Body Image Coaching

How we talk with young people is important, to help them understand their own issues and where they are in their journey to a better relationship with their body.

 

Once on the programme, we show them what stage they are at in their healing journey. This helps to understand how far they have come and what inner work needs to be done. From this, they can measure their success through a visual 4 stage model.

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STAGE ONE - THE ZOMBIE STAGE (unawareness stage)

 

We show  the ‘Zombie stage’ of their healing journey. This is the stage they may have been at before starting this programme, as they were unaware of the thoughts and triggers that caused them anxieties. We call this the 'zombie stage' because students have an awakening and go from the ‘zombie stage’ to stage two, the 'awareness stage'. Once at stage two, it is very hard to go back to stage one, as they have become fully aware of how they are treating themselves. This means they are progressing in a BIG way!

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STAGE TWO - AWARENESS STAGE

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This is where they may be once they have gone through the programme, or are going through it, as they can see clearly how they are treating themselves, what their internal dialogue looks like, and all of those beliefs and habits held inside. Once at this stage, it's very hard to return to the ‘zombie stage’ around their body image, and this stage can be insightful and upsetting at the same time. We take it slowly to ensure they get the support they need while going through these shifts. When they are ready, they move on to stage three, the 'practice stage'.

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STAGE THREE - THE PRACTICE STAGE

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This is where they gather all they have learned in the programme and start to use it to change their mindset. We often call this the ‘opening of a can of worms’ stage. Imagine a cog inside your mind, going anti-clockwise. Then we come along and explain that your cog is going in a direction that doesn’t lead you to happiness. We ask you to stop the cog and get it moving clockwise. As you can imagine, this is extremely hard, and many things will surface as your mind tries to keep the cog going anti-clockwise.

 

The secret to this stage is perseverance, practice, and patience. Without these three PPP's, your cog will retreat back to old ways. Getting someone to turn their cogs clockwise can be challenging, but that’s why we are here. This is by far the hardest stage, and we always say do this in small doses. Steady and persistently wins the race. The great thing about this stage is that participants can flit between stages 2-3 until they enter stage four, 'mastery stage'.

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STAGE FOUR - MASTERY STAGE

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What’s great about all these stages is that a young person can physically measure their progress. Having only four stages to recovery helps them focus and feel nearer to the finish line. We've seen this firsthand. Knowledge of this stage brings them hope, and we support them all the way to this stage. This stage looks like when a person  lets go of their debilitating habits, when they have practiced their new beliefs to the point that their new beliefs start to feel real and right. This stage is when participants claim their life back! 

 

The 4th stage is a lifelong process, it’s practicing everything they have learned and keeping up with this throughout their lives, that's why we offer a 6 month post programme healing journey booklet, so that they can log their progress. Practicing self-kindness, speaking kindly to that inner critic, and educating it to accept oneself. We show them how.