5 Steps to Help Your Clients Reach their Eating Disorder Recovery Summit!

Eating disorder recovery is like climbing a mountain – I was reflecting about this as I reached the summit of Bergen Peak in Evergreen, Colorado (see video below)! It was a long and sometimes difficult journey, but my traverse was eased by those who had created a trail to reach the summit. In addition, I was prepared, carrying the essentials that I needed with me in my backpack, and wearing the right gear. But it all began with my commitment to embark on this journey, and trusting my Inner Guide for Inspiration to complete this climb.

During my own eating disorder recovery, I learned five essential principles, and practicing these principles on a daily basis gradually allowed me to let go of eating disorder behaviors and embrace a new life of freedom! Now, as a Licensed Addiction Counselor and Certified Eating Disorder Specialist, I share these five principles with my clients. These principles comprise the method I created, Eating Disorder Intuitive Therapy (EDIT)™ – and I provide training and certification for Eating Disorder Recovery Coaches and Treatment Clinicians  to be able to help their clients. EDIT™ Certified professionals are like mountaineering guides, using these five EDIT™ Principles as steps to the summit of eating disorder recovery success.

1. Love Your Self – Commit to the Recovery Journey!
Even if clients have some ambivalence, emphasize their worthiness to recover and live the life they truly want to live! Give your clients essential tools to begin their recovery journey – these are specific EDIT™ Worksheets you’ll provide in an initial session. Using the hiking analogy, you’ll give your clients a backpack (which will be filled in the next steps), and a map (so they don’t feel likely they’re blindly wandering into the unknown). Some clients might wonder, “What about my bathroom scale? And a mirror?” You might explain that a bathroom scale would be a heavy item to carry, and use EDIT™ Worksheets to help them find freedom from weighing (or measuring their bodies in any way). As for the mirror, you can suggest that this journey of recovery will involve discovery of their True Self, which can’t be seen as an image of the body reflected in a mirror. Hold the vision of your clients as their True Self until they can envision this themselves.

2. Be True To Your Self – Enjoy Nourishment for the Whole Self!
This includes the body, mind, heart and soul – or, the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of recovery. Introduce the concept of listening to one’s Inner Wisdom, or Intuitive Therapist (IT) within themselves. Start with the EDIT™ Worksheets which help clients access their Intuition, and then guide them with the EDIT™ Worksheets for Intuitive Eating and Intuitive Exercise (or Mindful Movement).  Using eating disorder recovery as a mountain climbing metaphor, emphasize the importance of water, meals and snacks, and assist your clients to add these to their backpack for their recovery journey. To further support the body, your clients need adequate hiking shoes or boots, and trekking poles can make it easier on the knee and hip joints. Remind your clients that this recovery journey is not a sprint, and encourage them to take lots of breaks along the way.

3. Express Your Self – Attend to Thoughts, Feelings, and Authentic Needs!
This is a critical step on the eating disorder mountain climbing journey. Guide your clients to gently notice their thoughts and feelings, and assist them to be curious about their authentic needs (shifting from ED to IT). There are essential EDIT™ Worksheets which facilitate this process. Sometimes the path may be very clear and clients can proceed with ease… celebrate your clients’ successes! And then the path might disappear. have your clients wandered into the weeds (filled with thoughts from the ED mind) instead of the Way of Recovery (filled with hope and encouragement from the mind of IT)? Prepare your clients when the Way gets challenging, such as climbing through scree (broken rock fragments and loose stones that are often at higher elevations, especially nearing a mountain summit). This is when clients are concurrently climbing high and yet “slipping back” to address core issues. Affirm that the Way has challenges, and moving through these leads to workable solutions and more freedom from ED! Offer EDIT™ Worksheets to guide clients to develop healthy coping skills and explore those deeper issues. Clients may appreciate having a journal in their backpack, so they can take note of their challenges and successes on their recovery journey. Sometimes, life can get messy, so be sure that your clients have toilet paper and a trowel (to dig a hole and bury the s*** left behind)!

4. Give To Your Self – Become Full-filled from Within!
Many clients struggle with the concept of “enough.” They might strive to be “good enough,” always striving yet never arriving, it’s “never good enough.” This can be mimicked through ED behaviors, such as restrictive eating to reflect an inner emptiness, or binge eating in an attempt to fill a hole inside. Meanwhile, basic needs are barely being met. It’s like your clients are going in circles near the mountain top, unaware of who and where they really are, looking outside themselves for approval instead of pausing to realize their own Self-validation. Clients will never feel “good enough” listening to the voices of the world, also hearing the chatter from the mind of ED and the inner critic, which keeps them spinning. What would happen if you guided your client over to a couple of trees, where they can hang a hammock (which you thoughtfully put in their backpack)? Encourage your client to truly pause – and just be in the moment. This can be a challenge for clients, so assist them through visualizations and other EDIT™ skills. It’s like there is a spring-fed well that can suddenly appear anywhere your clients are, as long as they can be still and know their Intuitive Therapist is with them. This Inner Wisdom can spring forth, providing full-fillment from within, and clients can finally experience and appreciate their enough-ness. Guide your clients to affirm, “I AM good enough, always have been, and always will be!”

5. Believe In Your Self – Reach the Summit of Recovery Success!
By practicing the first four EDIT™ Principles, clients can begin to see the summit… only to realize that when they reach it, there is another summit that becomes visible. In the eating disorder recovery mountain climbing analogy, this is known as a “false summit.” It’s like working sooooooo hard, only to realize that you haven’t arrived to the top, and there’s still seemingly sooooooo much more to go on the journey. Somehow mustering more strength, the journey continues. But where is this strength coming from? Is it the small-s false self, who can experience moments of freedom from ED by controlling the ED behaviors, reaching a false summit? Or is it the Capital-S True Self, who has found a renewable Energy Source with Infinite Power and lasting Freedom from ED, which is always available by staying aware of one’s Mind? This is the Mind of one’s Intuitive Therapist and True Self, rather than the limited mind of the false self, still caught up in striving-yet-never-arriving, vulnerable to relapses with ED. Remind your clients that they have a compass (another recovery tool you tucked into an easily accessible side pocket of their backpack). The false self’s eyes are limited, but the Eyes of the Soul can see the Way (even in the dark). Clients might feel hopeless, like they’ll never reach the “real” summit, but with their Inner Compass, they Way is clear. At last, the mountain top is reached! Clients are so Grateful, often feeling Joy that they haven’t experience in years or decades. On top of this mountain, they have a 365º view of the world around them. They see other summits they can rise up to, and valleys they can venture into very deeply.  They realize that the journey of recovery can continue, by proceeding with the Confidence of their Intuitive Therapist as their ongoing Guide in Freedom.

“Love Your Self, Be True To Your Self, Express Your Self, Give To Your Self, Believe In Your Self,” you remind your clients, as they conclude their work with you. They smile and nod their head, knowing that this EDIT™ Message is always within their True Self.

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Article may be reprinted with the author bio below.

©2020 by Dr. Dorie McCubbrey. Dr. Dorie is a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist and Licensed Addiction Counselor who is passionate about training professionals to effectively guide clients in recovery from eating disorders. She is the President of the EDIT™ Training Institute LLC, which provides training and certification in her method of Eating Disorder Intuitive Therapy (EDIT)™.  She also provides sessions for clients who struggle with these issues, either in person or by phone/video. Learn more at: https://www.drdorie.com

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Want more that this “taste” of EDIT™? Dr. Dorie is passionate about her method of Eating Disorder Intuitive Therapy (EDIT)™ to help people overcome eating disorders and addictions.  She provides customized programs for people in recovery from eating disorders and who struggle with weight issues, and  EDIT™ eating disorder training and certification for coaches and clinicians worldwide. CALL 303-494-1975 – GET CERTIFIED – ATTEND ONLINE RETREAT

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From Halloween to Thanksgiving to Holiday Parties into the New Year – food seems to be everywhere. Here are a few strategies to help your clients (or yourself) to find balance with emotions and eating. This can help overcome the temptation to binge (and then possibly purge), or to engage is restrictive behaviors which result in feelings of deprivation (and then possibly a binge/purge). Try these EDIT™ Skills to break the ED cycle, and enjoy this Holiday Season:

1. Trust Your Intuition with Food Choices – Get in touch with the foods you truly love. I mean, LOVE. Is it really the Halloween on every corner display in the grocery store? Or, Aunt Martha’s fruit cake that you feel obligated to eat to please her? Or, those store-baked cookies someone brought to the Holiday Office Party? Think back to your own pleasant memories of this time of year. Maybe you really LOVE apples dipped in caramel, or the turkey stuffing the your Nana used to make, or your Grandma’s shortbread cookies. Make your own list of “favorite foods,” and see if you can focus on these as your food choices. When you’re shopping specifically for apples and caramel, it’s easy to overlook all the candy. When you’re bringing your Nana’s stuffing to the family gathering, maybe you can say to Aunt Martha as she passes the fruitcake, “No, thanks, I’m stuffed!” (Yes, pun intended). And, at the Holiday Party, people will be asking, “Who baked these cookies? I want the recipe!” I hope this strategy helps you to focus more on enjoying the foods you love, while connecting more with others.
2. Check In with Your Feelings Often – Notice the sensations in your body, as well as your predominant emotions. Be curious about a possible link between your emotions and your body sensations. Rate these sensations on a scale from 1 to 10, and if they seem very intense (a 9 or 10), pause to a coping skill to bring the intensity down to a manageable level (a 4 or 5. Consider using the EDIT™ Worksheet (at end of article) to help you develop ways to meet your specific needs. Take a photo of the completed worksheet, so if you are feeling emotionally vulnerable before a holiday event, you can pull out your phone for a quick reminder about emotional balance. This is an effective way to avoid using ED behaviors to cope.
3. Give the Gift of Self-Care – Yes, to your Self! This is a busy time of year, and much of the focus can be about, “What costume should I make for my daughter? What is the best gift for my boss? What present should I get my nephew, Jimmy?” All of this, on top of the regular responsibilities of everyday life. Be sure to beep recovery as your #1 priority, and reflect about simple Self-Care you can enjoy every day – perhaps a 5-minute morning meditation, pausing for a cup of tea in the afternoon, or buying yourself a gift (and wrapping it)!

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Article may be reprinted with the author bio below.

©2019 by Dr. Dorie McCubbrey. Dr. Dorie is a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist and Licensed Addiction Counselor who is passionate about training professionals to effectively guide clients in recovery from eating disorders, through her Eating Disorder Intuitive Therapy (EDIT)™ Certified program. She also provides sessions for clients who struggle with these issues, either in person or by phone. Learn more at: https://www.drdorie.com

*****

Want more that this “taste” of EDIT™? Dr. Dorie is passionate about her method of Eating Disorder Intuitive Therapy (EDIT)™ to help people overcome eating disorders and addictions.  She provides customized programs for people in recovery from eating disorders and who struggle with weight issues, and  EDIT™ eating disorder training and certification for coaches and clinicians worldwide. CALL 303-494-1975 – EMAIL DR. DORIE – GET CERTIFIED 

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CLICK IMAGE to VIEW & PRINT WORKSHEET

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We all know we “should” practice Self-Care, but do we? Or, does Self-Care feel like yet another obligation on your mile-long to-do list? Self-Care does require a little bit of work at first – to come up with ideas for your Physical, Mental, Emotional and Spiritual Self-Care practices, and to plan the time for them.

The work will be worth it, because Self-Care for eating disorders recovery is a proactive practice, which can help prevent eating disorder thoughts and behaviors. Self-Care goes beyond coping skills, which are designed to be used as an intervention when faced with triggers. Self-Care is a foundation to rely upon on a daily basis, so that things that used to trigger you have no power over you any more. Self-Care is a way to ensure that you are “filled from within,” so you have no need for binge eating, excessive exercise, or other eating disorder behaviors.

To make things less work for you, here are a few Self-Care ideas to help you get started:

• Physical Self-Care: some common ideas are a hot bath, massage, aromatherapy, soothing lotions, naps; some healthy ideas are scheduling (and keeping) doctor’s appointments, dentist’s appointments, therapist’s appointments; and of course, intuitive eating and mindful movement practices!
• Mental Self-Care: this can be anything that sparks your intellectual interest, like taking a class you’ve wanted to sign up for, or learning a new language; anything that gets that eating disorder mind to take a break!
• Emotional Self-Care: journal writing in the morning can be a great way to “check in” with how you’re feeling, so that you’re emotionally aware and can better address your needs throughout the day; you might also try art therapy as another healthy means of expression; make regular plans with friends/family to enjoy heartfelt connection – you can also do this with nature, or animals (pet your cat, or play with your neighbor’s dog)!
• Spiritual Self-Care: some people consider spiritual practice to be a religious practice, but spirituality doesn’t have to involve religion; become curious about what would “feed your hungry soul,” and help you turn up the volume of your recovery guide, also known as your Intuitive Therapist; try reading some books about spirituality, soulfulness, meditation, or intuition – one of my recent favorite books is “Seven Thousand Ways to Listen” by Mark Nepo!

Self-Care for Eating Disorders Recovery is what the 4th Principle of Eating Disorder Intuitive Therapy (EDIT)™ is all about. Click on the worksheet image below to download and print!

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Article may be reprinted with the author bio below.

©2019 by Dr. Dorie McCubbrey. Dr. Dorie is a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist and Licensed Addiction Counselor who is passionate about training professionals to effectively guide clients in recovery from eating disorders, through her Eating Disorder Intuitive Therapy (EDIT)™ Certified program. She also meets with clients at her treatment center, Positive Pathways PLLC, located in Evergreen Colorado. Learn more at: https://www.drdorie.com

*****

Want more that this “taste” of EDIT™? Dr. Dorie is passionate about her method of Eating Disorder Intuitive Therapy (EDIT)™ to help people overcome eating disorders and addictions.  She provides customized counseling for eating disorders and alcohol / drug addiction at her Positive Pathways treatment center in Evergreen, Colorado – and EDIT™ eating disorder training and certification for coaches and clinicians worldwide. CALL 303-494-1975 – EMAIL DR. DORIE – GET CERTIFIED

The post Self-Care for Eating Disorders Recovery appeared first on INTUITIVE THERAPY™ | Healthy Weight Loss | Eating Disorder Recovery Coach.

While in graduate school to become a counselor, I wrote a paper about “Ecopsychology,” which was an emerging field, involving the relationship between the environment and the human psyche, or the natural world and our inner world. A newer field has emerged, called “Wilderness Therapy,” which involves an integration of nature into the therapeutic process, to facilitate healing in a deeper and more meaningful way.

Now, as a Licensed Addiction Counselor and Certified Eating Disorder Specialist, I’m always looking for ways to bring nature into my work with clients. This may be through the use of wilderness metaphors in my dialogues with clients, by taking mindfulness walks with clients outdoors, or by leading workshops and retreats in wilderness settings. My new office is located right by Evergreen Lake, with access to walking and hiking trails right outside the door!

I’m excited to be offering a 3-hour Wilderness Therapy Workshop on Saturday, June 23, 2018. In this small group of up to 8 members, we’ll take an easy walk into a nearby nature area. I’ll be guiding participants in a variety of nature-based therapeutic techniques, which are designed to enhance intuitive abilities – what I call the Intuitive Therapist within us all. Whether you are in recovery from an eating disorder or addiction, or if you’re simply on a path of personal growth, I invite you to join me for this special event! See flyer for details, and register by midnight on June 16 to get the Early Bird rate!

CLICK FLYER TO VIEW & PRINT

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Article may be reprinted with the author bio below.

©2018 by Dr. Dorie McCubbrey. Dr. Dorie is a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist and Licensed Addiction Counselor who is passionate about training professionals to effectively guide clients in recovery from eating disorders, through her Eating Disorder Intuitive Therapy (EDIT)™ Certified program. She also meets with clients at her treatment center, Positive Pathways PLLC, located in Evergreen Colorado. Learn more at: https://www.drdorie.com

*****

Want more that this “taste” of EDIT™? Dr. Dorie is passionate about her method of Eating Disorder Intuitive Therapy (EDIT)™ to help people overcome eating disorders and addictions.  She provides customized counseling for eating disorders and alcohol / drug addiction at her Positive Pathways treatment center in Evergreen, Colorado – and EDIT™ eating disorder training and certification for coaches and clinicians worldwide. CALL 303-494-1975 – EMAIL DR. DORIE – GET CERTIFIED

The post Wilderness Therapy Workshop appeared first on INTUITIVE THERAPY™ | Healthy Weight Loss | Eating Disorder Recovery Coach.

Eating Disorder Intuitive Therapy (EDIT)™ can lead to complete recovery from eating disorders – which means having a healthy body image; a clear sense of values and identity beyond one’s body; the ability to intuitively and mindfully enjoy all foods without restricting, binge eating, or purging; effective ways of coping with a range of emotions; regular Self-Care practices; relapse prevention skills; and a strong presence of one’s “Intuitive Therapist” to guide ongoing recovery.

My name is Dr. Dorie McCubbrey, the Creator of EDIT™ – which I developed during my own eating disorder recovery. Practicing the five principles of EDIT™ led to my freedom from anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder, and continuing to live these principles in my own life allows me to stay free. This is how I know that complete recovery is possible! Also, as a Licensed Addiction Counselor and Certified Eating Disorder Specialist, I’ve been using the EDIT™ process with my clients for more than 20 years, and have guided thousands on their journeys of complete recovery from eating disorders.

I truly believe that by practicing the five principles of EDIT™, anyone can find freedom from anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, or other issues with food, exercise and weight. Here’s a “taste” of each of the five principles, and what freedom can feel like:

Love Your Self: You look in the mirror, and truly LOVE what you see – your radiant essence, your compassionate heart, your creative mind, and your strong body. You are free from society’s standards of what others think is “ideal,” and you fully embrace your True Self!

Be True To Your Self: You live your life in alignment with your “Intuitive Therapist” – your own inner guide to eating, exercise, and all decisions in your life. You trust your intuition for the type and amount of food your body needs. You rely on your intuition for the flow of mindful movement. You go within to access intuition for relationship guidance, career choices, and moment to moment needs.

Express Your Self: You have skills to safely and fully experience a range of emotions as they come and go through the day. You view your emotions as “messengers,” pointing to areas in your life you need to address. You approach all emotions with curiosity, knowing they are guiding you on your healthy path. 

Give To Your Self: You incorporate Self-Care throughout your day, to “feed your true hunger” – spiritually, emotionally, mentally and physically. When you are “nourished from within,” there is no need for eating disorder behaviors of any kind.

Believe In Your Self: You wake up every morning, excited for the opportunities in your life! You live as if you’ve never had an eating disorder. Occasionally, an old “ED” thought might pop into your mind, but rather than acting on it, you naturally become curious about it – as “IT,” your “Intuitive Therapist,” takes over. Your ED-IT transformation is what complete recovery is all about!

Article may be reprinted with the author bio below.

©2018 by Dr. Dorie McCubbrey. Dr. Dorie is a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist and Licensed Addiction Counselor who is passionate about training professionals to effectively guide clients in recovery from eating disorders, through her Eating Disorder Intuitive Therapy (EDIT)™ Certified program. She also meets with clients at her treatment center, Positive Pathways PLLC, located in Evergreen Colorado. Learn more at: https://www.drdorie.com

*****

Want more that this “taste” of EDIT™? Dr. Dorie is passionate about her method of Eating Disorder Intuitive Therapy (EDIT)™ to help people overcome eating disorders and addictions.  She provides customized counseling for eating disorders and alcohol / drug addiction at her Positive Pathways treatment center in Evergreen, Colorado – and EDIT™ eating disorder training and certification for coaches and clinicians worldwide. CALL 303-494-1975 – EMAIL DR. DORIE – GET CERTIFIED

The post Eating Disorders: Complete Recovery appeared first on INTUITIVE THERAPY™ | Healthy Weight Loss | Eating Disorder Recovery Coach.

The fourth EDIT™ Principle involves Intuitive Self-Care – these are Self-Care practices which can truly be replenishing, at all levels of being: spiritual, emotional, mental, physical. This is in contract to so-called “self-care” which is just another “should” on one’s never-ending  to-do list. Regular Self-Care which truly “feeds one’s True Hunger” is the key to long-term recovery. The EDIT™ process involves having ED-IT dialogues with clients. Here’s what this might sound like:

ED (false self) – “Everyone else needs me; my needs don’t matter.”

Self-care is considered “selfish” by the false self, who will give to others in self-sacrificing ways. The false self doesn’t perceive any needs – except the need to engage in eating disorder behaviors.

IT (True Self): “I matter; nurturing my Self is my priority.”

Self-care is considered “Selfish” (with a capital “S”) by the True Self. This implies giving to enhance the Self – including others as Self. When “filled from within,” there is more than enough to share with others.

Try this “taste” of EDIT™ – Ways to Care for My Self

Click on the image below for a downloadable worksheet which you can use to guide clients to explore the four aspects of the True Self – spiritual, emotional, mental, physical. Then, consider Self-care activities to “feed” each aspect of the True Self.

CLICK ON IMAGE TO DOWNLOAD AND PRINT

©2018 by Dr. Dorie McCubbrey. Dr. Dorie is a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist and Licensed Addiction Counselor who is passionate about training professionals to effectively guide clients in recovery from eating disorders, through her Eating Disorder Intuitive Therapy (EDIT)™ Certified program. She also meets with clients at her treatment center, Positive Pathways PLLC, located in Evergreen Colorado. Learn more at: https://www.drdorie.com

Article may be reprinted with this author bio.

*****

Want more that this “taste” of EDIT™? Dr. Dorie is passionate about her method of Eating Disorder Intuitive Therapy (EDIT)™ to help people overcome eating disorders and addictions.  She provides customized counseling for eating disorders and alcohol / drug addiction at her Positive Pathways treatment center in Evergreen, Colorado – and EDIT™ eating disorder training and certification for coaches and clinicians worldwide. CALL 303-494-1975 – EMAIL DR. DORIE – GET CERTIFIED

The post Give To Your Self appeared first on INTUITIVE THERAPY™ | Healthy Weight Loss | Eating Disorder Recovery Coach.