About this course
In the demanding field of eating disorder treatment, clinicians frequently encounter a significant therapeutic challenge. Providers often perceive themselves as facing a suboptimal and binary choice when clients struggle: either directly confront the client's behaviors, which risks escalating conflict and rupturing therapeutic rapport, or express understanding of the client's internal draw towards eating disorder behaviors, potentially leading to a sense of complicity with the illness or 'accommodating the eating disorder.' This predicament can be akin to navigating a precarious balance. The Emotion-Focused Family Therapy (EFFT) framework offers a promising resolution to this dilemma through the implementation of Emotion Coaching. Emotion Coaching provides a structured, three-step process for providers to authentically validate a client's or caregiver's emotions, integrating both emotional and practical support. Within this framework, providers can offer genuine reflection of the client's struggle, fostering an expansion of emotional vocabulary and promoting co-regulation. Crucially, this approach simultaneously allows for the establishment of necessary limits and the articulation of concerns pertaining to health and safety, which are paramount in eating disorder treatment. Part art and part science, Emotion Coaching embodies the principle of 'both/and,' skillfully integrating empathy with clear boundaries. This 60-minute interactive workshop will delve into the theoretical underpinnings of Emotion Coaching and equip providers with effective strategies for explaining this tool to caregivers, supported by relevant research. Participants will engage in practical exercises, including script development and role-playing, to hone their Emotion Coaching skills, thereby gaining a valuable tool for their most challenging cases. The workshop will also explore adaptations of this skill for application with caregivers and in consultative capacities.
