“Control” is often discussed in eating disorder treatment—but rarely explored at the level where it actually lives: in the body.

For many individuals with eating disorders, control is not about power or rigidity. It is a deeply embodied survival strategy—developed in response to unpredictability, emotional overwhelm, or relational instability. When approached too quickly or cognitively, efforts to “let go of control” can unintentionally reinforce threat rather than promote healing.

This somatic and art-based therapeutic activity invites a different approach.

About This Resource

Mapping Control in the Body is a clinician-guided, experiential activity designed to help clients explore control as a protective structure rather than a problem to be eliminated. Through body awareness and creative expression, clients are supported in externalizing control, understanding its function, and gently experimenting with softening—without coercion or premature exposure.

This resource is especially useful for clients who:

• Intellectualize or struggle to access emotional material verbally

• Experience control as embodied tension, rigidity, or collapse

• Feel unsafe when asked to “give up” control

• Present with entrenched or long-standing eating disorder behaviors

A Note from the ‘Ai Pono Team

At ‘Ai Pono, we believe that eating disorder behaviors—and the control that often accompanies them—develop for meaningful reasons. Our work is guided by respect for the intelligence of survival strategies and a commitment to creating conditions where those strategies are no longer needed in the same way.

This resource reflects our clinical philosophy: healing unfolds not through force, but through relationship, safety, and curiosity. We’re honored to share this offering with clinicians doing this complex and deeply human work.