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Synopsis
Drawing on research, practice guidelines, and extensive clinical experience as trainers, supervisors and clinicians, this workshop will explore ways clinicians can work towards fostering a sense of safety for their clients through use of language and terminology, creating safe therapeutic environments, understanding and challenging your own internalised ideas of bodies and shape, knowing ways lived experience can be drawn on to build body satisfaction, and building awareness of understandings and stances that promote body inclusivity.
Drawing on self-reflection, group tasks and the provision of avenues for further learning, this workshop will be thought-provoking, compassionate, interactive and pragmatic so clinicians can walk away and apply these principles to the benefit of their clients.
Learning outcomes
- Understanding what safety in body image work is and the factors that disrupt a sense of safety in this work
- Understanding the role of cultural and clinician biases, assumption and beliefs have on safety in body image work
- Understanding how body image safety is impacted by the clinical setting and environment
- Develop an understanding of the different frameworks that are relevant and helpful in fostering body image safety (including Health At Every Size Æ, non-diet, weight neutral principles, gender-affirming, trauma informed principles, eating disorder safe principles)
- Learn to apply practices and skills that are inclusive and create safety in clinical work that supports helping those trying to improve body dissatisfaction and preventing doing harm to body image, including use of language, creating body safe environments, promoting autonomy, drawing on helpful philosophies, building awareness of helpful resources to support change.
Workshop agenda
| Presentation time | Presentation title |
| 2 mins | Chairperson introduction |
| 15 mins (inc mins Q&A) | Introduction, setting the tone, self reflective activity to begin with Including: -acknowledgment of country -Privilege -Boundaries and limits -Purpose of the workshop -Definitions -Prevalence of body dissatisfaction |
| 1 hr | Morning part of the presentation / content focus on background, theory, setting the tone, self reflection -Defining safety in this space -Why safety is essential in reducing harm to body image -Current challenges to body image -Role of layers of culture – family, schools, media (social/other), cultural norms and ideals -Origins of body dissatisfaction (brief) -Who is at greater risk of body dissatisfaction -Understand the challenges to safety including -Oppression and privilege, diet culture and anti-fat bias, discrimination, ableism, ageism -Why is trauma informed/identity affirming practice necessary |
| 30 mins | MORNING TEA BREAK |
| 1 hr | The second part of the workshop – looking at specific strategies, resources, reflection and group activity -What are the safety frameworks and why are they relevant -What are the practical strategies to reduce harm and promote body satisfaction -Language (avoiding ableist, fatphobic, gendered assumptions) -Decentering eurocentric beauty ideals -Eating disorder safe principles |
| 30 mins | Case examples group activities and discussion |
| 15 mins | Resources for further learning + Q&A |