"Divergent, not Disordered" neurodivergent eating disorder support group

Group Guidelines

• Check-ins - not required at all but a jumping off point, I'll ask you to introduce yourself and share as much of the following as feels relevant: what you're hoping to get out of group, something you want or need support with, where you're at in your recovery today, something you've been successful with recently. We'll jump around from check-in to check-in based on who has something to say related to the last person who spoke.
   

• Accessibility - no cameras required, no expectation for minimum participation (feel free to observe and absorb); multi-task if it feels good, including eating (please mute yourself when not speaking to avoid background noise); and use the chat to communicate (either exclusively, while others are talking, or whenever it feels better than speaking). If you need to leave early or come late, no problem. Let me know if you have any other accommodation requests. Captions are up and running! 
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• Safety

  • Please avoid use of numbers including weight, sizes, and calories, and details about specific eating disorder behaviors that aren't essential to painting a picture of your needs. This can be a tricky, nuanced request because it is so subjective and many of our neurodivergent brains prefer the scenic route when telling stories, so it takes intentionality to filter things out. We don't want to contribute to a feeling of ED "hierarchy" by deeming one behavior acceptable to talk about and another not, and we also don't want to feel we're walking on eggshells. As a rule of thumb, ask yourself "Does the group need to know this to offer me support?"

    • If you mistakenly share a detail that might be triggering/mis-speak or feel hurt by something that's shared, we can use "oops"/"ouch" and address it right away or later on depending on what each person is needing

    • If you're unsure whether to share a detail or how to word it, you can use the chat feature to message me privately about it before sharing so we can troubleshoot collaboratively

  • To avoid unsolicited advice, please ask when responding to someone whether they are open to feedback if they have not already indicated that they are.

  • This is a vulnerable and imperfect space, and there is always a risk in joining together with peers experiencing similar issues that you may be triggered or you may trigger another person. Please consider what kind of support you may need in or outside the group to work through this: consider sharing what's going on for you (e.g. "What was just said brought up X") so space can be made to process, or feel free to take a break or leave at any point if you need to take care of yourself.
     

• Community-building: If you'd like to share your email, social media, or phone number with the group afterwards to keep connections and conversations going, please feel free to email me that information or put it in the chat during group and I'll send it out to all in attendance in an email afterwards.