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How to Choose the Best Eating Disorder Treatment Center
Eating disorders are deeply-rooted psychological conditions that can have a serious impact on someone’s mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Due to the complexity of their nature, they nearly always require professional help to overcome.
Finding the right kind of program for eating disorder recovery can feel like an overwhelming task. But receiving the proper care is a crucial step toward ensuring someone can recover from these debilitating and potentially even deadly conditions.
There are some considerations to keep in mind that make it easier to choose the best eating disorder treatment center for you. Finding the right kind of care can make a significant and positive difference in someone’s recovery journey.
Factors to Consider for Eating Disorder Care
When seeking the eating disorder center that will work best for you or your loved one, there are three broad considerations to keep in mind:
- Your personal needs. This could include everything from the type and severity of the eating disorder you’re dealing with to your willingness or ability to travel far for treatment.
- The details of the center and its staff. The types of programs, physicians, rules, and philosophies differ at every center. It’s these details that may make a real difference in your treatment.
- Insurance/treatment cost. Unfortunately, eating disorder treatment is typically lengthy and expensive. Health insurance companies have their own priorities when determining which programs they will or will not cover.
When considered as a whole, the number of factors can seem overwhelming. However, examining each factor separately may be a helpful way to tackle the process.
As you go along, you can make a list of questions or concerns you may have. Having these questions answered by a facility or your insurance company can help you make the best determination about your or your loved one’s care.
Insurance
If you need help paying for treatment, examining your insurance plan is likely the best place to start.
Every policy is different and may or may not cover different types of eating disorders, different types of treatment, and different durations of care. The process of securing coverage will also vary by company and plan.
Many treatment centers have employees dedicated to helping you sort out insurance information. So, if you find a center you like, you can call and ask whether your plan will work there.
If you’d rather start by choosing between options you know will be covered, you can call a representative from your healthcare company to learn more about your specific plan or ask upfront which programs are in-network.
Accreditation
Accreditation means a treatment center has been evaluated by a third party and recognized as meeting specific standards or quality of care. Although accreditation is not required for eating disorder treatment facilities, it could indicate that the program takes itself seriously and is dedicated to offering high-quality care.
The Joint Commission, or the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), is one of the primary accrediting organizations in the healthcare industry. Their stamp of approval is a good indicator of a center’s level of care and safety.
Staff Credentials
Several state and federal laws help ensure that employees at these facilities are appropriately certified and qualified to treat eating disorders. That means there’s a good chance the psychiatrists, therapists, registered dietitians, physicians, and other medical professionals you’re considering are all properly licensed.
In that case, you might want to look more into the background of these treatment team members to help you decide. Some may be qualified for specialized treatment, while others may have a very narrow focus, such as only working with patients who have binge eating disorder (BED).
Looking further into how long these professionals have practiced could be another factor that helps you make your decision.
Location
The location of the treatment center may seem like a minor factor to consider, but it can make a big difference in how likely someone is to consistently attend treatment.
Some patients may have mobility challenges or struggle to access transportation. Others may have schedules that are difficult to work around. Still, others simply don’t want to spend extra time and gas money commuting to a distant treatment facility.
When considering a location, consider your personal needs, abilities, and willingness to travel.
Treatment Approaches and Supportive Services
Different treatment centers may offer different approaches to treating eating disorders. Some may use a more traditional medical model, while others focus on advanced evidence-based treatments. Finding a center that aligns with your personal preferences and goals is important.
Further, centers may offer different kinds of supportive services. Additional treatment modalities offered to patients include nutritional therapy, meal support, art therapy, and more. A center’s additional treatment options may be a good indicator of its culture or a way to determine whether its goals and philosophies align with your own.
Aftercare
Recovery from an eating disorder is a long-term process. Some centers recognize that by offering ongoing support and aftercare after a patient leaves inpatient treatment or more intensive programs to help them maintain progress even after discharge.
What to Do If You Want to Change Treatment Centers
If you’re not happy with the program you’ve chosen once treatment has started, there are still a few steps you can take.
First, talk to the center’s staff about your concerns. Be specific about your worries. The staff can often help you improve your situation without changing treatment programs.
If you are not satisfied with the staff’s response or continue to experience difficulty after speaking with them, you can consider requesting a transfer to another center.
It’s important to note that this can be lengthy and laborious. It will likely involve a lot of time speaking with the insurance company, the center you’re leaving, the new center you want to join, and possibly doctors to ensure everyone is on the same page and you have everything you need to move forward.
If you’re unhappy but not sure you want to deal with a transfer, a support system like a therapist or support group outside the treatment center can also help you cope. On top of offering support for your eating disorder experience, they can help support you through the difficulty you’re experiencing in treatment.
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Levels of Care for Eating Disorders
Finally, when considering eating disorder treatment centers, keep in mind that these facilities may offer various levels of care. Which level of care will work best for you depends on the severity of the case and your medical history.
A physician or therapist can help you better assess which level of care will be most helpful.
Residential Treatment Centers
Essentially, the most intensive form of care, residential treatment, provides around-the-clock care and support for individuals with eating disorders. A patient will live full-time at the center for anywhere from a few weeks to a few months.
These programs aim to help someone become physically and emotionally stable enough to pursue deeper treatment. They typically employ regimented schedules that include:
- Individual and group therapy
- Medical monitoring
- Meal support
- Nutritional counseling
Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP)
Partial hospitalization programs are a step down from inpatient treatment. They represent a hybrid model of care, which allows the patient to live and sleep at home but still requires them to participate in a substantial amount of treatment.
Patients in these programs are expected to spend 4-6 days a week at a treatment facility, and programs last from half a day to a full eight hours.
During these sessions, patients will continue working on the strategies and therapies they started learning at inpatient care and continue attending individual and group therapy. The program may also include meal support, nutritional counseling, and medical monitoring.
Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP)
The true middle ground of treatment is intensive outpatient programs, which allow patients to begin reentering their social world while offering plenty of support.
During this time, patients live and sleep at home and are expected to attend only a few sessions per week for shorter durations. This gives many people the time to start taking on more social responsibilities, such as work or school, and to test out the new skills they’ve been learning outside of a treatment setting.
IOPs are generally recommended when a patient showcases significant control over their eating disorder symptoms but still wants or needs extra support as they transition to a more normal schedule.
Virtual treatment
While still relatively new, virtual eating disorder treatment—and virtual care of all types—is becoming increasingly popular.
This method lets patients connect with their care team virtually, using video conferencing apps or other online programs.
Virtual treatment typically represents either the last step for someone who has undergone more intensive care or the initial step for someone with a less severe condition. Overall, these programs make good options for individuals who live in under-serviced areas or who may have difficulty traveling or leaving home for treatment.
Finding Help for an Eating Disorder
If you or a loved one are struggling with an eating disorder, it’s important to seek out help.
Speaking with a physician, therapist, or other trusted medical professional is a great place to start. These experts will likely offer advice and may be able to recommend helpful programs or help you determine the best next steps.
A number of eating disorder hotlines can also offer more information and resources. These services are generally run anonymously, so if you’re struggling with an eating disorder but don’t feel comfortable talking to friends or family about it, this could be a good option.
Regardless, the most important thing to remember is that help and recovery are possible. With the proper treatment, someone can achieve a healthier and brighter future.
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Last Update
The EatingDisorderHope.com editorial team comprises experienced writers, editors, and medical reviewers specializing in eating disorders, treatment, and mental and behavioral health.
Reviewed by: Kourtney Johnson, RD, LD
