Clinical mental health counselors working toward this goal with patients know that a positive body image can improve things like: † Other helpful practices include setting positive, health-focused goals, and avoiding making-or exposing themselves to-negative comments about their bodies and appearance.Ī positive body image is an important part of physical and emotional health, and with help, individuals can often change the way they see themselves. Mental health counselors can help those struggling with body dissatisfaction (and resulting eating disorders) by encouraging them to focus on their positive qualities, talents, and skills. If you’re interested in this career path, an online master’s degree program in clinical mental health counseling can prepare you to seek that licensure. Professionals who devote their careers to treating patients with eating disorders and the issues that stem from negative body image often hold psychology or counseling degrees and are licensed in their field. Getting help for eating disorders can enable people to change their negative beliefs and behaviors. And when people begin to define their own self-worth based on their negative body image, a number of mental health issues can arise, including eating disorders. Intense body dissatisfaction can damage individuals’ psychological and physical well-being. Behavioral body image: Behaviors you engage in as a result of your body image.īody dissatisfaction develops when people have negative thoughts about their own body image.Cognitive body image: The way you think about your body.Affective body image: The way you feel about your body.Perceptual body image: How you see yourself.According to the National Eating Disorders Collaboration, there are four primary elements of body image: 2 For many of those struggling with an eating disorder, body image is often the root of the problem.īody image is defined as the manner in which people perceive themselves physically, and the thoughts and feelings that result from those perceptions. 1 Since then, the overall cycle of body dissatisfaction and eating disorders has worsened-especially in today’s selfie-obsessed, celebrity-centric culture. In the 1970s, anorexia nervosa entered the public spotlight and became more widespread, creating new challenges for mental health counselors. What Is Body Dissatisfaction And How Does It Lead To Eating Disorders? Insight into eating disorders and how mental health counselors or professionals with a psychology degree can help those who may be suffering.
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