by Cherie Massmann, MA, LPC, NCC – Webster Wellness Professionals
Are you one of the 33% of all Americans that are overweight? Have you tried diet after diet with limited long term success? For some people, the extra weight they carry is more than they can address on their own with a sensible diet and an increase in exercise. Individuals struggling with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, depression, limited mobility or a decrease in quality of life associated with being overweight now have a resource in St. Louis to help them get off the dieting merry-go- round and develop lasting long term weight control: Green Light.
The Green Light Program at Webster Wellness Professionals is an effective Intensive Outpatient Program for overweight and obese individuals. The Green Light Program, developed at the Wilkins Center in Greenwich, Connecticut, is an evidence-based approach that targets the biological, psychological and environmental barriers that make lasting weight loss so difficult.
The Green Light program works to remove shame and other negative thoughts that interfere with lasting weight control and provides the members with concrete dietary skills. Green Light members meet in a group of no more than seven individuals for 2 1/2 hours each week for eight consecutive weeks. The group members also meet individually with Cherie Massmann, a well-trained, behavioral coach for 20-30 minutes each week. The coaching sessions are designed to individualize the treatment and help the participants overcome personal daily eating challenges (e.g. eating healthy at a potluck, dining away from home, or managing emotional triggers for overeating).
The next Green Light group at Webster Wellness Professionals is scheduled to start in early May. Call to schedule a 30-minute free consultation with Cherie Massmann, Green Light Program group facilitator at (314) 737-4070.
Ms. Massmann, M.A., LPC, NCC earned her Master’s degree in Counseling from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri in 1999. Ms. Massmann, therapist and coach for the Green Light Weight Loss and Weight Management Program, runs groups and offers individual consultations for individuals working on achieving lasting, long-term healthy weight loss.
Ms. Massmann is a cognitive-behaviorally trained therapist with over 9 years of experience treating binge eating disorder and obesity in adults and adolescents as a staff therapist in the Departments of Psychiatry and Internal Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine. She has been part of several multi-center National Institute of Health grants including: the Treatment Options for Type 2 Diabetes in Adolescents and Youth (TODAY study) and the Comprehensive Maintenance Program to Achieve Sustained Success (COMPASS), a treatment of childhood obesity. She has also served as a staff psychotherapist for the Comprehensive Assessment of Long-Term Effects of Reducing Intake of Energy (CALERIE study) at Washington University School of Medicine.