TR for Eating Disorders

The therapeutic recreation interventions recommended for individuals with an eating disorder are primarily in the social and emotional domains.

The social interventions include:

• teaching interpersonal relationship skills
• reintegration in social realms through participation in social activities
• teaching skills for community integration (e.g., restaurant etiquette, conversation skills)

The emotional interventions include:

• education around healthy coping mechanisms
• emotional identification and management
• anxiety, fear, and stress reduction techniques (e.g., mindfulness, breathing techniques)
• impulse control and regulation
• developing techniques for positive self-talk
• appropriate boundary setting
• how to overcome negative feelings.

Other TR interventions include:

• appropriate physical activities to manage stress
• education on leisure choices and benefits of leisure involvement
• creative expression for processing negative emotions