understanding and managing emotional eating: a psychological skills workbook

This highly accessible therapy workbook is designed to help individuals who are engaged in weight management and obesity treatments improve their relationship with food and manage their emotional eating.

Emotional eating is a very common and distressing problem for many people who are trying to manage their weight. Emotional eating can contribute to weight gain and/or difficulties losing weight. It can also have a psychological impact, as people often feel very ashamed, frustrated and self-critical about their difficulties in stopping this behaviour. Instead of trying to address these emotional eating patterns through dieting or focusing on food, the approach presented in this workbook focuses on understanding the psychological and emotional drivers for the behaviour. Drawing on ideas from Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy, Compassion-focused Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, the book is a step-by-step programme to help you develop a detailed understanding of the psychological drivers for your emotional eating behaviour and will help you develop a range of psychological strategies to manage your emotions and thoughts about food. The workbook contains practical resources and exercises, and by the end of the programme, you will have developed your own Emotional Eating Manual.

This therapy workbook is for people who are unhappy with their emotional eating habits and the impact these have on their emotional health. It is also a valuable resource for therapists, dietitians and other allied professionals who work with this population.

Dr Denise Ratcliffe, is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist who has specialised in providing psychological therapy for people with emotional eating patterns and weight difficulties since 2007. She is the author of ＂Living with Bariatric Surgery: Managing your Mind and your Weight＂. She worked in the NHS for 20 years and now works in private practice.