Eating Disorder Treatment Programs & Services, New York City

Group Therapy

Group therapy is a powerful treatment modality in which one of our skilled therapists conducts a treatment session with several patients together at the same time. Group work is a central component of the CPC Day Program.  Most of our meals and therapy sessions throughout each day take place in the group context.

There are many benefits to group therapy that cannot be gained from the individual component of treatment alone.   For one, the recognition of shared feelings and experiences within the group functions to decrease individual isolation and serves as powerful validation of one’s personal suffering. Once an environment of deep trust and caring is established, each individual can safely take risks, fully sharing one’s internal experience and communicating in a more open and assertive way than might typically feel comfortable outside of the therapeutic context. Group members represent a support system in which the individual is accepted unconditionally yet challenged to change destructive or disruptive behaviors and thinking patterns. There is space and encouragement within the group to assert oneself, to get angry, or to disagree.  Practicing new patterns of relating within the group, allows for the integration of these techniques outside of the treatment environment.  So often with eating disorders, interpersonal conflict and communication difficulties contribute to the use of food restriction, bingeing and/or purging to quell anger, resentment, loneliness, and deep feelings of disconnect.  Learning and practicing new skills to deal with these challenges with the group, allow for alternative management of these issues in one’s daily life and the eventual abandonment of eating disorder behaviors.

The intimate and personal treatment environment at CPC fosters intense interpersonal connection within our community and serves as an ideal platform for growth and change.  Our patients often refer to the relational component of their treatment as among the most meaningful and potent contributors to their recovery.