Healing Eating Disorders With Psychodrama and Other Action Methods: Beyond the Silence and the Fury

274 Pages·2013·3.47 MB·English

by  Karen Carnabucci

Healing Eating Disorders
with Psychodrama and
Other Action Methods
by the same author
Integrating Psychodrama and Systemic Constellation Work
New Directions for Action Methods, Mind-Body Therapies and Energy
Healing
Karen Carnabucci and Ronald Anderson
ISBN 978 1 84905 854 4
eISBN 978 0 85700 424 6
of related interest
Reflections of Body Image in Art Therapy
Exploring Self through Metaphor and Multi-Media
Margaret R. Hunter
ISBN 978 1 84905 892 6
eISBN 978 0 85700 610 3
Healing World Trauma with the Therapeutic Spiral Model
Psychodramatic Stories from the Frontlines
Edited by Kate Hudgins and Francesca Toscani
ISBN 978 1 84905 923 7
eISBN 978 0 85700 700 1
Drawing from Within
Using Art to Treat Eating Disorders
Lisa D. Hinz
ISBN 978 1 84310 822 1
eISBN 9781846425431
Ed says U said
Eating Disorder Translator
June Alexander and Cate Sangster
ISBN 978 1 84905 331 0
eISBN 978 0 85700 677 6
Inside Anorexia
The Experiences of Girls and their Families
Christine Halse, Anne Honey and Desiree Boughtwood
ISBN 978 1 84310 597 8
eISBN 978 1 84642 739 8
Bulimics on Bulimia
Edited by Maria Stavrou
ISBN 978 1 84310 668 5
eISBN 978 1 84642 845 6
Healing Eating Disorders
with Psychodrama and
Other Action Methods
Beyond the Silence and the Fury
Karen Carnabucci and Linda Ciotola
Jessica Kingsley Publishers
London and Philadelphia
First published in 2013
by Jessica Kingsley Publishers
116 Pentonville Road
London N1 9JB, UK
and
400 Market Street, Suite 400
Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA
www.jkp.com
Copyright © Karen Carnabucci and Linda Ciotola 2013
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form
(including photocopying or storing it in any medium by electronic means and whether
or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of this publication) without the
written permission of the copyright owner except in accordance with the provisions of
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by
the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N
8TS. Applications for the copyright owner’s written permission to reproduce any part
of this publication should be addressed to the publisher.
Warning: The doing of an unauthorised act in relation to a copyright work may result
in both a civil claim for damages and criminal prosecution.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 1 84905 934 3
eISBN 978 0 85700 728 5
Contents
Preface ........................................7
Acknowledgements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1. The Body as a Battleground........................ 11
2. The New Neuroscience ........................... 20
3. How Action Methods Help Move Beyond the Silence
and the Fury.................................... 29
4. Multi-dimensional Illnesses, Multiple Healing Choices... 46
5. Men and Eating Disorders......................... 55
6. Education in Action.............................. 70
7. History of Diets, Timelines and the Pull of
Popular Culture ................................. 82
8. The Three Faces of Eating Disorders................. 97
9. The Triple Powers of Doubling .................... 112
10. Building Body Empathy.......................... 119
11. The Link to Trauma............................. 133
12. The Age Spectrogram: Children and Older Adults ..... 146
13. Images of Nourishment .......................... 166
14. Circles of Change and Transformation............... 175
15. Nutrition Nuggets, Mindful Movement, Body Metaphors 190
16. The Ancestor Connection......................... 206
17. Spirituality and Eating Disorders................... 221
Appendix 1: Expected Changes in the Fifth Edition of
the Diagnostic anD statistical Manual of Mental
DisorDers (DsM-5). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Appendix 2: Signs, Symptoms and Consequences of Eating
Disorders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Appendix 3: What’s in the Psychodrama Room? . . . . . . . 240
Appendix 4: Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Appendix 5: Resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Appendix 6: Index of Action Structures and
Experiential Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Bibliography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Author Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Preface
Food, like air and water, gives us life. People who deny themselves
food deny themselves the nourishment of life. People who take in too
much food are striving to take in life—but in a distorted form that
damages the body and spirit.
Eating disorders result from a complicated interaction of biological,
psychological and social factors and a relationship with food that is
out of balance. People with eating disorders are intensely preoccupied
with food, weight and appearance, jeopardizing their health and
adversely affecting their relationships. The use of psychodrama and
other action methods is especially helpful with the treatment of the
classic eating disorders—anorexia, bulimia and compulsive binge
eating—as well as dieting struggles and a range of difficulties with
body image. The psychodramatic group is another plus, since people
with eating disorders are often isolated from others and tend to use or
misuse food to avoid relationships with people.
The person with the eating disorder is able to experience his or
her relationship with the disorder and learn more about its role in his
or her life. Experientially, people are able to move out of their heads
and into a fuller experience of self, at which time they can view their
problems with clarity and compassion. As clients participate in role
play, art, movement, choice making and imagery, they expand their
sense of self and replace compulsive activities with internal safety and
creativity.
Action approaches vary greatly according to the individual styles
of the practitioner, as well as the setting. We use the terms protagonist
for the person enacting a drama and director for the professional who is
working closely with the protagonist. These words accurately represent
the fact that psychodrama is not a therapy but rather a method with
numerous applications. Although we are mindful that many of our
readers will be psychotherapists, counselors, psychologists, physicians,
nurses, dietitians, nutritionists, body workers, midwives and other
7
Healing Eating Disorders with Psychodrama and Other Action Methods
treatment and healing professionals, we are choosing to stay true to
the original terminology because we know that more professionals,
including educators, community and group leaders, social activists,
and other like-minded professionals, will find these concepts
extremely valuable. As authors and psychodrama trainers, we are actual
representatives of these variations—Karen is a licensed clinical social
worker, psychotherapist and facilitator of family constellation work,
and Linda is an educator, wellness counselor and fitness and yoga
instructor.
This book is designed for professionals who have knowledge
and training in psychodrama, the expressive arts therapies or other
experiential modalities and techniques. We hope more will be
intrigued by the immense possibilities of action methods to educate,
treat and heal these struggling clients. Although some of the action
structures appear simple, we do not recommend that readers pick up
this book and begin to use action methods without adequate training
and supervision. Training in the judicious use of psychodramatic
techniques of role reversal, doubling, mirroring, concretization, scene
setting and others as well as role theory and role development is
essential to understanding how to use these methods ethically and
effectively.
We hope that our readers will be inspired by this book and
consider collaboration with professionals in other disciplines, evaluate
and use the benefits of creativity within multiple educational and
psychotherapeutic settings, and design multi-modal interventions that
address mind, body and spirit.
Whatever your discipline or level of experience, an atmosphere
of safety, mindfulness, attention to moment-to-moment experiencing,
respectful pacing and noticing the subtle interacions of mind, body
and spirit are fundamental to this work.
8