Posts Tagged “Residential Treatment”

At The Emily Program, we are committed to providing exceptional care across a continuum of levels, ensuring every client receives treatment that addresses their unique needs. This personalized approach takes into account the psychological, nutritional, and medical aspects of eating disorders to help clients lay a solid foundation for long-lasting recovery.

Understanding the Levels of Eating Disorder Care

The Emily Program offers a continuum of eating disorder care levels in order to ensure our clients have the support they need throughout their entire treatment experience. We conceptualize these levels of care as a ladder, with each rung representing a different degree of support. The top rung of the ladder is residential treatment, which includes around-the-clock supervised care, and the bottom rung is outpatient, or non-intensive eating disorder treatment. Progressing step-by-step down the ladder is crucial for optimal treatment success, as skipping down levels can weaken treatment outcomes. However, individuals can always go up a level for additional support if needed. 

Most people don’t realize that binge eating disorder (BED) is the most common eating disorder. In fact, BED is three times more prevalent in the U.S. than anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa combined. And in addition to the millions of Americans diagnosed with BED, many more are living with a pattern of binge eating or compulsive overeating, conditions often diagnosed as Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorders (OSFED).

Despite the prevalence of binge eating disorder and OSFED with a pattern of binge eating, few treatment options are specifically designed to address the unique needs of those affected. Treatment has traditionally been offered in mixed-diagnosis settings that serve people with all types of eating disorders. While these programs do provide an opportunity for intervention and growth, individuals with BED or OSFED with a pattern of binge eating often report feeling unseen, unheard, or misunderstood.

To address this reality, The Emily Program has introduced CARE IOP, a virtual intensive outpatient program specifically for people with binge eating disorder or OSFED with a pattern of binge eating. This stand-alone program is designed to address the unique needs of those struggling with these conditions and honor their diverse and intersectional experiences.

Eating disorders are biologically based illnesses that have both psychological and physical manifestations. This is why The Emily Program employs a multidisciplinary team of eating disorder specialists to deliver the best comprehensive care to every client. We know that no two people have the same eating disorder, so we also personalize our treatment to best fit each client’s unique situation.

Our team is able to look at eating disorders from every angle and plan treatment accordingly. In addition, we know how important it is for all of our team members to collaborate to ensure that everyone is on the same page with the client’s care. Every role is essential to the treatment and recovery of our clients. Read on to learn more about the diverse roles that make up our incredible team of professionals.

We are thrilled to announce that The Emily Program will open a new residential program for adolescents in Columbus, Ohio in early 2022. With this expansion, we will address the lack of residential treatment available to adolescents in the state.

Eating disorder care spans across a continuum of levels. At one end are less intensive levels of care (LOC), and at the other are more intensive ones. Each level along the spectrum is increasingly more intensive than the one before it:

• Outpatient Care (OP)
• Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP)
• Partial Hospitalization Program/Intensive Day Program (PHP/IDP)
• Residential Care

Though the names and exact criteria for each level of care may vary across providers and insurance plans, the eating disorder field generally follows this multilevel structure in treatment, research, and education. At The Emily Program, we use these guidelines to inform treatment recommendations and ultimately aim to match each client with the care that best meets their unique needs. Co-occurring physical and psychiatric conditions, client location, and environmental or home stressors are among the factors also considered in making a recommendation.

**Content warning: This is one person’s story; everyone will have unique experiences in recovery and beyond. Some stories may mention eating disorder thoughts, behaviors, or symptom use. Please use your own discretion when reading and speak with your support system as needed.

Bronwen Clark is a Los Angeles-based writer and therapist. She is the author of Don’t Be Weird, a memoir that follows her journey through treatment and toward eating disorder recovery. Find Bronwen @bforboundless on Twitter.

Here Bronwen opens up about the purpose and process of writing Don’t Be Weird, and shares with us a selection of excerpts.