Eating Disorders: When Outpatient Treatment Is Not Enough - Treating Eating Disorders

Written by HealthyPlace.com Staff Writer

Every aspect of our program is designed to provide clients with a lifestyle they can continue on discharge. Along with traditional therapy for eating disorders and treatment modalities, we deal directly and specifically with eating and exercise activities that can't be adequately addressed in other settings but, nevertheless, are crucial for full recovery.

Planning, shopping, and cooking meals are all part of each client's program. Dealing with these activities is necessary since they will have to be faced on returning home.

Clients participate in exercise according to individual needs and goals. Exercise compulsion and resistance are addressed with the focus on developing healthy, noncompulsive, lifelong exercise habits. We are uniquely set up to meet the needs of athletes who require specialized attention in this area.

Activities include weight training, water aerobics, yoga, hiking, dance, and rehabilitation for sports injuries.

Individual and group therapy establish and solidify the other treatment components. Through intensive individual sessions and group work, clients gain support, insight into their problems, and the ability to transform them. Increasing confidence is gained in appropriately selecting meals and exercise activities, while using other methods to deal with underlying issues. Outings and passes are provided to assess each client's growth in handling real-life situations. On returning from an outing or pass, clients process their experience in both individual and group sessions in order to learn from it and plan for the future.

Group topics include:

• Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
• Communication Skills
• Self-esteem
• Stress/Anger Management
• Body Image, Women's Issues
• Art Therapy
• Assertiveness Family
• Therapy
• Sexuality and Abuse
• Life Skills
• Career Planning

We are innovative and unique. Our director, Carolyn Costin, M.A., M.Ed., M.F.C.C., recovered herself for more than twenty years, has many years of experience as a specialist in the field of eating disorders. Her extensive expertise, including a directorship of five previous inpatient eating disorder treatment programs, combined with her unique, hands-on empathetic approach, has achieved high success rates with full recovery. Carolyn and our staff can empathize, offer hope, and serve as role models while providing skills for recovery.

LEVEL SYSTEM

Our level system allows for increased freedom and responsibility as clients progress in the program. All clients have a written contract which they help create. The contract shows the current level they are on and spells out the goals for that level. Each client's program is individualized even though there are certain activities, reading assignments, and other requirements for every level. A copy of the contract is given to each client, and one is kept in the client's chart.

Special privileges. If deemed appropriate, clients may have special privileges in their contract that allow for things not usually spelled out on the level they are on.

Level changes. When clients feel they are ready, they can request to move to the next level. Level changes and decisions are discussed in individual sessions and the contract group. Clients must request at the beginning of the group for time to discuss their level-change request. Clients will receive feedback from the staff and peers in the group. The matter is taken by the group leader to the treatment team for a final decision. The client will then be told that same day or the next day whether the level change was approved.

Down leveling. Occasionally clients are moved up to a level and find that it is too difficult to accomplish the tasks on that level. Clients may be down leveled to an appropriate level with more structure until they are ready to try again.

Weight. Unless otherwise contracted, weight is taken and recorded once weekly with bulimics and twice weekly with anorexics, with the client's back to the scale. Only the therapist, the clinical director, or dietitian may tell the client her weight or any changes in weight.