Eating Disorders: An Overview

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Linda Ciotola, M.Ed., CHES (ret.),TEP
Eating disorders result from a complicated interaction of biological, psychological, and social factors. People with eating disorders are intensely preoccupied with food, weight, and appearance, jeopardizing their health and adversely affecting relationships. Read more

Is this something for me?

  • Am I having on-going difficulties in relationships?
  • Am I troubled by intrusive memories and/or flashbacks?
  • Am I stuck in the process of grieving and unable to move on with life?
  • Do I feel weighed down by feelings of  low self esteem, depression or helplessness?
  • Do I have trouble identifying and accessing my strengths?
  • Do I want to find creative solutions to problems?
  • Do I want to learn how to be true to myself?
  • Do I feel disconnected from my body?
  • Do I feel used?  Am I tired of having people walk all over me?
  • Do I want to let go of old behaviors that keep sabotaging my well-being?
  • Do I want to understand why I make the same mistakes repeatedly and stop doing that?

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Linda Ciotola: Mindful Witness

ActivePause.com         August 2017

Linda Ciotola is a Certified TEP: trainer-educator-practitioner of psychodrama, group psychotherapy, and sociometry; and an accredited Certified Trainer in the Therapeutic Spiral Model ™ of psychodrama used specifically for working with trauma survivors. She is Co-Leader and Developer of the Therapeutic Spiral Bodyworkshop specifically designed for healing body-based trauma issues and a Certified Health Education Specialist (Ret.) with 45 years experience in education, group facilitation, and lifestyle counseling. Linda holds ACE (American Council on Exercise) certifications as a Personal Trainer, Fitness and Yoga Instructor, Health Coach and MINDBODY Specialist. She was honored in 2008 with the Zerka Moreno Award for outstanding contributions to the field of Psychodrama. She is co-author with Karen Carnabucci of Healing Eating Disorders with Psychodrama and Other Action Methods – Beyond the Silence and the Fury. She presents widely at regional, national and international conferences.

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Most commonly asked questions:

What are Action Methods?
Action Methods refer to forms of experiential learning derived from psychodrama, experiential and expressive arts therapies, engaging the right side of the brain as well as the left side.  Powerful outcomes can result from single well-executed session. 

Psychodrama is a form of psychotherapy developed by Dr. J.L. and Zerka Moreno that  uses acting to facilitate problem solving.  The client, called the protagonist, puts his/her truth into action with the assistance of the therapist, called the director, and other participants, called auxiliaries. Read more

Ministerial Services and Spiritual Support

As an interfaith minister of the Universal Life Church I am ordained and credentialed to perform all the duties of the ministry including weddings, prayer services, baptisms, memorial services, rites of passage, house blessings and any other special occasions at a mutually agreed upon location.

Linda officiates wedding ceremony December 31, 2021.

In addition I am able to combine my ministry with my training as a psychodramatist by using Bibliodrama to facilitate individual and / or group explorations of spiritual issues. This method enacts select scenes from the Bible to bring insight and meaning to personal concerns.

One of the essential elements of our spiritual journey is hope . During challenging times sometimes hope dims.

I am blessed and honored to introduce Jeanne Leto and her books Angel Chills and Hope Angels  and “hope angels” to the healing-bridges website readers.

Jeanne is an extraordinarily gifted spiritually-guided reader and has shared her true stores of experiences with angels and other sacred beings to bring hope and inspiration to a world that desperately needs both.  I am honored to have added to her book a few short examples of my personal experiences of the blessings of Divine Grace and “angel chills”.

Wishing “angel chills” to all our readers.

Please click here to order Jeanne’s book entitled Angel Chills and Hope Angels ~inspiring stories of angels and hope . You may also see a free short exerpt there too and learn more about Jeanne and her spiritually guided work.

For more information contact me at linda.healingbridges@gmail.com

Behaviors and Characteristics

Many of the following behavioral characteristics have been observed among eating-disorder patients

Dieting, restricting, fasting

Bingeing – a typical binge consists of 3,000 to 10,000 calories being ingested between 20-40 minutes

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Diet and Mood

Eating disorders often begin with diet. A person with low self-esteem attempts to feel better by dieting to look slimmer, perhaps in an attempt to conform to the current societal ideal (slender for women; lean and muscular for men).

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Transformation Through Action Methods

Most commonly asked questions:

What are Action Methods?
Action Methods refer to forms of experiential learning derived from psychodrama, experiential and expressive arts therapies, engaging the right side of the brain as well as the left side. Powerful outcomes can result from single well-executed session.

Read more

Interview: Linda Ciotola about the Mindful Witness role

Click here for audio interview