As a therapist, you have most likely had clients disclose a fraught relationship with food and/or their bodies. They may be turning to food for emotional reasons, engaging in regular bouts of binge eating, jumping from diet to diet, and/or feeling uncomfortable in their own skin. And, if you haven't been trained in these concerns, you may have parts feeling unable to help them. I'd like to help with that! While therapists need specialized training to work with diagnosable eating disorders, I strongly believe that most therapists are more than capable of working with clients who are struggling with less severe food and body concerns. They just might need a little guidance. Which is why I created the Unburdened Bites Series. My hope through this series is that you, as an IFS or IFS-informed therapist or practitioner, feel comfortable with and capable of treating such food and body concerns as emotional eating, occasional binge eating, chronic dieting, and negative body image.
The first course in this series contains three educational videos. Video One details the common parts that those with food and body concerns tend to have in their internal system, such as parts that restrict food, use food for comfort, binge eat, and step on the scale daily. The video provides general case examples of a restricting, manager-driven system as well as a firefighter-led system that tends to numb with food. Finally, the video discusses how you can help your clients begin to know these parts. Video Two focuses on the goals of the work. While our clients' parts may have such goals as weight loss, improved dietary adherence, or completely stopping their emotional eating, these are not Self-led goals. This video discusses common client goals, our own parts' potential goals, and finally the true goals of the work. And finally, Video Three focuses on polarizations and begins with the common polarizations found in clients with food and body concerns. It also provides case examples of a polarized system as well as instruction for working with polarizations.
Because understanding your own parts' relationship with food and your body is of utmost importance to doing this work, the course also includes a workbook and two prerecorded meditations to help you get to know your own parts. The first meditation is a parts mapping meditation that will help you to identify the parts in your system that have any thoughts or feelings regarding food and/or your body. The second meditation walks you through an IFS session so that you may get to know a specific part that relates to food or your body.
