Embodied Self Model/Books



Embodied Self-Regulation- 
Catherine Cook-Cottone, Ph.D., R.Y.T.

Embodied Self-regulation is choosing who you are and your relationship with your world-- one embodied moment at a time. 

 Catherine's wellness research focuses on the exploration and validation of the Attunement Model of Wellness and Embodied Self-Regulation (see Figure 1 below). The self is viewed as an integration of thoughts, emotions, and physiological needs within the context of the external ecologies of family, community and culture. A healthy self develops when an individual embodies practices that promote health and growth and the external ecologies are attuned with and support these practices (or the individual has learned tools to self-regulate despite external ecologies).


Citation for the model: Cook-Cottone, C. P. (2006). The attuned representation model for the primary prevention of eating disorders: An overview for school psychologists. Psychology In The Schools, 43(2), 223-230.

The model is well explicated in three places (1) Cook-Cottone (2006), "The attuned representation model for the primary prevention of eating disorders: An overview for school psychologists," published in Psychology in the Schools (PITS), (2) Healthy Eating in Schools: Evidenced Based Strategies to Help Kids Thrive Buy on Amazon Here, and (3) Girls Growing in Wellness and Balance: Yoga and Life Skills to Empower Buy on Amazon Here.

The Attunement Model of Wellness and Embodied Self-Regulation is an interactive model of two systems: the self system and the cultural system (see Figure 1).

The self system is made up of three potentially integrated and transactive components that co-evolve throughout an individual’s development: (a) the physiological self (i.e., body), (b) emotional self (i.e., feeling), and (c) cognitive self (i.e., thinking). The self system is an internal system experienced by the individual as his or her Real Self.

The external system is modeled after Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model (1979) and is also made up of three potentially integrated and transactional systems: (a) the microsystem (e.g., family), (b) exosystem (e.g., community), and (c) the macrosystem (e.g., culture).

The two systems are interconnected by a process: attunement. Based on Siegel’s (1999) theoretical work, attunement is defined as a reciprocal process of mutual influence and coregulation. Internal system (i.e., Real Self) and external system attunement is facilitated by the Representational Self. The Representational Self is the constructed self that is presented to the external system. It is the way individuals engage with their environment; how they interact with their families, people at their schools, and individuals in their communities.” (Cook-Cottone, 2006, PITS).


Catherine's Books


Mindfulness and Yoga for Self-Regulation: A Primer for Mental Health Professionals 

Buy on Amazon


Mindfulness and yoga-based approaches as beneficial supplements to traditional mental health paradigms are well supported by empirical research. While numerous texts have examined these approaches for treatment of depression, anxiety, and eating disorders, this is the first to address mindfulness and yoga-based approaches as embodied tools for helping clients reduce dysregulated, consumption-oriented behaviors. Encompassing the theoretical foundations, key practices, and comprehensive protocols of mindfulness and yoga-based approaches for the treatment of externally oriented behaviors, the text is targeted at mental health professionals who wish to learn how to incorporate these techniques into their practice.




Girls Growing in Wellness and Balance: Yoga and Life Skills to Empower

Cook-Cottone, Kane, Keddie, & Haugli




This is the first published counseling prevention program to use yoga as one of the primary methods for promoting health and wellness among developing girls. This program is designed to teach girls how to live healthy and balanced lives that nurture the whole self by learning how to problem solve with both thoughts and feelings. Over the course of 10 years, the authors developed and refined this program in schools, after-school programs, yoga studios, and summer programs. Based on an adapted, preventative form of cognitive-behavioral and dialectic behavioral therapy for youth, this program is composed of 14 easy-to-follow, group sessions that integrate ideas, activities, and yoga for girls ages 9 - 18. Yoga is an important part of this program for developing children and adolescents because yoga practices promote psychological health by teaching coping skills and self-regulation. The manual has detailed descriptions of the yoga poses, and the CD-ROM includes photos that illustrate each pose. The accompanying CD-ROM also contains all of the student worksheets for reproduction.




Healthy Eating in Schools: Evidence-based Interventions to Help Kids Thrive

Cook-Cottone, Tribole, & Tylka 




School-based interventions that target obesity in children often have little positive effect and may inadvertently contribute to unhealthy behaviors in the attempt to lose weight. This book provides a conceptual model for understanding both obesity and eating disordered behaviors. Specifically, it advocates for body acceptance and intuitive eating a flexible, healthy eating behavior involving awareness of the body s hunger and satiety cues. Within this context, the chapters review evidence-based school interventions in nutrition, self-regulation, exercise, body acceptance, media literacy, and mindfulness. Guidance is also provided for identifying, referring, and supporting students with emerging eating disorders.







Catherine Cook-Cottone, PhD, is an associate professor at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York. She has published over 50 research articles and book chapters and has made numerous presentations, both national and international. Her primary research trajectory is in the area of eating disorders. She is also a certified school psychologist, licensed psychologist, and certified yoga teacher with a private practice that serves patients with eating disorders.



Evelyn Tribole, MS, RD, is an award-winning registered dietitian, with a nutrition counseling practice, specializing in eating disorders and intuitive eating in Newport Beach, California. She has written seven books, including Intuitive Eating (coauthor).



Tracy Tylka, PhD, is an associate professor at The Ohio State University. She has published 41 empirical articles and book chapters on body image and eating behavior, often exploring how they intersect. She studies both positive and negative body image as well as adaptive and maladaptive eating. She has developed and found much psychometric support for instruments that assess intuitive eating and body appreciation. She has made numerous national and international presentations. She was an associate editor for Body Image: An International Journal of Research and a guest editor for three special issues on gendered body image that appeared in Sex Roles: A Journal of Research.




The Elements of Counseling Children and Adolescents
Cook-Cottone, Kane, and Anderson (2015)
Buy on Amazon




"Offers precise, practical guidance based on a proven teaching format."
Tailored to the specific needs of the child and adolescent client, this concise, easy-to-read primer provides essential and practical guidelines for counselors and psychologists who are training to work with children in both clinical and school settings. It is modeled after the highly successful and time-tested "Elements of... " format used in many teaching disciplines. The book distills the basic concepts that beginning professionals must keep in mind as they approach practice, offering guidance in logical, numbered sequence from setting the stage for the counseling process through the essentials of building and maintaining an active counseling practice.
Not only does the book facilitate learning with its precise, easily digestible rules and principles, it provides potent guidance for both common and particularly troubling situations. Throughout the text, each concept is addressed first as it applies to children and then to adolescents. Key features such as using developmentally appropriate language and activities and fostering growth and self-reflection are covered, along with critical issues such as collaborating with parents and other professionals, responding to crisis situations, misconceptions and assumptions that can hinder therapy, and counselor self-awareness and care. The book discusses a variety of interventions and techniques that are most effective in work with young clients. Case examples of client-counselor dialogues in each chapter illustrate foundational concepts, and information is supported by references to empirical and theoretical works. The book also includes an overview of how to use the text for transcript analysis in training programs. Written by experienced counseling and therapy professionals, this versatile text will be a welcome addition for courses specific to counseling children and adolescents as well as other courses across the curriculum in school counseling; school psychology; marriage, child, and family counseling; and clinical social work. An instructor's guide includes sample syllabus, activities, and ideas for student self-evaluation.



No comments: