Well I suppose the title of my post says it all, I am an eating disorder therapist. What it doesn't tell you is that I came to this career path after examining my own recovery from anorexia /bulimia and compulsive eating disorders, this was 18 yeras ago and I have been in private practice for 10 years now.

I wanted to understand my own mindset and then provide therapy for those wanting to recover. I always say that 'you can be terrified of recovery and still want it' . I've often been frightened to do something but that doesn't mean I don't actually want to do it.

Well that's what I do plus Life Coaching and of course I do have a particular interest in body image and helping clients appreciate their individuality.

Life is an exciting journey...

Quote

Hi please tell me more ,what therapies do you use within your practice ? I believe homeopathic remedies can have a lot to offer work with eating disorders and am aware that eating disorders are a mental illness or more accurately part of or a manifestation of it Fiona x

Quote

Eating disorders = mental disorder = hormone imbalance. Get the hormanes right and the disorder(s) go away.

Quote

I take a differing approach...

Get the mental balance right and the disorders go away. Mental state also affects hormonal balance and vice versa. A bit of chicken and egg but the end result is what matters though, get them fixed!

Peace

Asif

Quote

Asif, is that a mental or emotional thing?

Quote

Funnily enough it could be both, either or neither. The approach I take is the treat the person as a whole and therefore do not consciously make that distinction.

The two are inextricably linked and could be argued that they are the same thing even... one affects the other so to me they are part of the whole.

I personally find it easier to view disorders of any kind as a "pattern of behavior that could be more beneficial" rather than a malfunction. Put that way, life transformation is step closer and easier to accept.

Here's hoping my latest ramble makes sense.... until next time...

Smiles

Asif

Quote

Hi Asif, In my world mental is conscious thinking, emotional is sub-conscious. Thats why I asked. In my terminology, mental is identity and belief. Emotional is feeling, which comes from the sub-conscious.Most people seem to relate both together, as you have, however I use the terms so as to differentiate between thinking and feeling.

Quote

I would have thought that thinking & emotion were inextricably linked. What one thinks colours how one feels, and vice versa.

For example, in a shop I could touch a piece of material whose colour attracted me (thinking - what a beautiful colour), and on contact find the feel of the material unpleasant, & the immediate emotion would be 'ugh!' - ie revulsion.

And if someone has said something to me one morning to make me feel really happy, for instance, my thinking would be positive to all mankind!

You cannot feel wildly happy (emotional response) and yet go around expressing rude & belligerent comments or kicking the dog (mental response) - it simply can't work that way!

Quote

Another way to say it would be;
mental = logic
emotional = feeling.
You don't 'kick the dog' logically, you do it emotionally.
Most of our conscious decisions are made emotionally, not logically.

Quote

Quite right too Jon, I agree with you!

The point I was trying to convey was that when someone come to me with this "disorder", I work backwards to the cause. Its may well be a subconscious process working through emotions, however it often imparts some influence on the logical mind as well. The logical mind can also have an effect in build subconsious patterns and fostering limiting beliefs

As you may have become aware through my previous posts, I am a simple creature and like to keep thngs that way. Its a process that works for me, hence I try not to make the distinction unless I have to. And yes I do have to sometimes, as it can shape my therapy sessions and the way I approach them. At the end of the day it may well be an emtional trigger and will use therapeutic techniques based on that, but that does not mean the issue is emtional, its indicative of how that person codes that informtion in the course of their lives. The edges of conscious/subconscious process begin to blurr sometimes too, at which stage I rely on my intuition to guide me.

The strongest technique that I have in my armoury is my INTENTION for their increased wellbeing, for me thats a good place to start and finish.

Don't get me wrong, maiking the differentiation is fine too, and the majority of people in my field do so and with good effect. It would also help to do so if the therapist is process driven. I do follow a structure myself but my strength and greastest acheivements in this field have been when I had a mindset of flexibility, instinctiveness and have been open to what is infront of me. It could be argued, my personal approach is sometimes non scientific, but when your are dealing with dynamic human beings with a million variables (consciuos and subconscious) the end result is what matters.

So my viewpoint my not be representative of most clinical hypnotherapists but I know it works for me and my clients.

Asif

Last edited: 11-09-2007 04:09:48 PM

Quote

Asif, we are of the same mind on most things I see, your way of doing your therapy and my way of doing mine are different, simply because the therapies are different, the thing I see is the underlying thread, which is the same. The client comes first.
Your focus for your clients is in the direction of what you can do to help them and that is my focus also, semantics don't matter. Great stuff.
(BTW scientific huh, who cares)

Quote