My passion lies in working with women, men, and their families to overcome eating disorders and rebuild a value-based life. In my experience working at the residential and Partial Hospitalization level of care, I often saw the need for families to have support and guidance while their loved one was in treatment, and especially during the transition home.
Family Support Services
The transition from a professionally supervised/supported living environment back home is often filled with mixed emotions. Excitement, pride, fear, worry, and confusion are just a few of the feelings commonly reported by patients and their families during the first weeks back home.
The residential level of care offers an incredible opportunity for the patient to be immersed in the treatment experience and fully focus on their recovery. Unfortunately, while the patient is learning, gaining insight, and making changes, the families are trying to keep life as normal as possible back home.
To best support a family member returning to treatment, there are likely significant changes that need to be made in the day-to-day functioning of the home as well as shifts in important family relationships. As your loved one worked to find their voice while in treatment, it is important that the family is ready and able to listen and respond to the new style of communicating. Change occurs much deeper than the surface and recovery isn’t simply about maintaining a certain weight or following a specific meal plan. Families are often ill-prepared for the major changes that might need to occur to support the progress made while their loved one was away.
To address this gap, I offer supportive psychotherapy sessions with a focus on educating and preparing families to be able to best support their loved ones returning from treatment. I work closely with the patient’s treatment team and ensure messages are consistent across providers.
I also offer assistance in aftercare planning and understanding the levels of care, insurance coverage, and your options when insurance determines the patient can return home but the clinical team might disagree.
The treatment provides a truly special opportunity for your family member to work on the underlying issues that led to the eating disorder developing. Often, the support systems’ needs are pushed aside due to the severity and medical complications associated with these illnesses. I offer a safe, confidential place for family members to process their own feelings about their experience of the patient’s disorder, which I feel is essential to being able to accept and support the patient long term.
If your loved one is in treatment and you would like support, let’s schedule a time to discuss what supportive psychotherapy would look like for your particular family circumstances and how I can help you with this process.