05 Sep Transforming Overeating: 12 Week Group in Boston
Beth Rontal and Patricia Thatcher, experienced therapists and wonderful people, created a twelve week program to help people reduce their overeating. I’ve taken this excerpt from an article Beth Rontal and Patricia Thatcher wrote that was published in the NASW Focus in February, 2011. The excerpt below is the “Findings and Discussion” of the article. To read the complete article click here.
The next group starts Thursday, October 6, 2011, in Cambridge, MA. For more information on the group click here.
Findings and Discussions: Every participant, desperate for long term success, entered the group with chronic weight loss challenges. Though not every group member lost weight during the twelve sessions, our findings suggest that participants began to address underlying core issues. For example, a participant, disappointed that she did not lose weight, realized that she was not addressing the stresses around her husband’s illness and as a result of the group process began to do so.
By the groups’ completion most participants reported reduced cravings and binge eating, diminished shame and anger, an increased ability to identify and resist triggers, improved coping skills, reduced negative impact of past trauma history and a renewed sense of purpose and hope for the future.
During a reunion group, many participants reported that they continued to lose weight. Those who practiced TAT daily experienced the best results. Those who did TAT with a “Buddy” in between sessions reported feeling more connected to the group and experienced better results. Several members who continue to meet monthly with weekly “Buddy TAT Sessions” experience a high degree of success in clearing life stress and continued weight loss and maintenance. This is consistent with a study reported by Svetkey (2008) where those who had ongoing monthly personal contact had the least weight gain after 30 months.5
As we write this article we are aware of the most recent findings that by 2020 three out of four Americans will be obese.6 Our hope is that this type of Weight Loss That Lasts Program can help a significant number of people avoid this prediction.