Sandra Elia

Food Addiction Counselor

Sandra Elia is a Certified Food Addiction Counselor and a pioneer in the field of addictive eating. Her expertise has brought about partnerships with Canada's top obesity and addiction doctors. Her Food Addiction Recovery Program has yielded tremendous success. Patients report improved health, improved sense of well being, most importantly, changing their relationship with food. Sandra runs Ontario's outpatient Food Addiction Recovery Program (originally covered by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan: OHIP at The Wharton Medical Clinic). She co-created Canada's first 28-day residential treatment program for food addiction at Renascent Addiction Rehab Centre in Toronto.

Sandra Elia knows firsthand the struggle of living with obesity. She has lived two lives: one as a morbidly obese woman for 15 years. She experienced a world that was not made for her size, seeking assistance from biased healthcare providers, and dealing with fat-shaming. Since those difficult days, Sandra has transformed her life and her body, losing over 100 pounds and keeping the weight off for 16 years.

Sandra is dedicated to changing the conversation so that anyone living with obesity has access to treatment that is steeped with dignity, respect, and understanding.

Dr. Dayna Lee-Baggley, PhD, R. Psych

Registered Clinical Psychologist

Dr. Dayna Lee-Baggley is a Registered Clinical Psychologist. She works as a Clinical Health Psychologist in medical, surgery and cancer care hospital units in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She holds an Assistant Professor appointment in the Department of Family Medicine and cross appointments in the Departments of Surgery and Psychology & Neuroscience at Dalhousie University and an Adjunct Professor appointment in the Department of Industrial and Organizational Psychology at Saint Mary’s University. She is the Director for the Behaviour Change Research Institute, which conducts research and training in chronic disease management.

She provides healthy workplace interventions for employees, teams, and leaders with Howatt HR Consulting. She is an internationally recognized trainer in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and a certified therapist in Emotion Focused Therapy for Couples. She has an active research program on behavior change, obesity, chronic disease, professional resiliency and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Dr. Lee-Baggley has over 40 peer-reviewed publications and over 120 scholarly presentations.

She was the recipient of the 2017 Women of Excellence Award for her contributions to Health, Sport and Wellness (Canadian Progress Club Halifax Cornwallis). She is the author of the book “Healthy Habits Suck: How to get off the couch & live a healthy life…even if you don’t want to.”

You can follow her on social media: Website, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

Dr. Shauna Correia, B. Eng, MDCM, FRCPC

Psychiatrist and Sexual Medicine Specialist

Dr. Shauna Correia undertook her medical training at McGill University before completing residency in psychiatry at Dalhousie University. She now serves as clinical faculty with the University of British Columbia (UBC) and works as a psychiatrist and sexual medicine specialist.

In her main role at the province's tertiary care clinic, the BC Centre for Sexual Medicine (BCCSM), in Vancouver she assesses and treats men, women, individuals and couples referred for a wide variety of sexual difficulties and concerns (including sexual dysfunctions and sexual pain syndromes).

She is involved in several research projects involving the optimization of sexual functioning and the role of mindfulness. She is currently serving as the Sexuality Theme Lead in the UBC Faculty of Medicine undergraduate education program. Outside of work Shauna enjoys travelling, hiking, skiing, dancing and spending time with her dog Seiki, a certified therapy dog.

Carla Obando

Registered Dietician

Carla Obando is a registered dietitian who has a passion for food and helping others improve their relationship with food. She received her Bachelor of Science in Dietetics at the University of British Columbia and completed her clinical internship with Vancouver Coastal Health. In addition to working with our clinic, she has also worked at the Richmond Bariatric Surgery (RMBS) program, where she counseled patients through the perioperative bariatric surgery period and organized fun nutrition classes.

Carla loves teaching and helping people work through their health and weight concerns. She offers a warm, compassionate, and supportive coaching style to help you feel more confident, motivated, and empowered to reach your health goals.

Her other areas of specialty include:

• Bariatric Surgery
• Family meal planning
• Weight concerns
• Paediatrics
• Cystic fibrosis