About Alli

Alli Spotts-De Lazzer is an educator, speaker, author, eating disorders expert, and licensed mental health therapist with nearly two decades of experience. She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC), Certified Eating Disorders Specialist (CEDS), CEDS-Approved Consultant (CEDS-C), and Inclusive Eating Disorders Specialist (IEDS). She serves as adjunct faculty in Antioch University’s Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology program.

Alli is the lead author of My Child Has an Eating Disorder: An Essential Guide for Parents of Kids, Teens, and Adults (Bloomsbury Academic, 2026). She originated the concept and led the book’s clinical content, structure, and research integration from proposal through publication. She invited recovery coach Jenny Mullaney to co-author, bringing practical skills and lived-experience perspectives from both recovery and live-in coaching. Through her longstanding caregiver support group, Alli learned what parents need to become more confident, effective allies in treatment. The book answers around 80 questions parents have asked and helps families move from fear, confusion, and self-blame to more grounded, effective support.

Alli is also the author of MeaningFULL: 23 Life-Changing Stories of Conquering Dieting, Weight, and Body Image Issues (Unsolicited Press, 2021) and a contributor to Body Image and Self-Esteem (Independence Educational Publishers, 2024). Through her Psychology Today column, academic journals, Medscape, Verywell Mind, and other trade publications, she has authored more than 100 articles.

A frequent speaker and trusted media resource, Alli has presented at conferences, universities, training programs, and community events. Outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, TIME, Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, Parents, and SELF, as well as KTLA, WGN, PIX11, and Sky News, have featured her expertise.

Passionate about advocacy and public-facing education, Alli created and directed #ShakeIt for Self-Acceptance!, a national mental health initiative that used movement, joy, and embodiment to spark conversations about self-acceptance and body image. #ShakeIt appeared across the country—from Capitol Hill to the former Staples Center. Since 2011, she has also facilitated a no-cost community support and education group for friends and family of people with eating disorders.

Alli has held leadership roles with the Academy for Eating Disorders and the International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals. She has helped develop the national CEDS curriculum and served on the CEDS faculty. She also founded numerous initiatives ranging from peer consultation to no-cost education and support for parents of children of all ages with eating disorders.

Her honors include receiving the Member of the Year Award from the International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals, serving as an invited expert reviewer for the American Psychiatric Association’s Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Patients with Eating Disorders (2022 draft), appearing as an expert panelist for Harvard Alumni for Mental Health, and having #ShakeIt for Self-Acceptance! Day declared by the Mayor and City Council of Los Angeles.