Top Rated Eating Disorder Treatment Maryland: Know Your Options
Starting down the path to recovering from an eating disorder is a courageous step, and having the right support along the way is crucial. In this post, we will explore a few of the eating disorder treatment center options in Maryland that are trusted to provide comprehensive, compassionate care for anyone suffering from an eating disorder. Recognizing that personalized care is essential, we delve into the different levels of support available and provide insights on how to determine the most suitable treatment for your unique needs. Whether you are seeking intensive outpatient care, residential treatment, or do not even know where to begin, understanding your options is a necessary first step toward reclaiming a healthy relationship with food and your body. Join us as we take a look through the top-rated Maryland eating disorder treatment options and empower you with the knowledge needed to find the care you deserve.
Understanding eating disorders
Though we will discuss below the a few specific eating disorder diagnoses, it is important to recognize that many individuals who need care will not perfectly fit the criteria for one of these diagnoses. Eating disorder symptoms will often overlap across different diagnoses, vary overtime, and have a unique presentation in each person. Eating disorders are complex mental health conditions that extend beyond concern with body weight or food. They stem from a combination of genetic, psychological, and environmental factors, manifesting in unhealthy eating and/or exercise behaviors that significantly impact an individual's physical and mental well-being.
Below are some different types of eating disorders, each with distinct characteristics:
Anorexia nervosa:
Those struggling with this restrictive eating disorder often follow rigid rules about what, where, how much, and when they eat. Other harmful behaviors accompanying the restriction can include calorie counting, avoiding certain foods, skipping meals, excessive exercise, and/or purging by throwing up or abusing laxatives. Individuals with anorexia may feel like they are thinking about food constantly, and they may find themselves seeking ways to control food in order to minimize the fear or anxiety around how food impacts their body weight, shape, and size. This eating disorder is marked by significant weight loss (or lack of weight gain in adolescents) accompanied by an intense fear of weight gain.
Bulimia nervosa:
This eating disorder is characterized by engaging in dangerous behaviors such as throwing up, fasting, over exercising, or abusing laxatives to compensate for episodes of binge eating (see description below). The individuals suffering also experience distress related to their body weight, shape, or size. There is often shame and secrecy that surrounds this mental health condition making it more challenging for those afflicted by bulimia to reach out for support.
Binge eating disorder (BED)
Binge eating is often experienced as feeling out of control and unable to stop while eating a large amount of food in a short period of time to a point of feeling uncomfortably full or in pain. This behavior often results in feelings of shame and guilt which may lead to periods of restricting food to some degree. Many individuals suffering from binge eating disorder are not receiving the treatment they need because there is a lack of awareness and knowledge in our current healthcare system around the prevalence of this condition and how to adequately assess for it's presence.
Avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID)
This restrictive eating disorder is sometimes mislabeled as 'extreme picky eating', and though it can present this way, ARFID is a serious condition that can greatly impact quality of life and physical health. Individuals with ARFID are not interested in food or avoid foods which leads to nutrient deficiencies, weight loss, or inability to gain necessary weight for growth in adolescents and teens. These food aversions can be related to the smell, taste, texture, or appearance of a wide variety of foods while other individuals with ARFID may experience fear of perceived consequences of eating (like throwing up or choking).
This is not a complete list of all diagnosable eating disorders. Other eating disorders include orthorexia nervosa, night eating syndrome, and additional variations of the eating disorders mentioned above. Some individuals may even experience multiple types of eating disorders throughout their journey. All of these conditions can have severe consequences on physical health including malnutrition, electrolyte imbalances, and cardiovascular issues. Moreover, the psychological impact of these mental disorders can lead to anxiety, depression, and social isolation. Recognizing how pervasive and intense eating disorders are reinforces the importance of seeking an appropriate level of care, making the search for the right treatment center even more pertinent.
Choosing the right treatment option for you
Identifying that you may need the support of a treatment center is a brave and important step on the road to recovery. It can be challenging to know which level of care may be the most appropriate in meeting your specific needs while also accommodating for geographic location, insurance coverage, and any other medical or mental health condition you need additional care for. As a first step, it can be helpful to consult with an outpatient eating disorder therapist and registered dietitian specialized in eating disorders. These outpatient providers can walk alongside you and offer guidance as you find the treatment center that will meet your needs, and they will be ready to provide the continued care you need when you finish treatment. When you reach out to treatment centers that offer various levels of care like the ones below, the admissions department will also provide the recommendation for what level of care and location would be most suitable for you. So you can feel prepared for this conversation, we have compiled a brief description of the levels of care below.
Inpatient Treatment: This inpatient care is the highest level of support for severe eating disorder treatment. Individuals will receive 24 hour support, often in a hospital setting, for both medical and psychiatric rehabilitation.
Residential Treatment: These programs provide a structured environment with around the clock support for individuals to immerse themselves fully into the process of recovery. Residential centers are often created in a home-like environment with individual and group support offered by a full staff of therapists, dietitians, coaches, and medical providers.
Partial Hospitalization Programming (PHP) and Day Programming: This can be easily described as 'going to school for recovery'. These programs offer structured support during the day, 5-7 days per week, with clients returning home or to temporary living arrangements in the evenings. If you were in a residential program, it is ideal, and has been proven to lead to better recovery outcomes to step down to a PHP program directly after finishing residential.
Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOP): Often, IOP programs are connected to PHP programs because they will provide similar support while you are in the program, but you will attend less frequently and have a more flexible schedule. This allows individuals to gradually reintegrate into daily life while maintaining a supportive treatment environment. On the flip side, IOP may be the next step up in care if someone needs a bit more support than their outpatient treatment team can offer.
Outpatient Treatment: As the least intensive level of care, outpatient services involve regular therapy with a therapist specialized in eating disorders, nutritional counseling with a registered dietitian specialized in eating disorder nutrition therapy, and medical monitoring while going about your typical day-to-day life.
As you can see, the levels of care exist on a spectrum, and individuals can move up or down the spectrum as needed to ensure they are continuously moving toward recovery and maintaining stability in their medical and mental health. Choosing the right level of care is a decision to make alongside trusted supports and ideally with the guidance of an outpatient team and/or medical provider. If you are yet to build an outpatient team for yourself, consider reaching out to us today, and we can set you up with a free consult call to help you determine the next step in getting the treatment you need.
3 best Maryland eating disorder treatment centers
1. Eating Recovery Center: Baltimore and Bethesda
Eating Recovery Center (ERC) stands out as a prominent, nationwide program dedicated to comprehensive eating disorder treatment. Offering a full range of settings including inpatient, residential, partial hospitalization, and intensive outpatient care, ERC is set up to deliver gold standard interventions for eating disorder recovery. The Maryland locations include onsite PHP and IOP programs for adults and adolescents, and these facilities employ a multidisciplinary team of experts, including psychiatrists, dietitians, therapists, and medical professionals ensuring a holistic and personalized healing process. By integrating evidence based therapies in a supportive environment while offering programming up to 7 days per week, Eating Recovery Center is committed to guiding individuals toward lasting recovery.
2. Center for Discovery: Columbia
Like ERC, Center for Discovery (CFD) can also be found nationwide with locations that offer various levels of evidence based care from residential to IOP. At this Maryland location, CFD offers IOP and PHP programs for all genders, ages 10+. With a compassionate and client-centered approach, CFD integrates various therapeutic modalities for healing mental health issues, including cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), and family therapy. At this location, individuals suffering from binge eating disorder can access a specialized program called 'Path to Peace'. They also prioritize the importance of family involvement in the recovery process, fostering a supportive network for individuals on their journey to healing.
3. Renfrew: Bethesda and Baltimore
As a tenured program that is still family owned and operated, Renfrew Center has established itself as a leading treatment option for eating disorder recovery. The Maryland locations offer day treatment (PHP) and IOP services to cis gender adolescent girls, women, transgender, and non-binary individuals. Renfrew employs a their own evidence-based 'Unified Treatment Model for Eating Disorders®' which guides individuals to build emotional awareness, flexibility, and resilience while participating in one-on-one counseling, group therapies, and family therapies. Renfrew's commitment to empowering individuals toward recovery extends beyond treatment, emphasizing ongoing support and community involvement in the journey toward healing.
After reading more about each program online, you can take the next step by connecting with the programs directly. The websites linked above have step by step instructions to get in contact with the admissions department or a representative who can answer any additional questions you may have. At Rooted Recovery, we collaborate closely with each Maryland eating disorder treatment center in order to provide seamless, ongoing support for our clients in need of higher levels of care. If you are reading this and are unsure of where to begin, you are welcome to reach out to us directly, and we can help you determine your next steps in getting the treatment you need.
Next steps for recovery support
As you progress through your eating disorder recovery journey, transitioning from intensive treatment to ongoing outpatient support is important for reinforcing your recovery long-term. Once the structured environment of a treatment center is no longer needed, working with a therapist and dietitian who are skilled in eating disorder treatment can be influential in solidifying your progress. The registered dietitians at Rooted Recovery have extensive experience in supporting individuals as they adjust to the demands of everyday life after completing treatment. Through personalized nutrition counseling, family based treatment, body image healing, specialized yoga and meditation classes, and experiential nutrition support, Rooted Recovery prioritizes the continued care of individuals who are committing to pursue a better relationship with food, movement, and their bodies for lasting wellness.
Regardless of where you are in the process of eating disorder recovery, we would love to come alongside you. We can help facilitate the process of connecting you with the treatment center that would be best for you, and we can be there of offer foundational support as you move toward a sustainable and resilient recovery within your daily life following treatment. Reach out today for a free consult call, and know that you do not have to do this alone.