Breaking Negative Eating Patterns and Remembering Your True Self

Susan Simpson, DClinPsy, is an Australian Clinical Psychologist and Schema Therapist who has lived and worked in Scotland for over 25 years. She is both a clinician and researcher, specialising in whole-person trauma-informed approaches to eating disorders, and is co-author of clinician guides Schema Therapy for Eating Disorders and the Cambridge Guide to Schema Therapy.

“Eating disorders can be very difficult to overcome. Even if one is able to access psychotherapy, there are days and often weeks between appointments. This is where this self-help book comes into its own providing an innovative array of practical tools to assist with the journey towards recovery. It is easy to read and understand and provides essential clinical skills to deal with the significant challenges that confront those with an eating disorder. With this book by your side, you will not feel alone. It is a wonderful resource to have.”Emeritus Professor Stephen Touyz, University of Sydney, Australia“Breaking Negative Thinking Patterns and Remembering Your True Self distils theory and knowledge of schema therapy and related modalities with the author’s clinical wisdom. The result is an engaging, compassionate and practical resource which is well placed to enhance in-person therapy and/or provide guidance towards recovery for people experiencing eating disorders.”Professor Phillipa Hay, Western Sydney University, Australia“’The true self is calling. It’s time to come home.’ This is Susan Simpson’s message to anyone struggling with an eating disorder. This is in the spirit of influential figures like Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Jung and Winnicott who pointed to the centrality of finding and living from one’s authentic self. With rich clinical examples and approachable everyday metaphors and exercises, this wonderful book shows that this is no abstract idea, but a project that can be intelligently and compassionately embarked on in very practical ways. Her lucid synthesis of current scientific research with clinical insights from the increasingly influential schema therapy approach, Simpson shows how deadening psychological patterns that result in mere surviving, rather than energized thriving, can be understood and steadily and radically transformed. I will be recommending this book widely and not only to clients with eating disorders.”ReferenceKalsched, D. (2013). Trauma and the soul: A psycho-spiritual approach to human development and its interruption. Routledge.Professor David Edwards, Rhodes University, South Africa“Grounded in decades of clinical practice, this deeply wise and wonderfully practical book draws on key strands of contemporary psychotherapy to guide readers on a clear and flexible path to integration and recovery. Highly recommended for individuals experiencing eating or other mental health difficulties, as well as carers, clinicians, and all who want to better understand the beautiful messiness of being human.”Dr. Beth Shelton, Counselling Psychologist and Eating Disorder Sector leader

• Introduction: How to Use this BookCHAPTER 1: Understanding Your Eating Difficulties—A Novel Whole-Self ApproachCHAPTER 2: When Eating Difficulties Emerge: How Temperament, Culture, and Connection IntertwineCHAPTER 3: Meeting Your Inner CrewCHAPTER 4: Understanding Your Survival CrewCHAPTER 5: Remembering Your Wise Self—Creating the Foundation for HealingCHAPTER 6: Protecting the Lost Child—Setting Boundaries and Building ConnectionCHAPTER 7: Bringing Your Child on Deck—Working Safely with Strong EmotionsCHAPTER 8: Changing Eating Behaviours and Reconnecting with Your BodyCHAPTER 9: Changing Relationships and Absorbing Emotional VitaminsCHAPTER 10: Discovering Your Authentic Self—Reclaiming the Person Beneath the PerformanceCHAPTER 11: Overcoming Trauma in eating disordersCAHPTER 12: The Voyage Continues