EATING DISORDER HOPE, Candice Hershman, MA., LMFT, New Dawn’s Eating Disorder Recovery Center, JULY 30, 2012
Therapists aim to provide clients with an authentic experience: not a dress rehearsal, but rather the actuality of relationship. This experience includes support and positive regard, and also disagreements, misunderstandings, and the necessity to remain engaged in a relationship when inevitable conflict arises. Although these challenges and amazing learning opportunities can come up during an authentic encounter between a client and therapist, a support group widens the circle of interactions, helping a client move beyond intrapersonal development and more intimate interpersonal encounter, to many personalities and styles of interaction. We all influence each other, and this is part of the challenge. We struggle to be our whole selves, and also need to develop an ability to support others in being their whole selves, even when values may not match. People connect in support group and learn to communicate with themselves and each other.
People with eating disorders may develop a tendency to become either isolated from others due to shame, guilt, and protectiveness of their habits, or become distracted by the recovery of others. Support groups provide clients in eating disorder recovery a wonderful opportunity – bringing them out of isolation and into contact. This connection provides the opportunity to hear the challenges of their peers and realize that they are not totally unique in their painful emotional experiences. As compassion is developed for others, they may identify the compassion for themselves that so desperately needs to be developed for recovery. Additionally, by acknowledging the suffering of others, individuals suffering from eating disorders, with co-occurring disorders like depression, learn to move beyond the inertia that can occur from losing contact with others. The stories may all be different, but the pain is often quite similar.