Weight Loss Groups

Question
I have been approached to do a group for weight loss, and I was wondering if you had any suggestions on what kind of format has been successful for you?

Answer
You don't mention how big a group, but I'll share what I have done thus far in my own practice. I keep these groups small, for sharing and discussion purposes. (I have yet to do a "crowd-size" hypnosis session for weight control.) Here is a rather brief explanation of what I do with a group. I'd be delighted to hear from other therapists who work with groups to see how they structure their own sessions. For a group, I conduct an 8-week program. This is my process: 1. First, I do an individual intake with each person who plans to be in the group. This is a special intake that focuses on weight management. It includes questions that are not only about the individual and their family of origin, but goes on to ask about the family's attitudes and experiences concerning food, weight, eating around the table, etc. Then there are sections that allow the client to check off eating habits, foods eaten or not eaten, and when they eat (emotional eating). Doing an intake allows me to get some feeling after common concerns the group will have, and special individual problems that can't be dealt with in a group, and may require individual sessions. 2. Each attendant gets a notebook of what I call "Food and Eating Wisdom." This includes basic health information related to food, eating and cooking processes, as well as some suggestions for certain food substitutions. There are also a couple of articles that pertain to our misperceptions about our bodies. The notebook also contains about two weeks of logging sheets divided into morning, afternoon, and evening. The left column is for logging what the person takes into themselves daily. On the right column of the sheet they note what they've felt like during the day and what has happened to them. This allows me to discern any relationship between food and their emotional and physical well-being. At the bottom of the sheet there is a space for them to note any particular insights they've had or changes they've noticed. 3. At the first session together they watch a video called 'The Famine Within," produced in Canada, and have a discussion. This video spells out 3 major images North Americans have "swallowed" about women's bodies -- the model/actress body, the work-out "bod," and the "do-it-all business woman." If I didn't have the video, I would probably use the article I have on the topic of women's perceptions of their bodies. (I have found that it is mostly women who come to such a group, however, I believe that all men need to understand this as well. They may apply it to the "body-builder" image being promoted these days for men, for instance.). 4. Second session, I use the "problem and solution finding" script in my GREAT ESCAPES Volume II script book . This doesn't require that anyone know anyone else's reasons for their weight. 5. Third session, my hypnosis focus is primarily on general improvement (eating, exercise, body working well, and sleep), in which I use my script "General Improvement for Weight Control" from my GREAT ESCAPES Volume II script book. 6. Fourth session, the hypnosis focuses on managing what you eat, exercise, and becoming comfortable with you ideal body size and weight. (The basic script for this will be in Volume IV of GREAT ESCAPES, which is still in process.) 7. Fifth session, primary hypnosis focus is on what you eat, drinking enough water, and sustaining motivation and discipline. (same as above) 8. Sixth session's primary hypnosis focus is that of releasing protective layers. I use a story of a woman from the cold country who releases more and more clothing as she journeys into warmer country. (See GREAT ESCAPES II) 9. Seventh session, primary hypnosis focus is on maintaining the weight you want. The script basically summarizes all of the above, and, as the others do, emphasizes the ease of it all, and the satisfaction they have when they eat like their ideal size and weight. (This script will also appear in GREAT ESCAPES IV when it is published.) 10. Eighth session, evaluation of the program, giving each person an opportunity to respond to questions about the most and least helpful parts of the program, and how I might improve it for the next group. Group determines whether they want any monthly follow-up sessions together, or any telephone calls to one another to encourage. In that session I usually close with some kind of hypnotic session focusing on self-esteem. (Something on self-esteem and confidence could just as easily be earlier in the sessions, if preferred.)