Eating Disorders and Parts Work

Parts Work assumes that we all have parts of us that serve a function for survival and adaptation. Some of these parts, although they were helpful at one point, are no longer working in a way that serves our adult lives. Parts work is a generalized term, blending together Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Structural Dissociation Models. Using a Parts Work, we are taking a trauma-informed approach to healing.

When we look at eating disorders or disordered eating patterns through a lens of Parts Work, we get to know the eating disorder behaviors in terms of how they served and helped the individual survive. We get to understand the patterns while learning to re-parent, soothe, and attune to the needs of parts that may need some support. Rather than pushing or white-knuckling through the behaviors, we get to work with the identified “parts.”