Interesting read. I think therapists would really be able to use this title to support the work they do with people who deal with emotional eating.

This book was a very helpful book. It was very well written & very informative. A great book for lirbaries to have on their shelves.

I don't have binge eating disorder, but I do have a problem with emotional eating and I have been known to fall into a trance in front of the TV or computer and eat far more than I intended, so I was grateful for the opportunity to review an advanced reader copy of this book.

The authors first wrote a therapists' manual based on their research on the effectiveness of DBT in helping patients with disordered eating. Then they developed this self-help version for anyone wanting to learn the DBT skills on their own. This version was tested with patients to ensure its effectiveness. If you're someone who likes to see the research, all of the studies that the program was based on are cited and described in the appendix.

I really liked the way this book was written. It was easy to understand, with lots of examples from representative patients. There's a lot of repetition because the authors subscribe to the "Tell them what you're going to tell them, then tell them, then tell them what you told them" school of thought, and they also keep reminding you to renew your commitment to the program and keep practicing the skills. I think that really works in this case though. The repetition and review is helpful when learning new skills, especially when there's likely to be a lot of emotional resistance.

The program described in this book does require a major commitment. You can't just read through the book in a couple hours and expect your life to change. The book is 13 chapters with lots of exercises, and the authors suggest that you complete one chapter per week so that you have enough time to complete the exercises and practice the new skills in the areas of mindfulness, emotion regulation, and distress tolerance.

I'm finding these skills and exercises very helpful in reducing episodes of emotional eating, but also in many other areas of my life. DBT is helpful in reducing all sorts of problematic behaviors that we engage in because of emotional distress or in an attempt to avoid our problems (e.g., compulsive shopping, overworking, fighting with loved ones). This is touched on in the book.

Because of all of the exercises in the book, it would be easiest to complete this program working from a hard copy of the book that you are willing to write in. However, The Guilford Press has made the most important forms available to download from their website. A determined reader should be able to make a Kindle version work; it's just going to require a little more effort and perhaps a bit of creative problem solving at times.

I was provided an ARC through Net Galley that I volunteered to review. Because I have not seen the final published version, I cannot comment on the final editing and formatting.

So, I received notification of my ARC of this book mid chocolate binge. (Hello, universe? Was there something you wanted to tell me? 🤪)

This was an interesting first read for the year. While I don’t make New Year’s resolutions I am always ready to learn ways of doing life better. Eating disorders and I go way back. I’d tell you we’ve been acquainted for over 25 years, but that’s impossible because I’m not that old! Having managed fairly well in this aspect of my life for several years I fell fairly spectacularly into a vat of chocolate around March last year and I’m not sure if anyone’s seen me since. (Hello, Cadbury, my frenemy! 👋)

This book has a title that’s as much a mouthful as your last binge - The DBT® Solution for Emotional Eating: A Proven Program to Break the Cycle of Bingeing and Out-of-Control Eating, and for those unfamiliar with psych-speak, DBT is Dialectical Behaviour Therapy. DBT helps people manage difficult emotions without hitting their own personal self-destruct button. How does it do this? It gives you tools, broken down into three categories:
* Mindfulness
* Emotion Regulation
* Distress Tolerance.

The perfectionist in me initially freaked about the concept of dialectical thinking, whereby you can hold two opposing points of view at the same time, i.e., I can know I need to change a behaviour and I can also accept myself for who I am at the moment. What??? I don’t get to be all judgy-judgy about myself because I failed at something one of the times I attempted it? If I don’t punish myself enough, then how will I ever move on?! Scarier still, dialectical thinking “allows success and failure to coexist” (38%), so there’s no need to beat yourself up. You can simply acknowledge your mistake, learn from it and continue moving towards your goal. 😱

If you are serious about making this change in your life, know that this program requires a commitment from you but let’s face it, it took a commitment for you to choose to self-destruct by [insert your food-drug of choice here] in the first place, and you deserve to set aside the time it will take to make a positive change in your life.

There are 13 chapters and it’s recommended that you work through these, by yourself or with a therapist or supportive friend, at a rate of a chapter a week. Along with the reading you are expected to complete homework related to the chapter you’ve just read and build gradually on the skills you learn throughout the program. You’ll have an opportunity to discover why you binge in the first place, what your triggers are, and which tools work best for you to manage the urge to binge.

As I received an ARC of this book I read it straight through but I plan to work through the book again at a slower pace with pen and paper in hand. Even though I haven’t completed all of the assignments and taken the time needed to give this program a fair go, there are already elements that I know I will be introducing into my life and others I’ll be building on. I can also envisage how useful DBT would be to help manage other behaviours such as overspending (but I need that book!).

Some of the tools I’ll be incorporating into my life include:
* Diaphragmatic breathing - I already do this but need to do it more frequently
* Observing - being in the moment without letting myself get all judgy-judgy about my feelings or trying to control what’s happening. This feels like it will take about ... forever to accomplish, but you’ve got to start somewhere!
* Urge surfing - “Research shows that intense urges not only do not last forever, but typically last about 20 minutes.” (58%) Just knowing that the feeling of forever has a time limit gives me more confidence.
* Crisis Survival Skills - distraction skills and self-soothing (think grounding) skills.

I got caught up in the examples of homework answers given throughout the book, particularly Kat’s story as her responses feature more than the others. Like any good soap opera fan, I’m left ‘unfinished’ by Kat’s story. Did she and her husband Tom ever attend therapy together? Are they still together? Does Tom still bring home macaroons from his workplace? I wanted to hear Tom’s perspectives on the examples Kat gave as well. Guess I’m more of a busybody than I realised!

The PLEASE acronym didn’t work for me at all. Basically, there are six environmental/lifestyle factors discussed. The first five are:
* “Treat PhysicaL illness
* Balance your Eating
* Avoid mood-altering substances
* Balance your Sleep
* Get Exercise.” (66%)

Number six is:
* Building Mastery.

I have no problem with any of the lifestyle factors listed but to try to get people to remember them by listing five as a poor attempt at an acronym and then popping number six in at the end only added up to me remembering this was the section in the book where I shook my head and wondered about the editing process.

I personally found some of the repetition in this book frustrating. I personally found some of the repetition in this book frustrating and I understood why it was used. See? Dialectical thinking! 😊 If not for the repetition then the points wouldn’t have been reinforced and I most likely wouldn’t remember what I learned by about this time tomorrow. My brain just tends to glaze over when information is repeated, regardless of the intention. That’s my problem though, not this book’s.

Favourite sentence: “Observing offers you a calming center into which you can step to watch and maintain awareness without getting caught up in the storm.” (43%)

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley (thank you so much to NetGalley and Guilford Publications, Inc. for the opportunity) in exchange for honest feedback.

ome years ago, I was the foster parent to a teenager whose adolescence had been filled with abuse by various people, including her father, brother, and even the man who played Santa Claus. Finally, some 25+ years after she left our home, she began working with therapists to deal with the consequences of her upbringing. To this day, she still is wandering in the wilderness of therapy, doing a lot of therapist-shopping and -hopping, and I am still fascinated by the possibilities for treatment and the various options available. In the past year she has begun working with a therapist who specializes in DBT. Because of this and because her issues have manifested in behaviors that include out of control eating I was particularly pleased to receive an advance copy of the new book, The DBT Solution for Emotional Eating, from Guilford Publications and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Dr. Debra Safer is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University Medical Center. After she attended medical school at the University of California, San Francisco she had a residency in psychiatry at Stanford where she worked closely with W. Stewart Agras, MD, and his eating disorders research team. In February 2017, her textbook, Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Binge Eating and Bulimia was released. She wrote this along with three other professionals. This new book, which is scheduled for release in January 2018, was written in conjunction with two other doctors and clearly designed for a general audience.

I admit to having had some confusion between dialectical behavior therapy and cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). One outstanding thing about this book is the clear way it explains DBT: “This DBT program for binge eating focuses on the relationship between your feelings and your urges to use food…” And that there are “…three modules or categories of DBT skills: mindfulness emotion regulation and distress tolerance…Central to DBT is that individuals turn to food to self-soothe, numb and avoid emotional discomfort because food “works” temporarily…” And the BFD for me:” Dialectical thinking involves holding two seemingly contradictory viewpoints at the same time by recognizing that there is always more than one way to view a situation more than one way to solve a problem…”and most of all “Don’t confuse dialectical thinking with rationalizing a binge.”…accepting yourself does not require that you approve of where you are or like it.”

There were many other things that resonated with me: “…for their whole lives they’ve been told that they’re “too sensitive”…” and “Hedonic eating …involves an increased appetite drive or preoccupation with highly desirable food even without physical hunger…”

Finally, “Another valuable way to use dialectical thinking involves accepting who you are at this moment while at the same time accepting that you want to change….you are accepting yourself exactly as you are in this moment so you can change…what can be changed is the way you react to your distress and difficult emotions.” POWERFUL STUFF !!

I think this book is terrific. It is extremely straightforward well organized, and readable. It includes very specific skills and strategies for managing emotions without turning to food…and it has such a supportive tone reminding the reader constantly that they are where they are and it isn’t the end of the world if they do binge…but there are ways to work on modifying this behavior. Very highly recommended for anyone who knows the struggles with food and weight management and who wants to be healthy, with a healthy approach to food and nutrition. Five enthusiastic stars. And I hope my former “daughter” will benefit from DBT!

This book is wonderful. It is an easy to follow DBT book for a common issue of overeating. I loved the simplicity with which the authors describe and use DBT. Great book