What You Need To Do To Work In The Eating Disorder Recovery Field (Part 1)

I will first go over some basic requirements for working in
the recovery field. Due to the close proximity of working with clients in the
middle of their eating disorder we have found many who are attracted to working
in the field have experienced an eating disorder themselves. For this reason,
most recovery facilities and rehabs require a minimum of two years of eating
disorder recovery (meaning two years of abstaining from eating disordered
behaviors.) The two year mark is a good barometer for ensuring that those
giving recovery have time away from the disease and have also developed their
own boundaries and strong voice. Working with clients in the recovery field
requires being emotionally strong and using your voice a lot.

Anyone who has worked on an eating disorder treatment team
will tell you that working with a client is like a game of tug of war.  Imagine for a second that there are two
different people in an eating disorder clients body. One person is the eating disorder;
the other person is the clients true self. When working with the client the staff
has to constantly be on guard for the eating disorder behaviors of lying,
stealing, attention seeking, self-harming and manipulation. As well as
simultaneously encourage a client’s true self to emerge. Encouraging the client
to use their voice, state their opinion, take responsibility, make amends and
be honest. Constantly deciphering between killing the eating disorder and advocating
for the true self can be draining, especially when you are dealing with
multiple clients in one facility.

The rewarding part of the career is that you are able to
help a client to find freedom from their disease. You are given the rare
opportunity to walk with them through painful moments when they want to give
up, go home and give in to the disease. When you are able to play a part in
them making the right choice and seeing them make changes in their behaviors
makes the job incredibly rewarding and fulfilling.

The hours of work in a facility vary. Due to the great
stress that goes into working  in the
mental health field, most facilities consider 32 hours to be a full time work
week. Careers on the more administrative side are more likely to be 40 hour work
week with an “on call” cell phone for staff to call in the case of an
emergency.

Pay in the mental health field varies quite a bit depending
on the facility.  Hourly vs. salary pay
depends on the level of work, the amount of schooling, certificates, degrees
and time invested in the facility. Your best bet is to look up salary’s for
certain job titles you’re interested in and see how much the pay is for those
jobs in your area. Geography has a great deal to do with pay. What one facility
pays in Southern California can vary greatly to what another pays in Southern
Carolina.

Next week we will be back with Part 2, covering the different
positions on an eating disorder treatment team and the schooling , certificates
and experience required to go with each position. In the meantime consider this
post and ask yourself some questions: