Many therapists and wellness professionals are afraid to treat clients with eating or body image issues because they lack the knowledge and skills to treat these clients effectively.
If this sounds like you, you may not know what to say to these clients.
You can easily fall into the trap of focusing on the surface issues – i.e., the issue of food, eating and body image. You can get stuck in the client’s perception of the problem and then wonder why you’re not making progress.
As a result, you miss out on what’s driving the problem.
And when you don’t understand the source of the problem, you won’t know how to treat it effectively.
This can lead to thinking that treating clients with eating problems is difficult.
It can also lead to saying something unintentionally inappropriate without realizing the client has an eating issue.
You don’t want your clients to get worse because of something inadvertently that you’re doing due to lacking knowledge about eating problems.
But how do you know?
One of the characteristics of clients who have eating or body image issues is that they often keep it secret. Many clients have these issues that interfere in their lives, but they might not tell you right away.
And if they sense that you don’t understand their issues, they may not ever tell you that it’s a problem for them.
The bottom line is that it’s quite possible to miss that a client is struggling with an eating or body image problem.
Most clients’ eating issues do not fall into the category of a diagnosable disorder.
And yet, eating and body image issues exist for many due to the culture we live in.
If you work with clients, eating and body image issues are bound to show up. You’ll want an understanding and some skills on how to help these clients when they do.
Eating problems include yo-yo dieting, restricting food intake, binging, and more severe forms including binge eating disorder, bulimia, and anorexia. Clients often move back and forth along the continuum.
And, eating issues typically occur alongside clients’ concerns about the size or shape of their bodies.
You can’t tell if a client has an issue with eating and their body just by looking at them.
People can have an eating issue and look fine or look the opposite of the type of problem they may have.
Dr. Johnston’s method of treating disordered eating clients with metaphor and storytelling works will ALL clients on the continuum of eating difficulties.
You work with women or girls as they often struggle with body image and eating. But, also if you work with men or other genders as they struggle with eating issues too.
Your clients don’t present with eating difficulties but you want skills to help them if they reveal eating problems during treatment.
You want to see more clients who have struggles with eating and body image.
You already treat clients with disordered eating issues and want to acquire more tools to help them.
You want to learn to use the powerful tool of metaphor to work with issues other than eating difficulties with clients.
Though I had recovered from my eating disorder when I participated in Anita’s program, I wanted to continue my journey of healing and growing as a woman and a clinician. Anita’s unique approach of working with the whole person instead of treating the disordered behaviors allowed me to look at recovery as a reclamation of the lost pieces of the Self, making recovery a homecoming experience.
My therapy clients who have food and body image issues find the use of metaphors incredibly enlightening. They’re greatly relieved when they realize they can shift their focus from their eating difficulty to the hidden meaning underlying the problem. In Anita’s words, ‘The eating difficulty is simply the messenger.’
I’ve studied many eating disorder treatment modalities but have found Anita’s approach to be down to earth, intuitive and the most helpful. It has greatly influenced my practice.
Anita is a wise and authentic mentor who offers a refreshingly holistic perspective to eating disorder treatment. Her ability to creatively use stories and metaphors is highly effective when working with clients struggling with eating and body image issues, and any other issue a client might bring to therapy.
Anita Johnston, Ph.D., CEDS-S, clinical psychologist, certified eating disorder specialist, and author of Eating in the Light of the Moon, has specialized in eating disorders for over 35 years. She is the Executive Clinical Director for ‘Ai Pono Hawaii Eating Disorder Programs, Executive Director of Eating Disorder Planning for the Integrative Life Center, and Co-creator of the virtual Light of the Moon Café.
Dr. Johnston offers online courses and support circles for women around the world. She is best known for integrating metaphor and storytelling into her training as a clinical psychologist to explain the complex issues underlying disordered eating and body image distress.
“When I first came across Anita’s work on disordered eating, I was blown away. It woke me up and helped me understand my eating issues and get in touch with all they had to teach me about myself.
I became aware of my emotions, overcame my shame, and stopped obsessing about food. I learned to tune into my body, eat when I am hungry, and stop when I feel satisfied. I now feel my worth inherently and no longer base it solely on how I look.
Anita’s approach helped me so much that I now use it with my clients. They find it so healing. They’re amazed at how it helps them gain awareness and how metaphors shift their perception about how they feel about themselves. They’re able to look in the mirror without hating themselves. They learn to really pay attention to their bodies’ cues and the important messages they give.
If you take Anita’s course, your toolkit will grow by leaps and bounds. You’ll understand how to work with clients who have eating and body image problems in a refreshing and highly effective way. Working with disordered eating issues will no longer seem scary or difficult.”
Counselor and Hypnotherapist
Bothell, Washington
Disordered eating as a paradox and how metaphor and stories operate on a deep level to address this paradox
What is recovery, and how to best address it?
Interoceptive Awareness – Using metaphors to differentiate between physical & emotional awareness
The nature of food restriction and how to address it
How to help clients increase emotional literacy and develop stronger assertiveness skills
Several metaphors to use to address the above issues with clients
How and why clients get disconnected from their bodies
How to address cultural pressures and fat biases with clients
How the brain perceives internal body states
The antidote to a domineering inner critic
Tools for breaking free from a negative body image
Several metaphors to use to address the above issues with clients
How ancient traditions use metaphor and stories as a method of healing
How Jungian therapists use metaphor in treatment
The left and right hemisphere of the brain and their roles in using metaphor as a healing tool
The tasks of the therapist in the treatment
What it takes to recover from disordered eating
Several metaphors to use to address the above issues with clients
NOTE: There is a time change in North America after the first webinar.
The time for Australia, New Zealand and the UK will be one hour earlier on webinars 2 and 3 than it was for Webinar 1.
North America:
3 Wednesdays, March 8, 15 & 22, 2022
1:00-2:30 pm Pacific / 4:00-5:30 Eastern
UK:
Wednesday, March 8, 2022, from 9:00-10:30 pm
Wednesday, March 15 & 22, 2022, from 8:00-9:30 pm
Australia:
Thursday, March 9, 2022, from 8:00-9:30 am
Thursdays, March 16 & 23, 2022, from 7:00-8:30 am
New Zealand:
Thursday, March 9, 2022, from 10:00-11:30 am
Thursdays, March 16 & 23, 2022 from 9:00-10:30 am
*If you can’t make the live webinars, you can submit questions ahead of time and Dr. Johnston will answer them during the final 30 minutes of each live webinar.
We aim to deliver a lot of value in our courses. That’s why in addition to the 3
live webinars, we offer 3 bonuses. Check them out below…
The final 30 minutes of each 90-minute live webinar will be allocated to answering your questions. This is one of the reasons you’ll want to try to make the live webinars even though recordings will be available. If you can’t make the live webinars, you can submit questions ahead of time.
Many of my clients have disordered eating issues, as my naturopathic practice primarily focuses on mental health.
I’ve studied a lot of theories on eating difficulties, but I wanted practical information, so I signed up for the course. The course certainly delivered – it offered a tangible approach to help clients gain insight and normalize their experiences.
I really enjoyed the metaphors and the neuroscience aspect of them. Metaphors get to the heart of the matter without being overly confronting. They’re a gentle way to help clients expand their insight into their eating difficulties.
I used one of Anita’s metaphors with a client last week. It really clicked for the client and opened up her awareness. It disarmed her in a way that an explanation couldn’t have. I was delighted with the outcome.
Anita was great – her teaching certainly exceeded my expectations. I got a lot more out of the course than I thought I would.
I’m looking forward to using more metaphors with my clients!
In this interview, Tina describes the 3 levels of care provided at the treatment center that Dr. Johnston founded. They include a residential program, a partial hospital program, and an intensive outpatient program. Clients are assessed for the appropriate level of care they require before being admitted into the program.
Tina explains that they use a comprehensive and multidisciplinary treatment model with a team of professionals. The program also provides education and counseling to family members. If you want to learn how a disordered eating program works, you’ll want to watch this interview.
Elisabeth, a registered dietician, has treated clients with eating disorders for over 25 years. She co-founded the Light of the Moon Café program with Dr. Johnston for people with eating difficulties. Working with Dr. Johnston was one of the greatest joys in her career, and it completely transformed how she works with clients.
In this interview, Elisabeth shares how she uses a somatic biopsychosocial model for treating clients with eating difficulties. She explains how she helps clients identify their thoughts, feelings and behaviors, enabling them to separate these from their food, needs and behaviors. And, of course, she shares a lot of metaphors in her work with clients.
This resource list was put together by Dr. Johnston herself and includes resources on eating difficulties, body image, metaphors and stories, and related neuroscience. If you want to learn more about eating difficulties or the use of metaphors and stories when treating clients, this will be a great resource for you.
3, 90-minute live webinars
The ability to ask Dr. Johnston questions on the live webinars
Downloadable video recordings of each webinar
Downloadable audio recordings of each webinar
Downloadable, word-for-word transcripts of each webinar
2 Bonus interviews with leading disordered eating experts and colleagues of Dr. Johnston
Dr. Johnston’s customized disordered eating resource list
Certificate of Completion
Get $100 off with our introductory pricing…
The course was a revelation for me. My doctoral work focused on eating disorders, but II left it behind, thinking that I’d have to do a lot more training before I could work with these clients.
But this course boosted my confidence and made me realize that this is the work I want to do. I could see that working with eating difficulties isn’t so hard when I use metaphors.
I used a metaphor with a client who struggles with panic attacks, and he was entranced and heartened by it.
The metaphor opened up his predicament in a way that helped him to think about it differently and be kinder to himself.
I love that the course reinforced the notion that eating issues have a function, and metaphors have a beautiful way of discovering that function. Metaphors free up and expand the stuck and rigid energy of disordered eating.
Anita offers an entirely different therapeutic stance – a way of creating an imaginative space with clients. It’s really helpful.
I didn’t expect the course to expand my thinking as much as it did. Thank you!
Take our course for a test drive. If the course is not what you expected, you can ask for a full refund after the first webinar and before the second (up until March 14, 2022).
Dr. Johnston is truly a pioneer in using metaphors to effectively treat clients with eating difficulties.
Whether you’re a disordered eating specialist or not, having the powerful tool of metaphor in your skillset will make it easier to help clients resolve eating issues.
But that’s not all…
You can use this approach for ANY problems that your clients have.
AND, with our introductory rate, you’ll save $100.
Absolutely! This live webinar series deals with the full range of eating difficulties, including dieting, binging and restricting food. It is not only focused on diagnosable eating disorders.
Yes. If you already work with disordered eating clients, you’re likely to gain a different perspective than you might have now. And, you’ll certainly learn how to incorporate metaphors and stories into your work.
The course will give you a foundational understanding of the nature of eating difficulties and how to treat them. You can use these skills to treat clients unless they require a higher level of care, such as hospitalization or a residential treatment program.
Yes, indeed. Dr. Johnston shares powerful metaphors in each webinar that you can use with your clients. The best part is, you can use these metaphors with ANY issue with ANY client, not only clients who have eating difficulties.
Absolutely! You can incorporate the metaphors you learn in this course with the skills and methods you already use with clients. You can use these skills with CBT, DBT, EMDR, EFT – virtually any approach. Isn’t that awesome?
Yes! The approach and the metaphors shared in this course can be used with ANY client and ANY issue that a client may bring to treatment.
This is a live webinar series consisting of 3 live webinars plus additional bonuses. There will be video and audio recordings and transcripts of the live webinars available within a few days after each webinar.
The final 30 minutes of each webinar will be allotted for answering questions. If you can’t attend the live webinar, you can submit your questions ahead of time and then listen to the recording after.
DATES AND TIMES OF THE LIVE WEBINARS
North America:
3 Wednesdays, March 8, 15 & 22, 2022
1:00-2:30 pm Pacific / 4:00-5:30 Eastern
UK:
Wednesday, March 8, 2022, from 9:00-10:30 pm
Wednesday, March 15 & 22, 2022, from 8:00-9:30 pm
Australia:
Thursday, March 9, 2022, from 8:00-9:30 am
Thursdays, March 16 & 23, 2022, from 7:00-8:30 am
New Zealand:
Thursday, March 9, 2022, from 10:00-11:30 am
Thursdays, March 16 & 23, 2022 from 9:00-10:30 am
Yes. The final 30 minutes of each live webinar will be allotted for participant questions. If you can’t make the live webinar, you can submit questions ahead of time.
One payment:
$247 USD
$247 CAD for Canadians
$247 AUD for Australians and New Zealanders (Australians also pay GST)
Payment Plan:
2 monthly payments of $135 USD
2 monthly payments of $135 CAD for Canadians
2 monthly payments of $135 AUD for Australians and New Zealanders (Australians also pay GST)
After the first webinar and before the second webinar you can ask for a full refund (up until March 14, 2022) if the course is not right for you at this time.
The Australia Counselling Association (ACA) is approved for 5 OPDs.
The webinar series is not officially approved for any other professional points or credits. However, we give a certificate that you may be able to give to your professional body. They may give you credit for the course if you ask.
You will have access to the recorded webinars in the learning center for 180 days (6 months) from the date that you register for the webinar series.
However, you can download all materials and save them forever.
My clients who restrict eating have very fixed mindsets, which means progress can be slow because their beliefs are irrational.
I’ve used the log metaphor with clients, and even though some don’t easily make movement, the metaphor has awakened their brains, and it is helpful to repeatedly bring them back to that metaphor.
The metaphors also help break patterns with other clients who struggle with depression or anxiety.
Dr. Johnson’s metaphors are rich and powerful. They address the many different parts of eating difficulties.
Metaphors are now a permanent part of my therapy toolbox.
If so, click the question mark in the right corner below and send us an email.
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