Meal Support &
Food Exposures
What does that mean?
I will walk with clients through the emotional components around their meals. I will not discuss with clients things beyond my areas of expertise. These sessions can happen individually or in a joint space with family/loved ones to model how to respond to the eating disorder and/or dysregulated mood response while it is present.
What do we talk about or do?
*Create a space of 'normalized' table talk
*Identify emotions or memories around foods
*Practice emotional regulation
*Process in real-time what is happening at the meal
*Share a meal together
*Utilize distress tolerance skills
*Walk through the emotional distress experienced in choosing, preparing, sharing, and eating meals
So much time is spent around food and body for clients in and out of sessions. Sometimes a neutral space is needed to provide client's with accountability. Whether a client is coming in for an eating disorder, trauma, anxiety, depression, self-esteem, or relational issues, the relationship(s) with food and body can be complex and affected by distress, needing nurturing with unbiased and professional guidance.
This can also be done with any client! If you are interested in this, we can explore it further together! For some clients we are eating during lunch hours as part of our session. I always welcome food and beverages into sessions!
I also will do in office exposures- again my role being an emotional advocate.
What is an exposure?
An exposure can include a wide range of things, including some of the following:
*Looking at pictures of a food
*Practicing describing the food
*Smelling a food
*Prepping a food
*Trying a challenge food together
I like to bring play into this when possible! We are all big kids at heart trying to relearn our relationship with food and our bodies, especially if our bodies have experienced any form of trauma, high distress, or societal expectations.
Frequency
Sessions can occur weekly, biweekly, or monthly depending on the client's and/or families' needs.
