Eating Disorder Support for Families

Eating Recovery Center offers free, trained facilitator-led, support groups for those struggling with eating disorders (including anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder and other disordered eating issues). ERC additionally provides support groups for families and community members to deliver resources and education on eating disorder treatment and recovery.

We are proud to offer a variety of events and educational opportunities to our alumni, families, caregivers, professionals and community members.

With one conversation, our mental health professionals will help your loved one better understand what they’re going through and what they need.

We will meet them where you are, listen to their story in a therapeutic setting, and match them with the level of support that meets their struggle.

Choosing where you seek treatment for an eating disorder or mood and anxiety disorder is a big decision, including where your center of choice is located. Many times the best choice for you will not be in your area.

Patients and their families travel from all 50 states across the U.S. and from every continent throughout the world to our treatment centers so that they can receive the best possible treatment.  We are honored that families travel from near and far to be with us. We also recognize how stressful and overwhelming it is to make travel arrangements while you’re making that next big step towards treatment.

For patients at a higher level of care, your loved one will arrive for the first day of treatment in the morning. Within the first week, your loved one will be introduced to a number of key treatment team members, including:

• A nurse for a physical assessment and labs
• A doctor for a medical assessment and review of any complications, issues, or specific needs
• Your treatment team (psychiatrist, therapist, and registered dietitian) A business office representative who will discuss insurance benefits, payment, and other logistical details
• A staff member who will help your loved one become familiar with the treatment center and settle into the space

Most patients have a similar schedule for their first week of treatment, although individual experiences do vary by program and level of care.

Physical and emotional challenges can occur when your loved one begins to adopt healthier eating behaviors. The structured, supportive environment of treatment will help your loved one’s recovery:

• If your loved one has been significantly restricting food, we will work on gradually increasing intake at a safe, steady rate while monitoring lab values and fluid balance.
• To minimize discomfort (stomach pain, constipation, etc.) as the digestive system adapts to regular eating, the dietitian will work closely with the medical team and monitor the meal plan volume and contents.

Support is a key component in learning healthy coping skills to help manage the anxiety that arises when reintroducing foods and increasing variety.

Patients are involved in what we call relapse prevention programming: thinking through and making plans on how to address the challenges of recovery in their home environment. At ERC, we also call these wellness plans, or relapse reliance plans. Patients will begin to actively work on their plan as they near the end of treatment.

Keep in mind that your loved one will discharge from treatment into a “hostile recovery environment.” Our Western society continues to stigmatize mental health disorders and care. Additionally, we live in a culture of “do more, get more, be more” which can drive and reinforce perfectionism. The fast pace and cultural expectations can make it very challenging for our loved ones to prioritize the processes and tasks of recovery once they return home, as doing so requires they act and behave differently than their peers and social groups.

While the recovery process will have ups and downs, some successes and some stumbles, it is important to hold hope that treatment will instill your loved one with increased awareness and recovery skills.

At the Inpatient and Residential levels of care, patients live at the treatment center. At the Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) level of care, patients attend an intensive day program – seven days a week – and live off-site at home or in nearby apartments.

As many patients do not live near their home, patients in PHP often choose to live in an ERC apartment setting. While apartments are not covered by insurance, arrangements can be made through Eating Recovery Center’s business office to purchase living space in low-cost apartment options.

Patients at the Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) level live independently. Virtual IOP is additionally offered across the country for patients who require additional convenience and flexibility.

Nutrition plays a fundamental role in eating disorder treatment. Your loved one’s thoughts and behaviors around food are most likely negative and destructive, and many individuals need weight restoration in order to fully engage in therapeutic interventions. For those patients who are at a normal weight at the time of admission, nutrition exposure and education are critical in addressing underlying issues related to their relationship with food.

The nutrition philosophy at Eating Recovery Center emphasizes helping patients overcome their fear of food and eating by providing meal structure and support, education on a balanced pattern of nutrition, and collaborative care to achieve a healthy weight for optimal recovery.

Eating Recovery Center’s team of highly skilled Registered Dietitians work individually with patients at all levels of care to develop a personalized meal plan that works to achieve weight restoration and maintenance goals, and meet any verifiable dietary needs. Dietitians also work collaboratively with the entire multidisciplinary treatment team, and participate in meetings to support an integrated understanding of each patient’s progress and treatment goals.

In addition to individual nutrition counseling, Eating Recovery Center’s Registered Dietitians lead group education sessions. These staff members also oversee various exposure activities to deconstruct myths around food and offer opportunities to build confidence in food situations. Cooking classes, buffet-style meals, grocery shopping, and restaurant outings are integrated into treatment plans. These supplementary activities enable patients to develop the necessary skills to prepare them for success in real-life situations outside of treatment.

Learn about ERC's nutrition program.