Did you know that art therapy can be an excellent added support for individuals experiencing Eating Disorders?

We interviewed Lori Market, CTP MSW RSW, professional artist and past clinical therapist for BANA (Bulimia Anorexia Nervosa Association), to tell us about art therapy and how it can help those with Eating Disorders.

A little bit about Lori:

Lori has been a practicing artist for the past 28 years. Later on in her life, she became a social worker and trauma practitioner. This allowed her to combine her love of both art and social work. Lori is also a trauma survivor and uses her art as a way of healing her own trauma.

When she was in a good place with her trauma, Lori realized that a lot of people who were struggling wanted to give back. This is why Lori decided to pursue social work. In Lori’s unique practice, she takes the creative part of the brain and combines it with her social work and trauma practitioner certification to help people express themselves therapeutically through using art.

Questions and Answers:

1. How does art help with healing trauma?

Art therapy combines art and therapeutic ideas. Different from an art class, it improves anger management, stress management, impulse control, and is relaxing for the brain. Art can be seen as a container that holds the therapy inside of it. It is about taking all the pain inside and putting it on a surface. In this way, it helps people visualize and see their pain in a different way. It allows people to separate their difficult emotions and life circumstances from themselves.

2. How can art therapy benefit people with Eating Disorders?

Art therapy can greatly benefit people with Eating Disorders in a number of ways:

• By externalizing and objectifying difficult feelings, art can act as a map for when people feel lost. Art acts as a positive container that holds activities that you love, by putting your emotions on a piece of paper instead of elsewhere. For example, at BANA, many of Lori’s clients struggled with anxiety. She would tell her clients to draw their anxiety, and then draw what helps their anxiety.
• Art is an active mind-body process that can serve as a distraction from an Eating Disorder. While doing art, you are moving your hands and different parts of your body to create.
• There is much research out there on trauma (which can often lead to EDs), showing that art is a helpful support. https://www.arttherapy.org/EatingDisorderToolkit/eatingdisorderstoolkit.pdf

3. What are some benefits of art therapy over conventional psychotherapy?

• Psychotherapy requires a person to talk. Art is a different form of narrative and requires no words. It can be useful if you feel uncomfortable, scared or threatened to open up. Art creates a safe place allowing people to share their stories without speaking a word. The art does the talking.
• Art therapy is a form of anti-oppressive therapy. This is because when partaking in art therapy, the therapist and client art doing something together. In conventional psychotherapy, one person sits across from another. Art therapy is a different, less threatening way of communicating.

4. Who would you recommend art therapy to?

Anyone! In addition to the ED population, Lori has done it with every age group (from children to teens to adults), refugees, Indigenous populations, and youth victims of crime. Another advantage of art is that it is holistic. It can be used to express culture, identity, spirituality, political means, and to draw attention to social justice. It can really be used for anything!

5. What would you say to people who are a little hesitant to try out this form of therapy?

“Just try it a couple of times! Try it twice, and if you don’t like it you never have to come back again”!

When this happens, Lori lowers the expectation and helps the client defy perfectionism. For example, she may tell a client to draw with their eyes closed or to just scribble!

Lori never had a single client who did not enjoy art therapy. Every piece turns out well! It doesn’t have to be picture perfect.

Thank you, Lori Market for this very informative interview!

Does social media promote Eating Disorders? Or can it actually be a useful tool to help in recovery? This is a really important topic especially during the pandemic as people are spending more and more time online and on social media.

Research shows that there is a correlation between time spent on social media and increased risk for Eating Disorders, however there is no direct causation. Social media has its pros and cons in terms of Eating Disorder support, and it is important to be aware and informed of both in order to gain a balanced perspective and make decisions that are best for your own recovery.

On the one hand, social media can serve to promote wellness, health and inspiration for individuals with Eating Disorders who are seeking recovery. On the other hand, it can also lead to an obsession with healthy eating as young women and men post about their “clean”, impractical diets. Social media is also linked to negative body image, as people compare themselves to unrealistic, often photoshopped bodies and feel badly that they can’t live up to an impossible standard.

Those who use social media regularly tend to form strong connections to influencers, even though they really don’t know the individual. These connections are actually stronger than what a person might feel towards models or athletes on TV. Social media makes it seem like you are privy to a person’s personal life which creates a strong bond and connection. So, when an influencer looks fit and toned, it can cause people to focus increasingly on their own appearance and their negative feelings towards it.

With all of the potential negative aspects, it seems easy to suggest taking a break from social media. However, it is important to understand that this can be extremely difficult for some people, especially during a pandemic when social media might be a person’s main source of social interaction.

When used effectively, social media can be a really positive source of support and healing for individuals combatting Eating Disorders. For example, it can be a great way to share resources, messages, and images that are healing or affirming. Many social media apps have begun to adopt a greater emphasis on true health, nutrition and wellness, promoting evidence-based nutrition and health messaging and encouraging positive viewer engagement, which counters some of the misinformation. There has also been a positive shift towards promoting diverse body types, shapes, sizes and colours. Social media groups can provide a social support system for people who may need that connection to others who they feel understands what they are going through.

Here are some tips to make your social media a recovery-based space:

• Unfollow accounts that make you feel badly about yourself.
• Intentionally search for accounts that promote body positivity and body diversity.
• Follow positive social media accounts that spread joy, acceptance, and who choose to lift others.
• Take small social media breaks from time to time.
• Give non-appearance related compliments. For example, instead of commenting on how good your friend looks in their most recent Instagram photo, comment on how artistic the photo looks.
• Remember, it’s YOUR feed. You have the control to cultivate it to make it positive and supportive to your healing journey instead of negative and triggering.

With the increased use of social media during this pandemic, it is crucial to be mindful of whether using it is helpful for you and your mental health. All in all, social media can be a negative influence for those with Eating Disorders, but it is possible to cultivate your feed into a more positive and supportive space for your healing journey.

Do you find social media triggering for your Eating Disorder? How can you curate your own feed to make sure it is a recovery focused space?