Eating Disorder Therapy Groups: Are They Enough?
Listen to this article While therapy groups can be an integrative approach to overcoming all sorts of mental illnesses, anyone struggling with an eating disorder likely needs some kind of one-on-one therapy before eating disorder therapy groups are appropriate. However, therapy groups can be part of a holistic plan to overcome any disordered patterns of eating. There are several types of eating disorders beyond the most talked about anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Other disorders include Binge Eating Disorder (BED), Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID), Pica and Rumination Disorder. Because your treatment journey is unique to you, your diagnosis must come from a trained psychologist who is qualified to help you recognize how your thought processes and behavioral patterns may be contributing to a specific type of disordered eating. Your psychologist will also direct you to types of counseling and therapy methods, in addition to possible therapy groups. Once you are diagnosed, reviewing your treatment plan with your physician and counselor is a great next step. Eating Disorder Therapy Groups: Factors to Consider If your doctor and counselor believe eating disorder therapy groups will help you, how do you know if the group will be enough, or if you should stick with individual counseling? Here are a few factors to consider. Does your budget or insurance plan support both individual counseling and therapy groups? If the answer is yes, then the recommendation would be to continue both types of therapy until your clinician or your counselor recommends just group therapy. Is your group therapy helping you make choices that further your recovery or hindering you? If a group is causing you to compare yourself to others or harbor a competitive spirit toward someone else, then it may not be the right timing for therapy groups [...]