IFS Education & Meal Support Group

In theory, the idea of an eating disorder meal support group sounds helpful, right? But, when you think about how much energy will be spent comparing your food choices, portions, and pace of eating together, you aren’t so sure you can do it. Then, you think about how anxious you will be in the days leading up to it, and how your anxiety will become nearly unbearable on the day of the group, and it automatically becomes a no-go.

What if there was a meal support group that wasn’t just focused on the meal? What if you learned skills and tools for regulating your big emotions so they feel more manageable, especially at meal times? And what if it was possible to understand why some days you want to banish your eating disorder from your life and other days you cling to it for dear life?

Most eating disorder meal support groups focus on creating a neutral space for participants to have a meal with others with similar struggles. While these groups can be incredibly beneficial, they miss a cool opportunity to educate participants and provide useful skills to practice outside of the group.

Our IFS (Internal Family Systems) Education and Meal Support Group does both!

What is IFS?

Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a non-pathologizing evidence-based psychotherapy model that assumes everyone has a variety of different sub-personalities or Parts, that all work together, along with the core Self, to keep you, The System, functioning and surviving. As we move through life and experience things, some Parts can become wounded (Exiles) and other Parts (Managers and Firefighters) step in to protect, sometimes in extreme ways. The mission of IFS is to bring more Self leadership to the world, by building relationships with our Parts and helping them heal.

Maybe you have some Parts that are really helpful and supportive and others that are destructive and critical. Have you ever considered your eating disorder to be a Part of your system? A Part that is working for you, trying to protect you, to keep you and your system running and functioning. Unlike other approaches to eating disorder treatment that focus on stopping behaviors and reframing thinking, IFS aims to get curious about the eating disorder and the role it plays in the system while fostering compassion and connectedness among all the Parts.

IFS Education & Meal Support Group

Over the course of 10 weeks, participants will learn the basic IFS model and build awareness around Parts and associated emotions. In addition to eating a meal together, this group gives you tools and strategies to regulate and manage your emotions, foster connectedness among parts, and engage with food in a Self-led way.

What to Expect:

• Weekly Wednesday evening meeting at the Carmel office from 6-7:30 pm beginning 6/26/24 (we will be including a few ‘off weeks’).

• The first 5 weeks will be spent building community, learning IFS basics, and getting to know Parts & emotions. No meals until Week 6!

• The second 5 weeks will be spent reviewing and practicing skills learned while eating a meal together.