the UK, and the founder of Walled Garden Counselling. My speaking work brings together psychological research, counselling experience, and practical ideas that audiences can take away and use to build healthier relationships to themselves and their communities.
I speak to schools, parents, educators, businesses, HR and People teams, leadership groups, and professional conferences.
The Psychology of Body Image
Our relationship with our bodies develops within a social world. We learn from the people around us. We compare ourselves with other people. We absorb messages about appearance, weight and attractiveness. We notice which bodies are praised, criticised or treated differently. These experiences can shape confidence, self-worth, belonging and the way we relate to our own bodies.
My speaking work explores the psychology behind these experiences and asks a practical question: What can we change about the environments we create?
For Schools
The Body Image We Give Our Children: A psychology talk for parents, teachers, & schools about children's body image
Children learn about bodies long before they have the words to explain what they are learning.
They hear adults talk about dieting.
They hear comments about weight.
They watch parents criticise their own appearance.
They notice which bodies receive compliments.
They encounter appearance comparisons through friends, television and social media.
Over time, these experiences can contribute to the way children understand bodies, appearance and self-worth.
The Body Image We Give Our Children is a school talk designed for parents, carers, teachers and education professionals who want to understand children's body image and create a healthier psychological environment around them.
The session draws on psychological research into body image, social learning, appearance comparison, weight stigma and sociocultural influences on body dissatisfaction.
Research involving children in the UK has found that children can hold negative attitudes towards larger bodies from a young age, while family and media influences can contribute to how children understand body size and weight. A 2026 systematic review of 34 UK qualitative studies found that children associated larger bodies with negative stereotypes, bullying and social consequences, and identified family and media/social media as influences on their views.
The talk explores:
How children learn through observation and adult modelling
How parents and carers can influence children's body image
Appearance comparison and the development of body dissatisfaction
Weight stigma and fatphobia
The impact of everyday comments about bodies, food and weight
How children interpret adults' body dissatisfaction
Social media and appearance ideals
How to respond when a child says they dislike their body
How adults can talk about health without creating shame
How to repair conversations when we get things wrong
Practical ways to create a more body-respectful school and home environment
Who is this talk for?
Primary and secondary schools | Parent evenings | Teachers | Pastoral teams | PSHE programmes | School wellbeing events | Universities | Education conferences | Children's organisations
For businesses
The Confidence Tax: The psychology of body image, appearance anxiety, & workplace wellbeing
We bring our bodies to work every day.
For many employees, that can also mean bringing concerns about appearance, weight, ageing, attractiveness and how they are perceived by other people.
Sometimes that concern becomes part of the psychological workload of being at work.
The Confidence Tax explores the psychology of body image in the workplace, including appearance anxiety, self-objectification, weight stigma, confidence, belonging and workplace culture.
The keynote asks:
How much psychological energy can people spend managing how their bodies are perceived while they are trying to do their jobs?
The session brings psychological research into the workplace in an accessible and practical way, giving leaders and organisations a new perspective on employee wellbeing, inclusion, confidence, and belonging.
The keynote explores:
Body image and appearance anxiety at work
Self-objectification and body surveillance
Weight stigma and workplace discrimination
The psychological impact of appearance-based judgement
Diet culture and body talk in workplace environments
Confidence, participation and professional visibility
Body image and workplace wellbeing
Inclusion and belonging
How leaders can respond to weight-based comments and stigma
Creating psychologically healthier workplace cultures
Who is this keynote for?
Businesses | HR teams | People & Culture teams | Employee wellbeing programmes | Leadership teams | DEI and inclusion programmes | Professional conferences | Workplace culture events | Universities
Why Body Image Belongs in Conversations About Wellbeing & Inclusion
Body image is sometimes treated as a private issue that belongs entirely to the individual. Our psychological experiences develop within relationships and social environments. That makes the environment around us important. For a child, that environment might be their family and school. For an adult, it might include their workplace, colleagues, managers and organisational culture.
Weight stigma can affect people's experiences in both education and employment. Research has documented associations between weight stigma and psychological wellbeing, while workplace research has examined its relationship with job satisfaction, burnout and other occupational outcomes. The evidence is developing, and individual experiences vary, but there is a growing case for taking body-related stigma seriously as part of wider conversations about wellbeing and inclusion.
The question for organisations is therefore worth asking: What messages about bodies are people receiving from the environments we create?
About Katherine:
Counsellor, Psychology Graduate, and Speaker
I am a counsellor, psychology graduate, and founder of Walled Garden Counselling, with a particular interest in body image, self-worth, confidence, fatphobia, embodiment, and the psychological pressures that can shape how people experience themselves.
My counselling work has given me a close understanding of the ways body image can intersect with anxiety, confidence, relationships, achievement, and everyday life. My speaking work takes those psychological questions into a wider conversation.
I speak about children's body image, weight stigma, fatphobia, appearance anxiety, workplace wellbeing, and confidence, translating psychological research into accessible and compassionate talks for schools, organisations, and professional audiences.
My aim is to help audiences understand the psychology underneath familiar experiences and leave with practical ideas they can use to make life better.
My Approach
Evidence-based: Psychological theory and published research provide the foundation for my talks.
Human: Body image is deeply personal. I approach the subject without shame, blame, or simplistic answers.
Practical: Audiences leave with language, questions, and actions they can take into their homes, classrooms, teams, and organisations.
Speaking Topics
I currently offer talks and workshops on:
Children's body image
Body image and parenting
Body image in schools
Fatphobia and weight stigma
Body confidence
Appearance anxiety
Self-worth and body image
Workplace body image
Employee wellbeing
Confidence at work
Inclusion and belonging
The psychology of workplace culture
Talks can be adapted for your audience, event and objectives.
Who I speak to
Schools
For schools looking for a body image speaker, parent speaker, or psychology-informed wellbeing session.
Sessions can be designed for:
Parents and carers
Teachers
School staff
Pastoral teams
Sixth-form and university students
School wellbeing events
Businesses
For organisations looking for a workplace wellbeing speaker, body image speaker or psychology speaker for employees and leaders.
Sessions can be designed for:
HR and People teams
Employee wellbeing programmes
Leadership development
Inclusion and culture programmes
Professional development days
Company conferences
Women's networks and employee groups
Conferences
For conference organisers looking for an engaging speaker on body image, psychology, wellbeing, confidence, weight stigma or workplace culture.
I offer:
Keynote talks
Conference sessions
Workshops
Panel participation
Q&A sessions
Frequently asked questions
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A body image speaker explores the psychological, social and cultural factors that influence how people experience their bodies. Topics can include body dissatisfaction, appearance comparison, weight stigma, fatphobia, self-worth, social media, confidence and psychological wellbeing.
My talks focus particularly on how the environments around us influence body image, including families, schools and workplaces.
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Yes. The Body Image We Give Our Children is designed specifically for schools, parents, carers and educators.
The talk explores how children learn about bodies through adult modelling, conversations about food and weight, appearance comparison, peers and wider culture. It also gives adults practical ways to respond to body dissatisfaction and create healthier environments for children.
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Yes.
Parent evenings can focus on the everyday ways adults influence children's developing relationship with their bodies, including comments about appearance, dieting, food, weight and self-criticism.
The emphasis is on awareness, practical communication and repair rather than asking parents to be perfect.
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Yes.
Weight stigma and fatphobia are important parts of my speaking work. I explore how stereotypes and negative attitudes about body size can affect psychological wellbeing, confidence, belonging and participation.
For schools, this can include weight-based bullying and the messages children receive about larger bodies.
For businesses, it can include workplace culture, appearance-based judgement and inclusion.
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Yes.
The Confidence Tax is a workplace keynote exploring body image, appearance anxiety, self-objectification, weight stigma, confidence and workplace culture.
The session is suitable for HR and People teams, employee wellbeing programmes, leadership events, inclusion programmes and conferences.
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Body image can become part of an employee's psychological experience of work through appearance anxiety, body monitoring, fear of judgement, weight stigma and concerns about professional appearance.
The extent and impact vary between individuals. A psychologically informed workplace can reduce unnecessary appearance-based pressure and create greater opportunities for employees to participate, contribute and feel that they belong.
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Yes.
The core psychological content remains evidence-informed, while examples, emphasis and practical recommendations can be adapted for the audience.
For example, a parent evening may focus more heavily on children's body image and adult modelling, while a leadership event may focus on workplace culture, inclusion and employee wellbeing.
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Yes.
Talks can be developed into interactive workshops with discussion, reflection and practical exercises.
I can also work with organisations that want a deeper programme around body image, confidence, wellbeing or culture.
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I am based in the UK and can speak to UK schools, organisations and conferences, with travel or online speaking available where appropriate.
For conferences and organisations further afield, please get in touch to discuss the event.
Questions to Leave you With
What are we teaching people about their bodies simply through the environments we create?
And what could change if we became more conscious of the answer?
Book a Speaker: Looking for a Psychology Speaker for your School, Workplace, or Conference?
I'd love to hear about your event.
Whether you are planning a school parent evening, staff wellbeing day, workplace wellbeing programme, leadership event or professional conference, send me a few details about your audience and what you would like them to take away.
I'll get back to you to discuss the most appropriate talk or workshop.