Recovering from an Eating Disorder isn’t easy and doing it alone makes navigating the recovery road nearly impossible.
Finding help for an eating disorder can feel overwhelming.
Which is exactly why we created this support group.
Body Image Virtual Support Group
Open to Individuals located in the state of Maryland and it held online.
Group Registration Will Open Again in 2023. Please fill out the form below to be notified when group registration is occurring again.
Fill out the form at the bottom to register.
Our weekly eating disorder support group meets every Wednesday from 6:30-7:30PM.
Contact us today to book your group intake. Spots fill up fast!
It’s a group for young female- and female-identifying or non-binary folks- ages 18-30to come together and focus on eating disorder recovery, body image and anxiety while navigating living a world that is saturated with diet culture.
Common subjects discussed in the group include:
- How to combat eating disorder behaviors during bathing suit season
- Navigating social media while recovering from an eating disorder
- How to talk to friends and family who are entrenched in diet culture
- Intuitive Eating
- Instagram accounts, books and podcasts that support body neutrality and recovery
- Creating a Relapse Prevention Plan
- Dialectal Behavioral Therapy (DBT) skills to use for binge and purging urges
- Education on restriction and how it impacts your mental health
- Health At Every Size (HAES) principals and how to apply it to your everyday life
- Self-care in Recovery
- Mental health for college students
In addition, we have guest eating disorder experts, including Registered Dietitians, come in and share their knowledge on ways to navigate recovery.
Online Body Image Therapy Can Help
Details, cost, time, topics covered below:
Online Body Image Group Therapy
If you’ve never done an online group before, it can be a little scary to think about what it might be like to join a group of women online who are also struggling with body image, binge eating, anorexia, bulimia or disordered eating. But the truth is, doing it online has a lot of benefits. You can easily fit it into your schedule because there is no commute, you can do it from the comfort of your own home and you can feel safe knowing that a trained therapist is in charge of running the group, helping you feel safe emotionally and teaching you skills and tools you can take away and practice that week to help your recovery.
Our Approach to Group Therapy for Body Image and Eating Disorders
We know navigating recovery can be exhausting. There will be days where you feel motivated to “do the work”, follow your recovery plan and resist eating disorder behaviors. There will also be other days where you want to give up and the thought of eating some fear foods terrifies you to the point where you feel paralyzed. We respect that the recovery journey is not linear, and there will be days where you show up to group feeling defeated and unsure.
We’ll never ask you to be perfect and hold a safe space for you to process one of the hardest tasks you’ve ever been given: recovering from an eating disorder. Our approach to therapy in general is a down to earth approach, that focuses on today’s triggers and topics.
What Disorders does the Body Image Group Help With?
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Group Therapy for Anorexia
Recovering from restricting, obsessive thoughts about your weight and body and battling intrusive thoughts about guilt or shame around food can feel exhausting. It’s important you surround yourself with a community of women that get it and can support you in your recovery. Recovering from anorexia can feel like a long, uphill battle but by adding in additional support you’re taking charge of your recovery and combating the eating disorder.
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Group Therapy for Binge Eating
Binge eating disorder is one of the most misunderstood diagnosis today. Often its triggers can be from physical or emotional restriction around food or emotional triggers such as stress, depression, trauma or anxiety. Working in a group setting with other women who understand what it’s like to battle binge eating helps you gain a better understanding of what you’ve been battling and how you can overcome it.
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Group Therapy for Bulimia
The urge to purge is something that a woman can battle with many months into her recovery journey. Learning DBT skills on how to navigate the urges to binge and purge can help you feel more empowered when they arise. Checking in the group weekly to make sure restricting hasn’t been causing a binge or purge can help you stay on track when symptoms start escalating. Being surrounded by other women who have also battled this eating disorder helps you feel alone in your recovery journey.
Social Media and Eating Disorder Recovery
Social media and Youtube likely feed your disordered eating at some point. So some of the group content will surround ways to change this, and how you can actually use social media and Youtube to help your recovery. Some examples of topics are listed below.
- Discussing Tiktok and how it impacts your recovery and mental health.
- Doing an audit of your social media.
- Sharing body positive influencers you found.
Not sure if you have an eating disorder or if you would be a good fit for our group?
A great resource that many eating disorders refer to it The National Eating Disorder Association’s Screening Tool that helps quickly screen whether you should professional help. We often recommend you are already in therapy, have an individual therapist secured and are adding this group as a supplement to your own recovery.
You do not need an eating disorder diagnosis in order to qualify for the group. When you call to register for our group you’ll be scheduled a group intake with Maya, where you meet 1-on-1 for 50 minutes to ensure you are a good fit for the group, and are able to ask her any questions around how the group is structured.
Common struggles of individuals who benefit from this group are:
- Restricting foods
- Anorexia Nervosa
- Body image struggles
- Orthorexia – an obsession with eating “clean” and “healthy”
- High Achiever Anxiety
- Compulsive Exercise
- Bulimia Nervosa
- General Disordered Eating
- Binge Eating Disorder
- Chronic Dieting
- Wanting to under Health At Every Size
The group is run by Maya Jefferson, LMSW-C
Maya is a therapist who is passionate about helping college students navigate eating disorder recovery, body image issues and anxiety. She focuses on inclusivity and creating a group space where individuals from different races, backgrounds and sexualities feel safe and heard.
She approaches therapy with a down-to-earth feel that is both compassionate and actionable. In her free time you can find her playing guitar, singing and reading.
Group rates
$55 per group session.
Superbills/Insurance Reimbursement Statements will be e-mailed to clients monthly for out of network reimbursement. For more information on using out of network benefits, please click here.
Health Savings Account (HSA) Cards are accepted as well.
Ready to Register for the Body Image Support Group in Maryland?
If you are interested in registering for the Body Image Support Group contact us today to set up a group intake with Maya at hello@collidehealth.com or 410-216-1701 (press 1 for new client).