Do No Harm: Why Weight Loss Can’t be a Therapy Goal

Target Audience: Psychotherapists, social workers, coaches as well as the general public looking to learn more.

Whether you work in health or mental health care, offer free time activities such as Yoga classes, or are simply meeting with a friend, you are bound to come across a variation of the statement: “I want to lose weight.” This workshop will discuss solution-focused approaches to engaging in conversations around weight loss without doing harm. It will provide a basic framework that will aid the practitioner in approaching this sensitive topic in a helpful way, as well as conversational strategies that can help the practitioner identify aspects of the client’s preferred future aside from weight loss or body image concerns.

By the end of the workshop, Participants will be able to:

● Use the dialogic orientation quadrant to steer client conversations towards resource activation rather than problem activation

● Understand the benefits of timely intervention using dialogic reorientation

● Explain the difference between SF approaches and other popular models when it comes to having conversations about a client’s desire to lose weight