There are many different treatment approaches, skills and techniques currently used in order to help eating disorder sufferers achieve a healthy recovery. While some skills such as using a meal plan or portion system focus on the physical element of eating disorder recovery, others may provide significant benefit in terms of the psychological element of recovery. This article aims to explore one such approach with key areas to be examined listed below:
- What is CEBT-ED?
- How does CEBT-ED work?
- Strategies to increase emotional awareness
- Who may benefit from CEBT-ED?
What is CEBT-ED?
CEBT-ED stands for cognitive-emotional-behavioural-therapy for eating disorders and primarily involves working with the individual’s beliefs associated with their emotions. The aim of this approach is to enable eating disorder sufferers to better comprehend both the expression and experience of emotions in order to be able to successfully recognise and subsequently begin to challenge them.
How does CEBT-ED Work?
This approach begins with the therapist assessing the client’s understanding of emotions. Expression and experiences of emotion are encouraged within therapy and are monitored by both the therapist and the client. As with CBT, emphasis placed on putting together a case formulation which links the client's symptoms and emotional processing ability. Education about the nature and purpose of emotions and the link between emotions and behaviour form a key part of therapy. The therapist explains how emotions may have several positive functions such as in improving communication with others/self, empathy and motivation. Primary and secondary emotions as well as expressing emotions in both adaptive and appropriate ways are also explored. Several strategies are used to improve the client’s emotional awareness and appraisal which will now be discussed.
Strategies to Increase Emotional Awareness
Waller et al. (2007) identified the following strategies used to aid the client in increasing their levels of emotional awareness and appraisal skills: using a journal to monitor/record emotions (increases observational skills and familiarity), writing a pros and cons lists (covering the short and long-term advantages and disadvantages of either expressing or repressing one’s emotions) and experiential exercises where the client uses drawing or writing to aid the identification and organisation of their feelings.
Who may Benefit from CEBT-ED?
Research into the practical implications of CEBT-ED suggests that this approach may be of most use to patients who have difficulty in identifying and managing their emotions despite the fact they are able to accept the presence of such emotions. Patients who have been assessed to suffer from alexithymia, often found in eating disorder sufferers, may receive significant benefit.
Source:
Waller et al. (2007) CBT for Eating Disorders Cambridge University Press
Kate Le Page - Kate Henning-Le Page writes about eating disorders, body image and recovery issues. She specializes in anorexia recovery.
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