Examine what determines your self-worth — and how much is dominated by eating, shape, and weight compared to other life domains.
Most people evaluate themselves across multiple domains: relationships, work, hobbies, parenting, creativity, values. In eating disorders, eating/shape/weight take up a disproportionate share. This worksheet asks you to allocate percentages to each area of your life that determines your self-worth — first as it is now, then as you would like it to be.
Use in Stage 2 or 3 of CBT-E to address the core psychopathology: over-evaluation of shape and weight. The pie chart helps clients visualise how much of their self-worth is based on eating, shape, and weight versus other life domains.
Ask the client to draw a pie chart representing what determines how they feel about themselves as a person. Then compare this to what a 'balanced' pie chart might look like, identifying domains they'd like to develop.
For clients who struggle with abstract concepts, use concrete examples — ask them to rate importance of different life areas on a scale first, then convert to a pie chart. For perfectionistic clients, the pie chart itself may reveal perfectionism as a maintaining factor.
Avoid if the client is not yet engaged in treatment or if regular eating has not been established — address behavioural foundations first. The exercise can feel confronting, so ensure sufficient therapeutic alliance before introducing it.
Keep both the 'current' and 'ideal' pie charts visible across sessions to track change. Use Socratic questioning to explore what would happen if the shape/weight slice reduced. Link to behavioural experiments around investing in other life domains.
Suitable for clients working with eating disorder, self-evaluation, cbt-e, fairburn, self-worth, pie chart, values. This tool can be used as a standalone worksheet or as part of a structured homework plan.
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