The Weight-Inclusive CBT Workbook for Eating Disorders - by Lauren Muhlheim & Jennifer Averyt & Shannon Patterson (Paperback)

About the Book

People who struggle with eating disorders often have a negative body image that is reinforced by diet culture. Written by a psychologist and eating disorders specialist, this workbook introduces a new, weight-inclusive approach to eating disorder recovery grounded in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) called CBT-Weight Inclusive (CBT-WI). With this workbook, readers will learn skills to heal body shame, overcome negative internalized messages about weight and body size, and stay on the path to lasting recovery.

Book Synopsis

A workbook for all eating disorders and all body sizes.

If you have an eating disorder, such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia, binge eating, or emotional eating, you may also struggle with negative body image that's made worse by diet culture, television, magazines, movies, and social media. And, despite popular belief, not all people who struggle with eating disorders are tiny or thin. Eating disorders can affect people of all genders, ethnicities, and ages--as well as all shapes and sizes. That's why you need a weight-inclusive approach--one that prioritizes your mental and physical health without perpetuating weight stigma.

Written by three clinical psychologists who specialize in eating disorders, this workbook offers a powerful new approach grounded in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) called CBT-Weight Inclusive (CBT-WI), to help you heal from body shame, reject diet culture, and find lasting recovery. As you work through the book, you will never be asked to weigh yourself, compute your BMI, or restrict your eating. Instead, you will discover insights to help you better understand your eating disorder, and find proven-effective tools and strategies to cultivate radical body acceptance.

This weight-inclusive workbook will help you:

• Listen to and trust your body's cues around eating
• Overcome purging, excessive exercising, and counting calories
• Appreciate your body
• Tolerate distressing feelings and sensations
• Understand weight stigma and stand up to diet culture
• Advocate for size-inclusive healthcare
• Set boundaries with friends and family
• Prevent relapse

If you're searching for a weight-inclusive approach, this workbook will help you overcome the negative, internalized messages about weight that are perpetuated by diet culture, so you can feel at home in your body, improve your mental and physical health, and make positive changes in all aspects of your life.

Review Quotes

"A home run! This welcoming and inclusive workbook presents the key evidence-based strategies of CBT-WI for eating disorders, without the judgment and weight stigma that has plagued our field for too long."
--Jennifer J. Thomas, PhD, professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and codirector of the Eating Disorders Clinical and Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital

--Jennifer J. Thomas, PhD

"Accessible, affirming, and politically awake, this workbook meets people in the truth of their bodies and their lives. A much-needed tool for those pursuing recovery beyond the narrow frame of thinness and control."
--Sirius Bonner, executive leader, cultural strategist, and author of the Freedom & Desire Substack

--Sirius Bonner

"An invaluable addition to the field. Weight-Inclusive CBT (CBT-WI) addresses critical yet often neglected aspects of eating disorder treatment, offering people of all body sizes tools to challenge diet culture and nurture recovery. With its nondiet, all-foods-fit approach, it pushes back against weight bias, stigma, and the pervasive influence of diet culture--making it a must-read for anyone who has ever felt overlooked in eating disorder care, and professionals committed to inclusive, respectful treatment."
--Suzanne Bailey-Straebler, PhD, clinical director of the Center for Eating Disorders at Weill Cornell Medicine, and coauthor of Group Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Eating Disorders

--Suzanne Bailey-Straebler, PhD

"CBT-WI is a breath of fresh air in a world dominated by weight stigma. The authors have managed to pack in endless amounts of helpful skills and tools while laying out copious evidence that people of all sizes get eating disorders and deserve treatment that is affirming rather than shaming. Thanks to this wonderful workbook, many more people with eating disorders now have a better way forward in their journey toward a durable recovery."
--Rebecka Peebles, MD, FAAP, DABOM

--Rebecka Peebles, MD, FAAP, DABOM

"I have been waiting years for this book to be written. It is exactly what eating disorder clinicians and patients need."
--Cheri A. Levinson, PhD, professor at the University of Louisville, director of the Eating Anxiety Treatment (EAT) Lab, and founder of the Louisville Center for Eating Disorders

--Cheri A. Levinson, PhD

"I wish The Weight-Inclusive CBT Workbook for Eating Disorders had existed twenty years ago! Muhlheim, Averyt, and Patterson gently guide the reader through the difficult work of recovering from diet culture. This workbook offers an empowering resource for those seeking peace with body and food, while attending to shame, grief, diverse identities, trauma, and discrimination. This book will be a game changer in the world of self-help for eating disorders."
--Erin Harrop, PHD, MSW, LICSW, assistant professor at the University of Denver, and clinician with Opal Food + Body Wisdom

--Erin Harrop, PHD, MSW, LICSW,

"If you are a clinician or client using enhanced cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT-E), I recommend stopping and ordering The Weight-Inclusive CBT Workbook for Eating Disorders. With this workbook, there is no reason to be practicing traditional CBT-E. This workbook is compassionate, accessible, trauma-informed, and takes the weight stigma out of CBT-E. I am excited to add this to the short list of books about eating disorders that I can confidently recommend to colleagues and clients."
--Rachel Millner, PsyD, CEDS-S, CBTP

--Rachel Millner, PsyD, CEDS-S, CBTP

"Lauren Muhlheim, Jennifer Averyt, and Shannon Patterson have provided a groundbreaking pathway for eating disorder recovery. Combining an evidence-based cognitive behavioral approach with a compassionate appreciation of the power of diet culture, they offer a hopeful and practical way forward. This book will be an invaluable adjunct to therapy for clinicians and clients alike, and for those who are unable to access therapy."
--Anthea Fursland, PhD, clinical psychologist

--Anthea Fursland, PhD

"This groundbreaking cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) workbook combines evidence-based practices with highly relatable, inclusive, and practical examples and prompts--all of which are (finally!) shared from a weight-inclusive perspective. A wonderful resource!"
--Jennifer L. Gaudiani, MD, CEDS-C, FAED, founder and medical director of the Gaudiani Clinic, and author of Sick Enough

--Jennifer L. Gaudiani, MD, CEDS-C, FAED

"This is a beautifully crafted workbook that makes eating disorder recovery more accessible. Free from harmful, weight-centered rhetoric, it provides a genuinely supportive path to healing, and is highly recommended for anyone facing difficulties around food and eating."
--Sumner Brooks, MPH, RDN, founder of EDRD Pro, and coauthor of How to Raise an Intuitive Eater

--Sumner Brooks, MPH, RDN

About the Author

Lauren Muhlheim, PsyD, is a psychologist, fellow of the Academy for Eating Disorders (AED), certified eating disorder specialist (CEDS), and approved consultant for the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals (IAEDP). Muhlheim is also a Certified Body Trust Provider (CBTP). She directs Eating Disorder Therapy LA, a group practice in Los Angeles, CA. She is certified in family-based treatment (FBT) for adolescent eating disorders, and is author of When Your Teen Has an Eating Disorder.

Muhlheim has held leadership roles in several professional organizations, including the AED, IAEDP, and the Los Angeles County Psychological Association. She has previously been an IAEDP core course instructor. She provides training on eating disorders to mental health providers and parents internationally. She has a website and a blog, and has built a solid professional platform around weight-inclusive modified evidence-based treatments for eating disorders, specifically, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and FBT.

Jennifer Averyt, PhD, ABPP, is a board-certified clinical health psychologist based in Phoenix, AZ. She provides weight-inclusive care for individuals with eating disorders and chronic health concerns, as well as training and consultation in the delivery of evidence-based eating disorder treatment.

Shannon Patterson, MEd, PhD, is a licensed psychologist based in Madison, WI, with a specialized focus on the intersection of eating disorder treatment and psychological adjustment to chronic illness. She is founder and owner of a private practice, offering both in-person and virtual therapy to individuals across the United States. Beyond her direct care services, Shannon holds an educational role at an eating disorder treatment company where she provides training and consultation to therapists and health care professionals across the United States. She also contributes to the advancement of the field as an ad hoc reviewer for the International Journal of Eating Disorders.

Foreword writer Carolyn Black Becker, PhD, is professor of psychology at Trinity University and a licensed, board-certified clinical psychologist who specializes in the treatment and research of eating disorders, PTSD, and anxiety-based disorders.