Group Therapy at The Lotus Collaborative
Group Therapy is a powerful and important component to our treatment programs. The group descriptions below are meant to give you a better idea of the types of groups you can expect to participate in while in treatment at The Lotus Collaborative.
Check-In – Program begins each day by encouraging clients to check in with themselves regarding what they want to address in treatment that day. Clients are asked to report current eating disorder and mood symptoms and any behaviors that they engaged while not in program. This information is used to both inform treatment that day, and as a means of tracking progress throughout the course of treatment. Client’s vital signs are recorded and any medical concerns are addressed. Clients are empowered to take an active role in their treatment and recovery - and to learn how to identify their needs, while gaining confidence in asking for those needs to be met.
Process Group - The General Process Group allows clients to explore themes addressed in individual and family therapy sessions, gain support around struggles outside of the facility, and process their feelings about their eating disorders and recovery. Clients are provided with guided feedback, and process comments from one another and from therapists. Process groups are a vital component to treatment, and all clients must attend process groups during the week. On Mondays, the Community Process Group includes all clients and all staff, providing an opportunity to discuss community issues, client graduations, and milestone ceremonies.
The Food and Feelings Process Group occurs after lunches, and provides an opportunity for clients to explore and process the ways in which their eating disorders were present during the previous meal. Clients are encouraged to talk openly about how their eating disorders were activated by others, and gain insight and awareness into their eating disorder behaviors and underlying emotional triggers.
Recovery Skills Group – In this group clients learn and develop lifelong recovery skills through didactic and interactive skills groups. These skills groups highlight important components for recovery, and teach clients how to build a healthy relationship between mind, body, and food. Groups draw upon philosophies of Intuitive Eating (Tribole and Resch), Don’t Diet Live It (Andrea Wachter), and Carolyn Costin’s 8 Keys to Recovery. There are 3 Skills Groups each week for PHP clients.
CBT/DBT/ACT Group – This group draws upon evidenced based techniques and principles from Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical-Behavior Therapy, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. These specialized skills training groups teach clients about the connection between their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Clients learn emotion regulation and distress tolerance skills; how to identify dysfunctional and distorted thought processes; how to separate and challenge self-defeating and overly critical beliefs about themselves; and how to align their lives with their values and goals. PHP and IOP clients attend 2 CBT/DBT/ACT groups per week.
Relationship Skills Group – This skills group focuses on specific competencies and determinants fostered in relationships with others, such as assertiveness, boundaries, gender roles, social justice, and family systems. The goal is to help clients identify factors that block healthy interpersonal relationships and to build more sustainable, nourishing relationships with themselves and others. PHP clients attend this group once per week.
Supervised Lunch/Snack/Dinner – Clients prepare their own meals and snacks from food that they bring into the facility each day. Clients practice planning and prepping adequate and balanced meals and snacks with support from therapists and dieticians. The Lotus Collaborative utilizes a dietary exchange system to assist clients in menu planning and ensuring proper nutrition. As clients move through their individualized dietary program and are more able to challenge their eating disorders, they gain additional independence and autonomy in the kitchen. PHP clients eat lunch, afternoon snack and dinner at the facility during the week, and morning snack, lunch, and afternoon snack at the facility during the weekends. IOP clients eat afternoon snack and dinner during the week, and morning snack and lunch during the weekends.
Nutrition Education – In this group clients learn the fundamentals of nutrition from a registered dietitian. Clients are educated about what their bodies need, and learn how to identify hunger and fullness cues and how to separate emotions from food. PHP and IOP clients attend this group 2 times per week.
Art Therapy – In this group clients use the creation of art as therapy and restorative practice. Art therapy group also facilitates processing and self-expression through non-verbal, creative outlets. PHP clients attend art therapy once per week.
Yoga and Meditation - This group fosters somatic awareness and teaches clients how to tune-in and partner with their body, rather than fight against it or avoid it through their eating disorders. Clients learn how to collaborate and listen to their bodies and develop a healthier and more loving relationship with their physical self, experiencing what it feels like to be in their body without judgment. PHP clients attend Yoga and Meditation once per week.
Mind Body Spirit – This group is based in Transpersonal psychology tenets and focuses on the integration of the physical self with the spiritual self. The aim is to help clients develop a sense of who they are that is separate from their weight or shape. Clients explore their spirituality and values in life and learn how to draw upon it to aid in recovery. PHP clients attend this group twice per week.
Experiential Group – This group encourages clients to learn by doing, and is based in Gestalt psychology. This group often occurs outside of the facility and allows for clients to develop awareness of how their patterns and behaviors play out in everyday situations. With therapist’s guidance, clients are encouraged to have a corrective experience and develop increased confidence and empowerment. This group occurs on weekends for PHP and IOP clients.
Life Skills Group - This group focuses on the fundamental skills of daily life, and clients are assisted in organizing aspects of their daily life which their eating disorders have interfered with.
Journaling – Journaling encourages clients to integrate their behaviors and emotions, and to gain awareness of the thoughts and emotions motivating behaviors through mindful reflection. Clients have journaling time everyday during the week.
Contract Group - During this group clients are given their weekly contract, which outlines therapeutic goals and assignments to focus on during the upcoming week. Clients play a collaborative role in creating their contract and are encouraged to play an active role in their treatment.
Assignments Group – This group is meant for clients work on therapy assignments given to them by their individual therapist and dietician in their contracts. Therapy assignments facilitate exploration and thought regarding their eating disorders and are related to each client’s individualized treatment goals. At the end of each assignment group, client’s share their assignments and receive feedback from peers.
Multi-Family Group – This group focuses on educational-based support for clients and members of client’s support system. Support can come from parents, partners, friends, sobriety sponsors, and recovery mentors. This weekly group allows for the support system to gain education and information regarding treatment and recovery directly from therapists and members of the treatment team. This is a required attendance group.
Outpatient Recovery Skills – This weekly skills group is for outpatient clients only. Outpatient clients process the successes and challenges they experience in applying recovery skills independently. Clients gain support in continuing to integrate skills at home.
Community Group – This is an educational support group led by therapists and open to current clients and to the public. This group provides an opportunity for clients to practice mentoring in order to strengthen the community of recovery.