The protocol for positive body experience (PBE); introducing a psychomotor therapy intervention based on positive body exposure targeting negative body image in eating disorders

ABSTRACT

Negative body experience is a core characteristic of eating disorders, and poses a serious risk factor for its development, maintenance and relapse. This underlines the importance of specific therapeutic attention to body experience. In the past ten years a body-oriented treatment protocol with the focus on positive body exposure, called ‘Protocol Positive body experience’ has been developed. The aim of this paper is to describe the scientific basis of the protocol and to give an impression of its content and structure, illustrated by clinical case vignettes. An important and innovative aspect of the protocol is to enhance not only aesthetic, but also functional and tactile body experience. The protocol enables body-oriented therapists and psychomotor therapists to treat negative body experience in an evidence-based way and facilitates further research to validate the effect of positive body exposure.

KEYWORDS:

• Body experience
• body image
• positive body exposure
• body functionality
• eating disorders
• psychomotor therapy

Disclosure statement

Marlies Rekkers declares that she has no conflict of interest. Mia Scheffers declares that she has no conflict of interest. Jooske van Busschbach declares that she has no conflict of interest. Annemarie van Elburg declares that she has no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

Notes on contributors

Marlies Rekkers

Marlies Rekkers is psychologist and psychomotor therapist. She works in a private practice and is specialized in treating body experience in patients with eating disorders. She works also as a researcher and lecturer at the Windesheim University of Applied Sciences, Zwolle. As a PhD candidate at the University of Utrecht she studies the effect of positive  body exposure in the treatment of eating disorders as well as the psychometric properties of questionnaires assessing aesthetic and functional body satisfaction.

Mia Scheffers

Mia Scheffers, PhD, is a human movement scientist and psychomotor therapist, currently working as a senior researcher in the research group on Human Movement Behaviour, Health and Wellbeing at the Windesheim University of Applied Sciences, Zwolle. Her research focuses on body- and movement-oriented diagnostics and interventions for trauma related disorders as well as on psychometric evaluation of questionnaires measuring domains of body experience.

Annemarie A. van Elburg

Annemarie van Elburg is child and adolescent psychiatrist at Rintveld Centre of Eating Disorders, Altrecht Mental Health Institute, Zeist. She is Professor of Clinical Psychopathology, especially eating disorders, at the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Utrecht.

Jooske T. van Busschbach

Jooske van Busschbach, PhD, is a child psychologist and head of the research group on Human Movement Behaviour, Health and Wellbeing at the Windesheim University of Applied Sciences, Zwolle. She also works as a senior researcher at the Rob Giel Research Centre, a division of the University Centre of Psychiatry, University Medical Centre Groningen/University of Groningen.