Session: The Embodied Therapist: Grappling with Body Image Treatment, Transference and Countertransference (2009 Symposium: Reclaiming the Body: Attachment, Somatics, and Image (March 4-8, 2009))

Thursday, March 5, 2009: 9:00 AM-12:00 PM

Melbourne (Westin Long Beach)

Whether clinician or client, all women are affected by contemporary culture's disparaging treatment of the female body and the cultivation of impossible standards for beauty. This keynote explores the interplay between female clients and clinicians regarding body image. Transference and countertransference issues related to body image have been rarely written about or publicly addressed. Presentation includes observations and suggestions gleaned from master clinicians, each with decades of experience as eating disorder therapists and clinical supervisors. Carolyn Costin, Dr. Margot Maine and Dr. Beth McGilley discuss separate but overlapping issues related to treating body image and transference and countertransference issues.

1. Introduction of the Topic and the Panel Members by the panel chair
   a. General overview of body image
   b. Discussion of the term The Embodied Self and what that means for clients and clinicians
   c. Proposed real scenarios encountered regarding body image such as,
       How do you help a client turn her focus off of weight loss if you are engaged in dieting behavior?...or....
       How do you respond to a young woman who claims that she definitely does not want to look like you?
2. The clinician's relationship to her own weight, eating and body image
   a. Breaking down body image into Perception, Attitude and Behavior
   b. Presenters will share both professional and personal material here, with the emphasis on what is appropriate and not appropriate to share with clients.
   c. Case examples of working with a client regarding scrutiny and comments the clients made about the clinician's own body.
3. Self-disclosure and authenticity in the areas of body image and the therapeutic relationship.
4. Final comments......questions.

This presentation is based on a chapter called 'The Embodied Therapist', which Carolyn Costin wrote for a newly released book on the treatment of eating disorders edited by Margot Maine, Jane Shure et. al. While body image disturbance is central to the diagnoses of eating disorders, it also is a normative experience for women today (Levine and Smolak, 1998; Maine and Kelly, 2005). Whether in the clinician’s or the client’s chair, all women are affected by contemporary culture’s disparaging treatment of the female body and the cultivation of impossible standards for beauty.
Incorporating body image as a focus for treatment raises many questions regarding how female therapists deal with their own body related issues: how much, if any, disclosure in this area is appropriate; how to stay honest and authentic, yet not disclose inappropriate personal body image struggles; what personal body image struggles are appropriate to share; how to avoid getting triggered by clients; how to protect yourself, care for your body, accept, and, even love, your own body in the midst of working with others who suffer from severe body dissatisfaction to the point of a mental illness. It is easy to see how issues of transference and countertransference arise around body image conflicts, whether acknowledged or not, but very little has been explored as to what to do with these dynamics. Clinicians, whether new or seasoned will be hard pressed to find literature or lectures to assist them in navigating this territory.
This presentation includes examples, observations, and suggestions gleaned from the presenters' combined several decades of experience as eating disorder therapists and clinical supervisors. It will help clinicians to explore, understand, and process three separate but overlapping issues related to treating body image and their subsequent transference and countertransference issues: the clinician’s relationship to her own weight, eating patterns, and body image; clients’ tendencies to scrutinize and comment about the clinician’s body; and self-disclosure and authenticity in the therapeutic relationship.

Primary Presenter:

Carolyn K. Costin, MA, MEd, CEDS, FAED

Carolyn Costin, MFT, recovered herself from anorexia, has specialized in the treatment of eating disorders and exercise addiction since 1977. Carolyn is founder and executive director of The Eating Disorder Center of California and Monte Nido and Affiliates, which now has 3 unique residential centers in natural, home-like settings. Carolyn is a sought-after speaker at national conferences, known for engaging audiences and giving hands-on skills. Carolyn's books, The Eating Disorder Source Book (2007), 100 Questions and Answers About Eating Disorders (2007), and Your Dieting Daughter (1997), help professionals and the lay public in understanding, treating and preventing eating disorders.

Co-presenters:

Margo Maine, PhD, FAED

Dr. Margo Maine is author of The Body Myth: The Pressure on Adult Women to Be Perfect (with Joe Kelly), and Father Hunger: Fathers, Daughters and the Pursuit of Thinness, and Body Wars: Making Peace With Women’s Bodies. She is: senior editor of Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment and Prevention; board member of the Eating Disorders Coalition for Research, Policy, and Action; Founding Member and Fellow of the Academy for Eating Disorders; a Founder of the National Eating Disorders Association; member of psychiatry departments at the Institute of Living and Connecticut Children’s Medical Center

, Beth McGilley, Ph.D., FAED

Beth Hartman McGilley, Ph.D., FAED, Associate Professor, University of Kansas School of Medicine--Wichita is a psychologist specializing in the treatment of eating and related disorders, athletes, trauma, and grief. Dr. McGilley has practiced for over 22 years, writing, lecturing, and directing an inpatient eating disorders program. She is currently an editor for Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment & Prevention. She is currently working on her first book, Do They Know: Healing Mantras for Girls in Eating Disorder Recovery. For 3 years, Dr. McGilley has been the sports psychology consultant for the Wichita State University Women’s Basketball team.

and Sondra Kronberg, MS, RD, CDN

Sondra Kronberg, MS, RD, CDN: Co-Founder/Nutritional Director of the Eating Disorder Associates Treatment and Referral Centers. Former Board Trustee:National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA). National Liaison: NEDA-Long Island. Awarded NEDA 2004 Excellence in Treatment Award and the American Dietetic Association's SCAN 2002 Excellence in Practice Award. Author: Eating Disorder Learning/Teaching Handout Series. Contributing author: ADA Manual: Eating Disorders Clinical Guide to Counseling and Treatment. Specializing in the training, supervision and treatment of the collaborative approach to eating disorders and is currently working on her new F.E.E.D. (Family and Friends Eating Events and Direction) treatment programs. National lecturer, Fox 5 TV eating disorder expert, TV and radio spokesperson.

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