Group Therapy Descriptions
Body and Self Acceptance Group
This group is focused on building a more positive body and self-image. An emphasis on externalizing the eating disorder from one’s sense of self is emphasized in order to improve self-esteem. A variety of techniques are used to challenge body-image distortions, including transactional analysis, cognitive restructuring, and mindfulness.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Group
This group is focused on challenging negative or distorted thoughts that encourage and maintain unhealthy eating behaviors. This group utilizes various exercises in order to identify and modify maladaptive patterns.
Recovery Goals Group
This group helps participants make important lifestyle changes that are needed in order to reach their treatment goals. Reducing eating disorder symptoms, improving sleep hygiene, reducing medical complications associated with the eating disorder, boosting self-care, and lowering stress are at the forefront in terms of focus. A variety of modalities are utilized to achieve these objectives, including an ongoing discussion of struggles and roadblocks to recovery and skills-training.
Expressive Arts Group
This group provides participants with the opportunity to develop more constructive ways of expressing emotions other than through eating disorder behaviors. A variety of avenues for emotional expression are explored including art, collage, poetry, and music.
Healthy Eating Education Group
The purpose of this group is to educate participants about how to implement healthy eating behaviors. Patients establish food goals, and discuss how to make healthy choices in a variety of situations (e.g., at the grocery store, at home, at a restaurant, during social functions).
Interpersonal Process Group
This group is designed to help participants discover and explore the underlying issues associated with their eating disorders. The open format allows for participants to discuss any present issues with which they are struggling. The goal of the group is to develop healthier ways to relate to oneself and to others.
Meal Group
Each participant brings and eats a meal that is in accordance with her meal plan (as agreed upon by participant and dietician). This group has many purposes including: 1) establishing healthy, consistent eating behavior; 2) learning to tolerate and appropriately cope with distressing thoughts and feelings that emerge around eating; 3) finding joy in eating and sharing a meal experience with others; 4) supporting participants for taking food risks; and 5) learning to observe without judgment the physiological sensations that accompany eating (i.e., becoming comfortable with feeling full after eating).
Movement Therapy Group
This group offers various body-centered therapeutic modalities which may include gentle yoga practices, Feldenkrais-based exercises, authentic movement, mindfulness-based meditative and deep relaxation practices, and somatic awareness exercises. This group helps participants to form a more safe, open, and non-judgmental relationship between the mind and the body.
Family Group
This group is designed to provide education about eating disorders and support to family members of IOP and PHP participants. An important goal of this group is to strengthen communication in order to aid in the recovery process.
Self-Empowerment Group
This group encourages each participant to examine her unique life story in reference to historical and cultural influences, including the media and advertising industry. Through the process of using metaphor and symbol, participants will learn to retrieve and strengthen lost aspects of their identity, and find opportunities for healing and self-reclamation.
