Fran Weiss, LCSW-R, BCD, DCSW, CGP, Psychotherapist
Just because it is hard to do, does not mean it is impossible to achieve
Weight Matters
B.I.T.E. The Body Image Transformation Experience® Workshop
Despite popular notions of diets, food plans, and new popular weight loss medications, weight loss and eating regulation is a very complicated process, physically and emotionally. The challenge can be daunting, constant — and to top it off — may not go away even if you "succeed."
If you have succeeded in losing weight, you know it can be a hollow victory because often the "cure" is not authentic. If you struggle with weight regulation, you may lose weight and then gain it back. The unhappiness remains.
Whether you struggle with 20 or 50 pounds, similar dynamics are at work. Sometimes peoples' internal world, constructed from a legacy of experiences from long ago, keeps them trapped in the past and unable to move forward to get what they say they want.
B.I.T.E. The Body Image Transformation Experience® Workshop (B.I.T.E.® Workshop) is specifically designed to help you create satisfying, healthy outside change that reflects substantial internal change — in other words, an authentic cure.
What is B.I.T.E.®?
The B.I.T.E.® Workshop is not a simple "fix-you-up" program with promises of fast fixes and easy answers. B.I.T.E.® is a structured 20-week group experience in workshop form (two interconnected parts of one workshop), with an optional follow-up ongoing mentoring group. This workshop will appeal especially much to "pre-contemplators" — those who want to lose weight but who just can't seem to move towards action or who keep repeating a yo-yo pattern. Applying the latest research in neuro-affective developmental psychology, B.I.T.E.® integrates the techniques of group psychotherapy with the skills gained from somatic psychotherapy. These include non-verbal body movement techniques, sensori-motor regulatory techniques, and mindfulness skill training. B.I.T.E.® provides a challenge and an opportunity to appreciate, comprehend, and change your interaction with yourself, your self-perception, your body image, your eating, and food. B.I.T.E.® works well as a complement to any individual psychotherapy, exercise, and/or nutritional programs you may already be involved in.
Who is B.I.T.E.® for?
B.I.T.E.® is for those seeking help to find the courage necessary to understand their interaction with food, honor themselves as they are, explore their self-regulatory issues and learn new skills for self-regulation, gain ownership of their bodies, and learn the somatics and "language" of their bodies. B.I.T.E.® is for those who want to solve their eating regulation issues once and for all!
How does B.I.T.E.® work?
The workshop consists of two interconnected parts. Participation in Part I of the workshop is a prerequisite to participation in Part II. The B.I.T.E.® workshop is offered once a year.
Workshop Part I: "Owning My Body My Self"
January 6 - March 10, 2025
Thursdays, 6:30 - 8:00 pm (10 consecutive weekly meetings)
Part I is a concentrated group therapy experience that focuses on the underlying emotions and regulatory problems connected to your overeating, overweight, and self-perception. "Why can't I get onboard to do what I say I want to do?" "Why can't I regulate my impulses and change my eating patterns?" The focus is on understanding your personal roadblocks, respecting the experiences that formed them, and most of all, keying into your own power to manage destructive thoughts and impulses. The workshop will also help you grapple with issues of body image, shame, "fat as armor," and eating to mask emotional distress and anxiety.
The workshop goals are challenging, and it takes courage to sort out the answers and work them through. The workshop provides a safe, confidential, and supportive environment in which to explore the emotional and regulatory changes necessary to move you to the steps of action.
Workshop Part II: "Transforming and Integrating My Body My Self"
March 17 - May 19, 2025
Thursdays, 6:30 - 8:30 pm (10 consecutive weekly meetings)
Part II takes this to a higher level through skill-building. Experiential somatic, movement, and regulatory techniques are taught that help you move towards attunement and mastery of your compulsions. You will be taught how to listen to your body, which is constantly changing in response to internal and external cues, and to regulate yourself in your response to the “call of food.”
For those who want continued ongoing work, support, and practice in skills developed in the B.I.T.E.® Workshop, B.I.T.E.® Mentoring Group provides an ongoing focused group experience. This mentoring group works well as a complement to psychotherapy, nutritional counseling, and/or exercise programs.
How to Enroll in the B.I.T.E.® Workshop
Entry into the B.I.T.E.® Workshop is subject to a pre-group 1-hr individual consultation. The fee for this consultation is $250.00.
Workshop Part I consists of ten consecutive 1.5-hour weekly sessions. The cost is $1,081.00, which may be paid in three monthly installments of $360.34.
Workshop Part II consists of ten consecutive 2-hour weekly sessions. The cost is $1,450.00, which may be paid in three monthly installments of $483.35. Participation in Part I of the workshop is a prerequisite to participation in Part II.
Payment may be made by check, via Chase QuickPay® with Zelle®, or online here via Paypal using any credit card
If you are interested in taking part in my next upcoming B.I.T.E.® workshop in winter/spring 2023 or have questions about any aspect of the B.IT.E.® workshop, please fill out the contact form in my website or feel free to call my office directly at 212.362.6019.
Note: Insurance can be applied for under "outpatient group therapy."
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