What Is a Body Image Therapy Group?
Blog Post By Kate Jarvi
Seems like an easy question to answer, right?
I could spend the next few paragraphs describing a generic group format and giving some general details about what we do in Rock Recovery’s Bridge to Life body image therapy group on a weekly basis. But instead, maybe the best way to answer this question is to start by answering a different question: WHO is a body image therapy group for?
Who Is a Body Image Therapy Group For?
Our society is plagued with an epidemic of negative body image. Around every corner we see or hear someone or something that tells us our body is not enough - that some part of us needs to change. According to these messages, there’s always something we can be “working on”. Over time, what these messages have done is create a level of dissatisfaction with our bodies and consequently with OURSELVES. Our bodies are not enough; WE are not enough as we are. So WHO is a body image therapy group for? Well, it could be for anyone who has ever felt the weight of these messages and the weight of body or self dissatisfaction.
Insert a body image therapy group with a message that is different: A message of ACCEPTANCE. If you are looking for a place that will attempt to solve body dissatisfaction by doing whatever it takes to change the body, then you won’t find that here. I’m not sure you will find it anywhere though, or at least if you find it, then you will be working the rest of your life to maintain it. Work work work, control control control, and you might find yourself in a place (or a body) you are happy with. Or you might not. It might never be ENOUGH. And in either scenario, you might just find yourself at a point of exhaustion, dysfunction, or worse, depression. With Rock Recovery’s body image therapy groups, we offer an alternative where instead of a constant grind we aim for rest, for pleasure, for freedom. For ACCEPTANCE.
I’ve led Rock Recovery’s Bridge to Life body image therapy group for almost five years now. A consistent reaction I have gotten from group members when they hear the word “acceptance” is a fear of giving up, of settling, of anti-change. However, this is not at all what acceptance is. Instead of giving up, it’s “letting go”. It’s a freedom to move forward as a dynamic being in a dynamic body: changing, learning, growing, connecting. This “letting go” that I am suggesting involves a freedom from a hyperfocus on the body as the basis for our identity and happiness/satisfaction. It involves learning who we are and where we WANT to root our identity. It involves identifying our values and placing our worth in the things that align with these values.
While acceptance involves freedom from hyperfocus on the body, it does NOT involve swinging so far the other way that we instead live in avoidance of the body (if you find yourself here, that’s okay and sometimes part of the journey). In the acceptance process, we can’t ignore the body as the vessel through which we live out these values and this one life we’ve been given to live. Instead, we learn to connect with our bodies without judgment. We learn to care for our bodies in a way that promotes true, holistic health: physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual. We learn to LIVE in our bodies rather than allowing our bodies to determine how we live.
If you have ever found yourself on either end of this spectrum, whether in a state of hyperfocusing on your body or in a state of avoiding your body, then a body image therapy group could be for you. ACCEPTANCE could be for you. I personally believe it’s for everyone.
Now you might be wondering what we actually do in our weekly body image therapy groups and want to know more., We actually touch on a lot of the topics I covered so far! We discuss things like how to be a caretaker for your body, challenging diet culture and disordered thought patterns, trying new ways to connect with your body, identifying values, and so much more!
If you’re ready to begin healing your relationship with your body, we’d love to offer you a seat at the table in one of our virtual or in-person therapy groups for DC, MD and VA residents. Book a free consultation to connect with our therapy team today!
About Kate Jarvi: Kate is a licensed professional counselor who specializes in both individual and group therapy with adults and teens with eating disorders. Kate joined the Rock team in early 2019 and leads our virtual Bridge to Life body image therapy group for Virginia residents. Kate is passionate about Rock Recovery’s program and mission to bring the opportunity for freedom and recovery from disordered eating to those who need it in the DC metro area. Kate is trained in providing DBT, CBT, ACT, RODBT, intuitive eating principles, and body acceptance skills which she implements regularly in her practice