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Background: The treatment goal in eating disorders is behavior change and the most effective tool is Acceptance Commitment Therapy. This presentation will discuss the human language of the mind and demonstrate how to effectively accept pain and suffering to create a rich and meaningful life in the eating disorder treatment setting.
The Use of Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) in the Treatment of Eating Disorders
- Trends in 24-hour Treatment Programs for Eating Disorders
- Maintaining Factors of Eating Disorders
- Rigidity
- Can’t see the forest for the trees
- Emotional Avoidance
- Isolation
- Brief History of ACT
- Generations of Behavior Therapy
- Language and the Mind
- Public Domain
- Private Domain
- How the Mind Uses Language to Avoid Pain
- The Goal of ACT
- The Six Core Processes of ACT
- Present Moment
- Diffusion
- Acceptance
- Self as Context
- Values
- Committed Action
- Psychological Flexibility vs. Inflexibility
- Conclusion
The maintaining factors of eating disorders must be treated with a therapeutic method that creates behavioral change. Acceptance Commitment Therapy is a novel approach that targets these maintaining factors including anxiety, harm avoidance, and low self directedness, allowing patients to live a rich and meaningful valued life. This presentation presents a comprehensive study of the language of the mind and how the mind is used to harm or help the recovery process. With recovery as the goal, the six core processes of ACT are identified and applied to everyday therapy.
Most individuals with eating disorders are working diligently to try to control and change the difficult, anxious and/or severely depressing thoughts and feelings that are persistently running through their minds and ruling their lives. Individuals who suffer with eating disorders tend to have strong traits of persistence and perfection. Most of them have spent years trying to “quiet” and “take away” the feelings and thoughts that are painful and difficult. The fact that these painful thoughts and feelings still persist is due to a lack skills, not a lack of desire or persistence. ACT teaches patients to accept that humans have very little control over what thoughts show up in our minds. Because of normal mental process, such as worrying or remembering, even the happiest of people can have significant pain in their lives. The mind is good at jumping into the past (remembering/rumination), or worrying about the future (anxiety). ACT helps develop awareness about the ways that minds work so you can have more freedom and flexibility around what you do, and how you respond, when thoughts from the past, or worry about the future show up in your mind.
ACT is uniquely suited to address the treatment needs of adults with eating disorders because it swiftly and effectively addresses the major maintaining factors of an eating disorder, including rigidity, inability to see the “big picture,” isolation and most importantly, emotional avoidance.
Craig Johnson, PHD, FAED, CEDS, has been a leader in the field of eating disorders for more than 30 years. He is the Chief Clinical Officer of Eating Recovery Center in Denver, Colorado. He is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Oklahoma Medical School. He was the Founding Editor of the International Journal of Eating Disorders. Founding member: Academy for Eating Disorders and the Eating Disorders Research Society. He is also Past President of the National Eating Disorders Association. Authored three books, more than 70 scientific articles and has been the recipient of several distinguished contribution awards.
Enola Gorham brings together 20 years of experience and knowledge of eating disorders, family dynamics and recovery environments in her role as Clinical Director at Eating Recovery Center. Ms. Gorham completed her master level work at the University of Pennsylvania. She was Residential Director and Director of Social Work at Melmark Inc before moving to England, where she had a private practice. It was during this time that she began specialize in the treatment of eating disorders. Upon her return to the United States, Enola spent five years at the Eating Disorders Center of Denver as a family therapist.
