The Full Story with Kylie
Introducing Kylie Schoen with Announcing Your Place Therapy!
I had the privilege of working with Kylie during my years as a PHP (partial hospitalization) dietitian. She served such an important role on the team, not just as a therapist but as a patient advocate, a perspective shift, and a compassionate voice. She provides a necessary voice of advocacy for the neurodivergent community and those of marginalized identities. She is someone who consistently challenges the biases we may have grown up with to make this world a better, more equitable place. I’m lucky to have worked with and learned from Kylie - and I’m lucky to continue to do so through her new practice Announcing Your Place Therapy!
What is your name & who are you?
Hi! I’m Kylie, and I use she/her pronouns. I’m a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) in California. I received my Master of Social Work (MSW) from California State University, Fullerton in 2022 and have since worked in a variety of outpatient clinical settings focusing primarily on providing therapy to folks with eating disorders and folks who are queer and/or neurodivergent. As a fat, queer, neurodivergent person myself, I prioritize lived experience in my work and have a person-centered, social justice oriented, and relational approach to therapy.
What is an amazing meal you've enjoyed recently?
I absolutely love trying new restaurants, especially when I am traveling. My husband and I were in San Diego, CA for a concert a few weeks ago, and we had dinner at a restaurant called Tribute Pizza. We had the Brussels sprouts, the “bees mode” pizza (cheese pizza with pickled sweet peppers, ricotta, Soppressata salami, and hot honey), and vanilla soft serve ice cream topped with sea salt and arbequina olive oil for dessert. This meal was so incredibly satisfying and tasty, and the service/ambience at the restaurant was great too. I wish I lived closer to San Diego so I could go more often.
How would you describe your relationship with food? How has it changed over time?
Food has always given me so much joy, but my relationship to it has not been without periods of food guilt and restriction. As I’ve gotten older and figured myself out more, I now give myself full permission to eat what I want and when I want to. I’ve also released any expectations to achieve perfection when it comes to meal planning and nutrition. I am neurodivergent and a person who struggles with chronic pain and fatigue, so as much as I would LOVE to be a meal planning girlie, I just simply am not. I also don’t make myself feel bad for eating fast food or frozen food, because some days it makes my life so much easier. Instead of feeling like I need to remove things from my diet, I invest my energy into thinking about things I can add to make my meals and snacks more satisfying. I definitely don’t have everything figured out, but my relationship with food continues to be a source of joy for me and I put a lot of effort into making sure it stays that way.
What's in your pantry that you're excited about right now?
I recently bought
’s cookbook “What Goes With What” and I have been having so much fun making recipes from it. So far, I have made her recipe for Chicken and Kimchi Rice, Chicken Pot Pie, Black Bean Chili and Cheddar Cornbread, and Olive Oil Buttermilk Loaf. I’ve loved it all.What are your signs that you are living life "fully"?
Some signals I notice when I am out of alignment with living my “full life” typically come in the form of stress. My stress often manifests somatically, which means I don’t physically feel well in addition to the toll it takes on my mental health. There are so many things that can interfere with living my “full life”, and as much as there are many things that are within my control, there are also a lot of things that are outside of my control. When I talk about this with my clients, it feels really important to acknowledge that the current state of the world is not good for our nervous system. It may feel like every day is a struggle to regulate your nervous system and reduce stress. It is a struggle for me, too. I try to focus on the things I *can* control and take part in social justice practices that are meaningful and sustainable to me to address the other stuff. That helps to align things a bit more.
What are your favorite ways to celebrate big or small wins?
I typically use food as a way to celebrate both big and small wins. I love to plan a dinner out, or get some groceries to make a special meal at home.
What would you go back to tell younger you when they struggled with their body, movement, or food?
Movement has historically been such a challenge for me. I was recently talking about this with my therapist and trying to identify at what point movement started to feel like a negative thing or a chore in my life. When I was very young, I loved riding my bike, dancing, and swimming. However, my parents put me in sports shortly after, and I really hated it. I tried baseball, softball, soccer, and volleyball, but all of those sports made me feel so anxious. I didn’t like the pressure, the competition, and the performance of it all. I think this impacted my interest in any form of movement, even the movement I had an authentic interest in when I was little. If I could go back in time, I’d tell my younger self not to feel like I need to do sports and prioritize forms of movement that I actually enjoy. It took me a large chunk of my young adult life to figure out how to connect with joyful forms of movement.
A smaller but equally important thing I wish I had understood was that my body is going to inevitably change, and I won't always feel miserable about it. If you had told my teenage self what my body was going to look like as a now almost 30-year-old, I would not have guessed that, aside from the occasional bad body image day, I feel totally okay with it.
How do you show up for yourself?
I show up for myself by tuning into what it is that my body needs. I’m always making sure I have the basics covered- food, water, and sleep. I’m learning what levels of movement feel good for my body and the things I need to do to manage my stress. I also show up for myself by creating space for joy and pleasure. I absolutely love movies, so these days I prioritize joy and pleasure by seeing a new movie at the movie theater almost every weekend.
What's something that you really love about your life right now?
I got married in October of last year and it’s been so wonderful. I love my little family (my husband and my two cats) and the life we are building together.
What's your personal definition of "The Full Life"?
My personal definition of “The Full Life” is a life that is aligned with my values. A life that embraces the messiness of being a human and prioritizes the collective care of one another.
What else, if anything, would you like to share with the readers of The Full Life?
If you are interested in starting therapy, you can learn more by visiting my website https://www.announcingyourplacetherapy.com/ or following me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/announcingyrplacetherapy/!
Thank you, Kylie! I’m so grateful to you for participating in The Full Story series - you are truly a gem. If anyone would like to work with Kylie, she is licensed in California. You can find more information about her practice here!
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