Body image therapy can provide a successful avenue for cognitive restructuring, helping to promote body-positive activities, media literacy, and more mindfulness. 

When you come to our eating disorder treatment center, our team will work with you to cultivate better awareness of your thoughts and emotions, recognizing those thoughts without judgment and without trying to change them.  

By learning to sit with these thoughts, individuals can cultivate a sense of compassion and acceptance toward their emotions and their body in the present moment. We also encourage our clients to challenge negative self-talk, recognizing patterns of negative self-talk through mindfulness activities.

Mindfulness provides a place to objectively review thoughts and emotions and conduct things like body scans, where you notice the direct impact that certain thoughts are having on areas of your body, like muscle tension in the jaw or clenching of the fists. 

Throughout the therapies we offer, our focus is on teaching clients the skills they need to better manage their behaviors on a daily basis. Behaviors are directly tied to thoughts and emotions, which is why it’s so important to build what is called distress tolerance.

Distress tolerance refers to how much distress or negative emotions a client can tolerate at any given time. This is much like a muscle in that it can be built and strengthened. 

When clients come to our eating disorders treatment center, they can learn techniques for building tolerance of uncomfortable emotions or situations without resorting to self-destructive and impulsive behaviors.

Without distress tolerance, an uncomfortable situation or a stressful piece of news might immediately trigger impulsive eating behaviors like binging, but with the right type of skills, clients can learn to navigate these triggers or urges without disordered eating behaviors. 

If you come to our treatment center, you will receive guidance on proper meal planning as well. It is important to make sure your nutritional needs are being met and that you are improving your health by making informed decisions about things like:

• Portion sizes
• Ingredients
• Balanced eating

Our team provides strategies and tips for creating satisfying but well-balanced meals throughout your recovery that can support you now and in the long term.

While support and structure can be found in a residential program, the real challenge is maintaining healthy eating behaviors when you are back home, facing stress and unexpected challenges. 

That is why an eating disorder psychologist Melbourne based will work with you during individual, group, and family therapy to build you up, and provide a good toolbox for your recovery skills. 

When you work with a professional therapist at our eating disorder treatment center, you will build the skills needed to:

• Recognize the signs of a relapse before it happens
• Develop coping skills to avoid harmful eating habits
• Build a support network to be there when you are in recovery

Our eating disorder psychologist Melbourne based will work with you during your residential stay to help guide and support you while you navigate the most difficult part of your recovery. The work you do during your stay with us will also prepare you to transition into lower levels of care should you choose it.