Group meal support can help your loved one complete a meal, particularly if you are concerned they are struggling to eat on their own. Group meal support can provide:
- accountability for meal completion
- peer support
- exposure to adequate and varied food choices
- distraction and support to manage challenging emotions that may arise during the meal
- awareness of eating disorder behaviours they may subconsciously engage in
Recent research demonstrated that folks living with an eating disorder were concerned about the eating disorder worsening due to a lack of social support during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings identified meal support as one of their greatest treatment needs during this time. This emphasizes the benefits and importance of social support, specifically meal support during eating disorder recovery.
There is a key distinction between group meal support and meal support therapy. Group meal support helps folks during the meal and after the meal, while meal support therapy helps folks before the meal, during the meal, and after the meal.
Meal Support Therapy
Group Meal Support
Group meal support includes:
- Strategies to help meals go more smoothly
- Structure and support to reduce pre- and post-meal anxiety
- Support during and after the meal
Group Meal Support Is Not Force-Feeding
Like meal support therapy, attendees of group meal support are expected to meet the following expectations:
- To complete the meal in 30 minutes
- To aim for 100% meal completion (if unable to complete the meal within the specified timeframe, attendees can access a “top up” nutrition supplement)
- To challenge eating disorder behaviours
Join our waitlist for our Drop-In Meal Support and be the first to know when we begin offering it.
