What Recovery Means to Claire
What Recovery Means to Claire
"If I look back over the work I have completed with clients everyone’s recovery has looked so different."
We're gathering stories from the SWEDA community and beyond, inspired by the prompt #WhatRecoveryMeansToMe. We’re building this series as a resource: something for people affected by eating disorders to read, that can support them and inspire hope, or just hear that they are not alone.
Claire is a Therapeutic Services Manager and eating disorder Therapist at SWEDA
"This is a really interesting question! If I look back over the work I have completed with clients everyone’s recovery has looked so different.
When I first meet clients to complete an assessment I ask:
“If I had a magic wand and tomorrow you were recovered from your eating disorder, what would that look like?”
People will reply with answers such as: to not always be thinking about food, to not feel guilty after eating, to not have to exercise to get rid of what I have eaten, to not get up in the middle of the night to eat, to not look in the mirror and hate my body, to never count calories again, to just not have this!
These are just some of the ways that clients might see recovery.
The above comments though can feel overwhelming, impossible to get to and sometimes, actually like you would need a magic wand to achieve that recovery.
So, in the assessment or within the first part of therapy it’s important for the client and therapist to understand what recovery looks like, and how are we going to get there together?
Breaking the recovery down into smaller steps can help make it feel more doable and not so overwhelming. It’s definitely not easy and all plain sailing, but by having smaller goals/steps to work through the overall recovery gets a little closer. The relationship between the client and counsellor is so important for this journey because you need to be on the same page and be going in the same direction to achieve the steps to recovery.
Some people “recover” and never have to deal with their eating disorder behaviours ever again. Some people “recover” and they know their triggers that might set things off again and are always aware but have coping strategies in place. Some people “recover” and ED is quietly sat there but being held at bay.
I think counsellors have to be mindful to not have their own opinion on what recovery is, or think that it is the same for everyone and everyone needs to meet that image of recovery. All clients’ recoveries are different and it’s so important to discuss this so that each person can have the best chance to live life without food, weight, shape and size consuming their every thought and stopping them from enjoying their life.
I really believe SWEDA are so good at doing this and working with each individual’s needs rather than going for a ‘one-size fits all’ blanket approach.
Recovery is a tough road for both client and counsellor who are working together, alongside each other, but recovery is achievable, whatever that looks like for the client."
