St. Paul – Anna Westin House
for Adolescents

Opened in 2002 with 8 beds, the original Anna Westin House in Chaska, Minnesota, became Minnesota’s first facility for residential eating disorders treatment. It was created in memory of Anna Westin, a Chaska woman who died in 2000 after battling an eating disorder.

The Emily Program assumed the operations of the Anna Westin House in 2007. In 2011, we opened the 10-bed Anna Westin House – Adolescent residence in the same neighborhood. In 2018, Anna Westin House – Adolescent expanded to a 16-bed facility. It is the first of its kind in Minnesota dedicated exclusively to teenagers.

The completely renovated facility known as “Toogood,” honoring the building’s former namesake, is located in the quiet St. Anthony Park neighborhood of St. Paul. Residents in our 24/7 treatment program can explore the area to practice their recovery skills, shop, and relax on their journey to recovery.

Residents participate in group sessions, a variety of individual sessions, and therapeutic meals and snacks. Sessions may include psychotherapy, family therapy, nutrition, expressive arts therapy, medical assessments and monitoring, psychiatric visits, and other activities during the week. Each resident’s schedule is personalized to meet their specific needs.

Group Psychotherapy: Groups meet to share common experiences and to alleviate feelings of shame and isolation. Sharing common experiences breaks these barriers and inspires self-understanding as each person learns to identify unhealthy patterns and develop healthy alternatives. Group therapy includes CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy), DBT (dialectical behavioral therapy), multifamily group, and others.

Family Therapy: Family therapy sessions explore and improve long-standing communication patterns between family members. These sessions provide awareness of common issues and roles and help the individual with the eating disorder to recover and work toward a successful transition to the next level of care. Multifamily group and meal sessions are incorporated each week.

Nutrition Therapy: Individual, group and family nutritional counseling, education, and meal planning are tailored to each resident’s needs to help him or her interrupt symptom use, restore body health, and regain trust in their body’s ability to regulate eating. These sessions and supported therapeutic meals and snacks help restore harmony to eating patterns, develop self-care skills, and help family members better understand how to support their loved one around eating.

Medical Care: A nursing staff, a physician, and/or a physician assistant evaluate and monitor each resident’s medical status.

Psychiatric Care: Our staff psychiatrists are specially trained to treat eating disorders and related co-occurring disorders. Medications may be incorporated into treatment of the eating disorder or other related conditions.

Experiential Activities: Community experiences such as cooking, grocery shopping, and dining at restaurants help the individual strengthen self-expression and gain assertiveness and symptom control.

Education/Schooling: For our teenage and young adult residents, we make arrangements with a student’s home district and the local school district to support their continued academic participation. Licensed teachers from St. Paul Public Schools assist with tutoring and studying.

Additional Therapies: Integrative interventions may be included in a treatment plan, as appropriate for each client. Some of these therapies include:

• Expressive Arts: Creating art helps relieve anxiety, address body image issues, provide nonverbal means of expression, and assist in developing new coping and expressive skills.
• Movement Therapy: Yoga, stretching, strength work, and play activities support well-being.

Free parking is available in the lot just east of our building (located between Commonwealth and Hillside Avenues). Free street parking is also available. Time restrictions vary, so please pay careful attention to signs.