In the world of eating disorder care, empathy is our greatest superpower—but it can also lead us straight into the trap of over-functioning. Many of us know the feeling of leaving a session completely exhausted, as if we just ran a marathon while our client barely left the starting line. While this intensity comes from a place of deep compassion and a genuine desire to see clients thrive, carrying the recovery torch on their behalf can inadvertently stall their progress. When we step in to do the heavy lifting, we risk silencing the very ambivalence our clients need to confront in order to take ownership of their own recovery.
Learning to step back starts with tuning into your personal over-work radar. Your body and mind offer clear signals when you have quietly taken the wheel. Somatic cues like a sudden flush in your cheeks, tightness in your chest, or a heavy, draining fatigue right after a session often mean your nervous system is working overtime against a wall of resistance. Similarly, your language will give you away. If you find yourself over-explaining the science for the third time, defending your clinical approach, or feeling a frantic urge to prove the validity of recovery, you have likely stepped out of your role as a guide and into the role of a rescuer.
Shifting out of this habit requires intentional self-reflection before and after your client sessions. Take a moment during note-writing or supervision to sit quietly with a few key questions: Whose work am I doing right now? If you realize you were the sole source of energy, logic, and hope in the room, it is a sign to gently return that responsibility to your client.
Consider what might happen if you decided to do ten percent less and simply allowed the silence to sit. Lowering your output slightly can feel entirely counterintuitive, yet stopping the rush to fill pauses or fix ambivalence creates essential space. That pause is often precisely what a client needs to hear their own voice, process their options, and build true autonomy.
We’re Jo and Christie—Accredited Practising Dietitians and Credentialed Eating Disorder Clinicians with a shared passion for disordered eating, eating disorders and body image work.
Our resources are developed alongside people with lived experience and designed for health professionals who want to deliver high-quality, client-centred care.