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How to Make the Most of a Session with your Eating Disorder Therapist
23 % of people struggling with an eating disorder seek treatment, often not doing so until 10 to 15 years after the onset of symptoms [1]. If you are one of those individuals, you may be ready to hit the ground running when you do engage in treatment, not wanting to skip-a-beat when you begin your eating disorder therapy.
Below are some tips to maximize your sessions with an eating disorder therapist so that you can begin to build a recovered life.
Show Up, Every Time for Eating Disorder Therapy
We underestimate the strength and courage it takes to even show up to a therapy appointment. Every time we attend, we open ourselves up to the challenging and vulnerable work of examining our lives and ourselves.
For this reason, consistently showing up is one of the best things you can do to maximize your time with your eating disorder therapist. When eating disorder therapy appointments are missed, canceled, or scheduled few-and-far-between, what follows is often more of a “catch-up” than an actual session.
You spend your time filling your therapist in on all that has happened since your last session. This takes away from the time you could be working through and processing your disordered thoughts and behaviors and working toward recovery.
Be Honest
The temptation to stretch or hide the truth is ever-present in individuals that struggle with disordered eating. After all, secrecy is what has allowed the disorder to continue and manifest for so long. As terrible as the disorder is, the thought of losing it is also scary.
You have already taken the brave step of acknowledging your struggle and reaching out for help. Continue this momentum toward recovery by being authentic and honest in your eating disorder therapy sessions.
It will, undoubtedly, be challenging. You will need to take a hard look at your life, experiences, support, beliefs, thoughts, and behaviors and undergo the daunting task of changing those aspects that don’t propel you toward recovery.
This process becomes even more arduous when there is the back-and-forth of hiding behaviors or beliefs. The voice of your eating disorder will want you to lie to keep you in darkness. Honesty lets in the light.
You are the Expert
Many people feel intimidated when they begin therapy, thinking of their therapist as an expert or authority figure, and conceding power to them because of that. The truth is, in a eating disorder therapy session, you are the expert. No one knows your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and life experiences better than you do.
Yes, therapists have spent years studying psychology. Therefore, they may have some skills to help you process experiences, change your thought patterns, and cope with challenging emotions and scenarios. Even so, this work occurs based on your goals and participation.
There is no need to concede power to your therapist because therapy isn’t about who has the power. You are working with your therapist, joining together to work through the challenges related to your disorder and get you closer to recovery.
Trust Your Eating Disorder Therapist
Above all, don’t put pressure on yourself alone to maximize your therapy sessions. Because you are working as a team, you need to trust that your therapist may challenge you, but they have your best interest at heart.
Openly communicate with them about what you feel is or isn’t helping so that your relationship is successful in accomplishing the end-goal of you living a joy-filled and recovered life.
Resources:
[1] Ali, K. et al. (2017). Perceived barriers and facilitators towards help‐seeking for eating disorders: a systematic review. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 50:1, 9-21.About the Author:
Margot Rittenhouse, MS, PLPC, NCC is a therapist who is passionate about providing mental health support to all in need and has worked with clients with substance abuse issues, eating disorders, domestic violence victims, and offenders, and severely mentally ill youth.
As a freelance writer for Eating Disorder Hope and Addiction Hope and a mentor with MentorConnect, Margot is a passionate eating disorder advocate, committed to de-stigmatizing these illnesses while showing support for those struggling through mentoring, writing, and volunteering. Margot has a Master’s of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Johns Hopkins University.
The opinions and views of our guest contributors are shared to provide a broad perspective on eating disorders. These are not necessarily the views of Eating Disorder Hope, but an effort to offer a discussion of various issues by different concerned individuals.
We at Eating Disorder Hope understand that eating disorders result from a combination of environmental and genetic factors. If you or a loved one are suffering from an eating disorder, please know that there is hope for you, and seek immediate professional help.
Published March 3, 2020, on EatingDisorderHope.com
Reviewed & Approved on March 3, 2020, by Jacquelyn Ekern MS, LPC
