Praise from colleagues

Rivka is a wonderful meld of skilled teacher and experienced therapist. The many clients I’ve referred to Have Your Cake and Eat It Too! rave about her and her groups. The Boston area and the eating disorder community are lucky to have someone who knows the field inside out and is so multi-talented. —Karen Koenig, LICSW, MEd, Author of The Rules of Normal Eating

Rivka Simmons is an accomplished teacher with a gentle, inviting style. Have Your Cake and Eat It Too! is grounded in good common sense and offers clients realistic strategies for coping with eating-related struggles. I highly recommend Rivka’s programs! —Audrey Ades, LICSW, ACSW, PsyD, Eating Disorders Specialist, Boston, Massachusetts

Rivka's presentation was fabulous: she is knowledgeable, engaging and has a wonderful ease in speaking with students that totally captivates her audience and leads to participation and a win-win situation for all. —Peggy Campion, Health Educator, Brandeis University

Rivka Simmons is an exceptional teacher and guide. Her gentle approach assures safety and respect while her clarity shows the way. Rivka's skills come through in her elegant relaxation CD where her soothing voice and pacing show that she has walked the walk. I have great respect for her integrity and her innovative work with eating disorders. She is an excellent teacher, writer, group and individual therapist. —Alice Rosen, MSEd, LMHC, Director of Education for Feeding Ourselves, and author of The Feeding Ourselves Method, a Guide to Achieving a Healthy Relationship with Food

One of Rivka's students commented, “Rivka is a gem,” and I thoroughly agree. Dedicated and experienced, she offers a thoughtful and in-depth look at dieting and beauty myths and the damage they can inflict on our physical and emotional lives. Her warm and compassionate personality encourages sharing and respect among her students, allowing them to honestly explore and confront their issues around food, hunger and body image. She consistently receives excellent evaluations from her students and I count on her as one of the top teachers at the Cambridge Center. —Rebecca King, former Director of Education, Cambridge Center for Adult Education

Rivka is a talented therapist. She was fortunate to begin her career with gifts of deep insight, exceptional compassion, and good common sense. She is a down-to-earth, unpretentious, and caring therapist; and she is sharp and sophisticated. Rivka is well-liked, highly regarded, and, most importantly, she is effective in helping her clients change. —Joseph Pietromonaco, PhD, Kaiser Permanente

Rivka is an astute clinician who has developed an exciting and thorough approach to issues of eating and weight concerns. Clients find her both affirming and helpful. Rivka has a caring, relaxed presence that allows her to connect with a wide range of clients. Her work is creative, flexible and facilitates the strengths of her clients. Her positive, low-key and collaborative relationship style puts people at ease so they can do the work they need to do. I am confident when I refer clients to her that they will have a good experience. —Gary Simoneau, LICSW

Praise from participants

This program. . . [taught] me concrete and lasting ways to work on my eating and body image problems and finally get off the diet rollercoaster.

I have tried everything to address my food problems and nothing has worked. This class was a turning point in my life. I finally feel like I have a sane and lasting way to cope with my food addiction.

Rivka has inspired me to respect and take care of my body in a loving way which I have never done before in my life.

I am finally eating when I am hungry and stopping when I am full. It’s amazing how simple that sounds, but Rivka has given me the tools to do this. I’ve never been able to do it before this class.

Rivka provides a very nurturing and supportive environment which allows you to look seriously at what’s beneath your food and body image problems. She helps you to you to deal with those underlying issues directly. This was an amazing course. I would recommend it highly for people who want to really heal their food and body image problems.

I’ve realized that the real problem I have is not about food, but about being with difficult feelings which I am learning to do. I learned an enormous amount about myself and finally feel able to cope with the food and body issues which I have struggled with for 30 years.

This class was deep, informative and life-changing. Rivka is skillful, compassionate and wise.