Embodiment And Eating Disorders

This is an insightful and essential new volume for academics and professionals interested in the lived experience of those who struggle with disordered eating. Embodiment and Eating Disorders situates the complicated – and increasingly prevalent – topic of disordered eating at the crossroads of many academic disciplines, articulating a notion of embodied selfhood that rejects the separation of mind and body and calls for a feminist, existential, and sociopolitically aware approach to eating disorder treatment. Experts from a variety of backgrounds and specializations examine theories of embodiment, current empirical research, and practical examples and strategies for prevention and treatment.

Tools for the clinician to help clients turn their bodies into resources for healing from eating disorders. Embodiment refers to the lived attunement of the inner and outer experience of self. Cognitions are aligned with the sensing and feeling body. Further, in an attuned experience of self, positive embodiment is maintained by internally focused tools, such as self-care practices that support physiological health, emotional well-being, and effective cognitive functioning. For those who suffer from eating disorders, this is not the case; in fact, the opposite is true. Disordered thinking, an unattuned sense of self, and negative cognitions abound. Turning this thinking around is key to client resilience and treatment successes. Catherine Cook-Cottone provides tools for clinicians working with clients to restore their healthy selves and use their bodies as a positive resource for healing and long-term health. The book goes beyond traditional treatments to talk about mindful self-care, mindful eating, yoga, and other practices designed to support self-regulation.

For five decades, negative body image has been a major focus of study due to its association with psychological and social morbidity, including eating disorders. However, more recently the body image construct has broadened to include positive ways of living in the body, enabling greater understanding of embodied well-being, as well as protective factors and interventions to guide the prevention and treatment of eating disorders. Handbook of Positive Body Image and Embodiment is the first comprehensive, research-based resource to address the breadth of innovative theoretical concepts and related practices concerning positive ways of living in the body, including positive body image and embodiment. Presenting 37 chapters by world-renowned experts in body image and eating behaviors, this state-of-the-art collection delineates constructs of positive body image and embodiment, as well as social environments (such as families, peers, schools, media, and the Internet) and therapeutic processes that can enhance them. Constructs examined include positive embodiment, body appreciation, body functionality, body image flexibility, broad conceptualization of beauty, intuitive eating, and attuned sexuality. Also discussed are protective factors, such as environments that promote body acceptance, personal safety, diversity, and activism, and a resistant stance towards objectification, media images, and restrictive feminine ideals. The handbook also explores how therapeutic interventions (including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Dissonance, and many more) and public health and policy initiatives can inform scholarly, clinical, and prevention-based work in the field of eating disorders.

Journeys of Embodiment at the Intersection of Body and Culture: The Developmental Theory of Embodiment describes an innovative developmental and feminist theory—understanding embodiment—to provide a new perspective on the interactions between the social environment of girls and young women of different social locations and their embodied experience of engagement with the world around them. The book proposes that the multitude of social experiences described by girls and women shape their body experiences via three core pathways: experiences in the physical domain, experiences in the mental domain and experiences related directly to social power. The book is structured around each developmental stage in the body journey of girls and young women, as influenced by their experience of embodiment. The theory builds on the emergent constructs of ‘embodiment’ and ‘body journey,’ and the key social experiences which shape embodiment throughout development and adolescence—from agency, functionality and passion during early childhood to restriction, shame and varied expressions of self-harm during and following puberty. By addressing not only adverse experiences at the intersection of gender, social class, ethnocultural grouping, resilience and facilitative social factors, the theory outlines constructive pathways toward transformation. It contends that both protective and risk factors are organized along these three pathways, with the positive and negative aspects conceptualized as Physical Freedom (vs. Corseting), Mental Freedom (vs. Corseting), and Social Power (vs. Disempowerment and Disconnection). Examines the construct of embodiment and its theoretical development Explores the social experiences that shape girls throughout development Recognizes the importance of the body and sexuality Includes narratives by girls and young women on how they inhabit their bodies Invites scholars and health professionals to critically reflect on the body journeys of diverse girls and women Addresses the advancement of feminist, social critical and psychological theory, as well as implications to practice—both therapy and health promotion

Widely popularized images of unobtainable and damaging feminine ideals can be a cause of profound disjunction between women and their bodies. A consequence of this dissonance is an embodied performance of these ideals with the potential development of disordered eating practices, such as anorexia nervosa. This book develops a spirituality of anorexia by suggesting that these eating disorders are physical symptoms of the general repression of feminine nature in our culture. Furthermore, it puts forward Goddess feminism as a framework for a healing therapeutic model to address anorexia and more broadly, the "slender ideal" touted by society. The book focuses on the female body in contemporary society, specifically the development of anorexia nervosa, and what this expression communicates about female embodiment. Drawing upon the work of a variety of theorists, social commentators, liberation theologians and thealogians, it discusses the benefits of adopting female-focused myths, symbols and rituals, drawing upon the work of Marion Woodman and Naomi Goldenberg. Ultimately, it theorises a thealogical approach to anorexia aimed at displacing the damaging discourses that undermine women in the twenty-first century. Offering an alternative model of spirituality and embodiment for contemporary women, this book will be of keen interest to scholars of theology, religious studies, gender studies and psychology.

Delivers a proven treatment model for clinicians in all orientations This unique, hands-on clinical guide examines the significant relationship between trauma, dissociation, and eating disorders and delivers a trauma-informed phase model that facilitates effective treatment of individuals with all forms of eating disorders. It describes, step-by-step, a four-phase treatment model encompassing team coordination, case formulation, and a trauma-informed, dissociation- and attachment-sensitive approach to treating eating disorders. Edited by noted specialists in eating and other behavioral health disorders, Trauma-Informed Approaches to Eating Disorders examines eating disorders from neurological, medical, nutritional, and psychological perspectives. Dedicated chapters address each treatment phase from a variety of orientations, ranging from EMDR and CBT to body-centered and creative therapies. The book also reveals the effectiveness of a multifaceted, phase model approach. Recognizing the potential pitfalls and traps of treatment and recovery, it also includes abundant psychoeducational tools for the client. KEY FEATURES: Examines eating disorders from neurological, medical, nutritional, and psychological perspectives Highlights the relationship between trauma, dissociation, and eating disorders Maps out a proven, trauma-informed, four-phase model for approaching trauma treatment in general and eating disorders specifically Elucidates the approach from the perspectives of EMDR therapy, ego state therapy, somatosensory therapy, trauma-focused CBT, and many others Provides abundant psychoeducational tools for the client to deal with triggers and setbacks Offers the knowledge and expertise of over 20 international researchers, medical professionals, and clinicians

Many of us have a complicated relationship with our body. Maybe you've been made to feel ashamed of your body or like it isn't good enough. Maybe your body is riddled with stress, pain, or the effects of trauma. Maybe you think of your body as an accessory to what you believe you really are--your mind. Maybe your experiences with racism, sexism, ableism, heterosexism, ageism, or sizeism have made you believe your body isn't the right kind of body. Whatever the reason, many of us don't feel at home in our bodies. But being disconnected from ourselves as bodies means being disconnected from truly living and from the interconnection that weaves us all together. Psychologist and award-winning researcher Hillary McBride explores the broken and unhealthy ideas we have inherited about our body. Embodiment is the way we are in the world, and our embodiment is heavily influenced by who we have been allowed to be. McBride shows that many of us feel disembodied due to colonization, racism, sexism, and patriarchy--destructive systems that rank certain bodies as less valuable, beautiful, or human than others. Embracing our embodiment can liberate us from these systems. As we come to understand the world around us and the stories we've been told, we see that our perspective of reality often limits how we see and experience ourselves, each other, and what we believe is Sacred. Instead of the body being a problem to overcome, our bodies can be the very place where we feel most alive, the seat of our spirituality and our wisdom. The Wisdom of Your Body offers a compassionate, healthy, and holistic perspective on embodied living. Weaving together illuminating research, stories from her work as a therapist, and deeply personal narratives of healing from a life-threatening eating disorder, a near-fatal car accident, and chronic pain, McBride invites us to reclaim the wisdom of the body and to experience the wholeness that has been there all along. End-of-chapter questions and practices are included.

When women are told that what is important about us is how we look, it becomes increasingly difficult for us to feel comfortable with our appearance and how we feel about our bodies. We are told, over and over—if we just lost weight, fit into those old jeans, or into a new smaller pair—we will be happier and feel better about ourselves. The truth is, so many women despise their appearance, weight, and shape, that experts who study women’s body image now consider this feeling to be normal. But it does not have to be that way. It is possible for us as women to love ourselves, our bodies, as we are. We need a new story about what it means to be a woman in this world. Based on her original research, Hillary L McBride shares the true stories of young women, and their mothers, and provides unique insights into how our relationships with our bodies are shaped by what we see around us and the specific things we can do to have healthier relationships with our appearance, and all the other parts of ourselves that make us women. In Mothers, Daughters, and Body Image McBride tells her own story of recovery from an eating disorder, and how her struggles led her to dream of a new vision for womanhood—from one without body shame, negative comparisons, or insecurities, to one of freedom, connection, and acceptance.