Eating Disorder Recovery Coaching

Eating Disorder Recovery Coaches form an essential part of treatment, accompanying clients in everyday situations like meals, shopping, and events. They focus on the practical "how" of getting well rather than delving into the "why" of the eating disorder. As a crucial aspect of the treatment team, they act as a binding agent between all members.

Coaching draws from various modalities like Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and mindfulness practices to provide effective support.

As an adjunct to traditional treatment, eating disorder recovery coaches offer services clinicians may not provide, such as meal support, grocery shopping assistance, and support when eating out. They facilitate growth, behaviour change, and the development of essential skills for daily living, contributing to a full and lasting recovery.

Eating Disorder Recovery Coaches help clients achieve treatment goals in real-life situations, offering support, appropriate challenges, and guidance. They play a vital role in helping clients navigate everyday situations without relying on eating disorder behaviours.

Eating Disorder Recovery Coaching can incorporate meal support, eating out challenges, grocery shopping, in-home cooking, as well as clothes shopping. Please see relevant tabs for more information.

Meal Support

Meal times can be challenging to navigate while you're rebuilding your relationship with food. We offer one-on-one meal support to help you challenge and change old behaviours, turning them into new routines that make food enjoyable again.

Together, we’ll work through the thoughts and feelings that come up around meal times, and then build strategies so you can discover your food freedom.

During meal support sessions, together we’ll:

• Identify and challenge your feared food and food rules

• Stay accountable to your meal plan

• Practice becoming a mindful eater

• Create more variety in your food choices

• Change any unworkable eating behaviours or rituals around food

• Build effective strategies to help manage thoughts and feelings for during and after meals

• Create enjoyable and soulful experiences for you around food and eating

• Debrief your meal and the process of eating to help set you up for the day.

Eating Out

Reframing your relationship with food during recovery can be tricky, and this process might feel even more challenging when you have to do it in public, like dining out at a restaurant. That’s why we're here to support you by accompanying you to a restaurant or café, helping you to navigate the thoughts and feelings that might come up with social eating.

We can equip you with practical skills you can apply to real-life scenarios and will provide the encouragement, motivation and support needed during your meal to manage and challenge old thoughts and patterns.

Feel more confident and empowered in these social settings and make social eating a fun and enjoyable experience once more.

Our going out-to-eat service includes:

• Going to a restaurant, café or somewhere else in the community with you to eat a meal

• Helping you manage thoughts and feelings that may arise from being in a public setting and eating socially

• Helping you identify and challenge your food rules and stay accountable to your meal plan

• Creating more variety in your food choices

• Exploring various cuisines and styles of food

• Challenging and changing unworkable eating behaviours and rituals around food with guidance and support.

• Building effective strategies for during and after meals

• Reframing the meal experience so that it is truly enjoyable for you

• Post-meal support and debrief to help build a plan that supports future social eating experiences.

Grocery Shopping

Shopping for food can be a challenging step during recovery, but we are here to support you when old thought patterns and behaviours come up as you shop.

With the right tools and strategies, we’ll work together to help you navigate your grocery store effectively and with confidence. With guidance and support , we will help you reframe the experience so you can make choices in line with your recovery goals.

During a grocery shopping experience we can: Be there for you either over the phone or in-person to go through the grocery store together

• Guide you to purchase appropriate amount of food items to achieve your meal plan

• Support you to shop in a way that breaks unworkable habits and doesn’t focus on the ‘nutritional advice’ shown on packages

• Walk beside you through any thoughts and feelings that come up and support you to feel comfortable and empowered while you shop.

In-home Cooking

Navigating the process of cooking and meal preparation during eating disorder recovery can be overwhelming but we’re here to support you through this step in your recovery journey.

We offer in-home cooking sessions where we can work together; cooking and eating meals that expand on your food choices and meet your needs in line with your treatment plan. Our goal is to help you build confidence in the kitchen, while also providing guidance and support in creating a routine that helps you rebuild a relationship with all food types.

During an in-home cooking session, we'll help you to:

• Prepare and portion a meal to achieve your meal plan

• Break unworkable patterns, and create new eating experiences

• Challenge food rules and rituals that show up at home

• Set up your kitchen to ensure you have everything you need

• Build effective strategies to help manage thoughts and feelings that come up during the cooking process

• Explore new flavours, textures and styles of preparing foods

• Create enjoyable experiences around food and eating.

Clothes Shopping

At Walking With You, we understand that eating disorder recovery has challenges that aren't always food centred. That’s why we offer our clothes shopping service, helping you reframe your relationship with buying clothes, removing the focus from size and shape, and prioritising expression, comfort and creativity.

Together, we’ll help you embrace your unique self by exploring new styles, colours and patterns that allow you to feel confident and comfortable in your own skin. Our goal is to help you feel empowered and liberated by the clothes-shopping experience and learn to love yourself for the incredible person you are.