Background: Hope has been identified as an influential variable in recovery for many mental health disorders, including eating disorders. Clinicians can convey hope through the therapeutic relationship and build hope through therapeutic interventions. This workshop will provide participants with evidence-based and practical techniques for instilling hope in treatment of eating disorders.
This workshop will be presented in a combination of didactic and experiential formats beginning with an overview of the impact of hope in recovery for mental health disorders. The seminal work in the field of Hope Psychology by Snyder (Hope Theory, 2000) and Seligman (Positive Psychology, 2000) will be briefly described with applications to eating disorders. The possible impact of hopelessness on chronicity of eating disorder symptoms, suicidality, noncompliance and attrition in eating disorders treatment will be reviewed. Results will be presented from the presenters’ study in a residential treatment center for eating disorders, which demonstrates improvement in hopelessness as a predictor of outcomes for eating disorders and suicidality over the course of treatment. The discussion of the therapeutic relationship as a vehicle of change in therapy will provide an introduction of the concept of clinicians as “hope brokers” in the treatment of eating disorders. Workshop participants will be asked to evaluate their own use of the therapeutic relationship to cultivate hope to clients and will complete a brief questionnaire to assess how they impart hope through the therapeutic relationship. Techniques to cultivate hope through the therapeutic relationship will include preventing burnout and demonstrating personal self-care, imparting evidence of recovery through personal/real-life examples and research, implementing strategic use of empathy and validation, and providing evidence-based assessment results to document improvement in symptoms over treatment. The experiential portion of the workshop will include practice of specific hope-instilling interventions adapted for eating disorders from the fields of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Positive Psychology, Experiential Therapy, and Cognitive Therapy. Interventions include pathways visualization, development and use of a Hope Kit, best possible self imagery induction, positive future rehearsal, strengths identification and capitalization, and fostering connection through spirituality and relationships. These activities will be demonstrated in video excerpts and practiced in role-plays during the workshop. The workshop will be designed so that clinicians themselves will leave with a renewed sense of hope for their practice and for clients with eating disorders.
Hope has been identified as an influential variable in recovery for many mental health disorders, including eating disorders. Capacity for experiencing hope predicts attrition rates, relapse rates, and motivation for treatment. In eating disorders, hopelessness has been identified as a risk factor for dropping out of treatment, symptoms of co-morbid depression, and suicidality. Recent research from a residential facility for eating disorders identifies improvement in hopelessness over the course of treatment as a predictor of eating disorder symptoms at discharge. Addressing hope as part of the therapy process may be an important aspect of recovery in eating disorders. The therapeutic relationship is one vehicle for conveying hope to clients, and has been identified as one of the most important variables in therapy outcomes regardless of intervention. Hope can be conveyed through the therapeutic relationship through the expression of a belief in recovery through strategic use of real-life examples of recovery, and sharing statistics on recovery in eating disorders. The clinician’s skillful use of empathy and validation can also convey hope. These skills promote a therapeutic alliance, which boosts clients’ belief in their capacity for change. The clinician’s use of evidence-based feedback on assessment results can also enhance hope in clients. In addition to utilizing the therapeutic relationship as a vehicle for change, clinicians can apply specific interventions to build hope and effect change in clients with eating disorders. Hope is comprised of two facets, pathways and agency. Hope-building interventions include pathways visualization, a Hope Kit, best possible self imagery induction, positive future rehearsal, strengths identification and capitalization, and fostering connection through spirituality and relationships. The workshop will take participants on a hope journey with video excerpts from individual and group sessions of clients with eating disorders, and experiential practice of interventions during the workshop. Participants will leave the workshop with their own renewed sense of purpose and hope in the treatment of eating disorders.
Dr. Nicole Siegfried is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Certified Eating Disorder Specialist. She is currently a Clinical Director with Castlewood Treatment Centers. She previously served as an Associate Professor of Psychology at Samford University and is currently an Adjunct Associate Professor at University of Alabama at Birmingham. She is an international presenter and has published research, magazine articles, and book chapters in the field of eating disorders, suicide, and resilience.
Dr. Bartlett is an independent mental health consultant, researcher, trainer, and assistant professor of counseling at UAB. She is an authorized trainer for the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, is a qualified Master Resilience Trainer, is well published, and has extensive clinical experience in the areas of suicide, resilience, and various mental health related topics. She currently serves Department of Defense leadership on suicide and resilience related matters, is a member of the Workplace Postvention Task Force of the American Association of Suicidology, and is a board member of the Ethics Committee for the International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals.
