Eating Disorders Residential Treatment Program
Compassionate Care in a Home-Like Environment
Walden Behavioral Care provides residential eating disorders treatment for residents in a home-like setting simulating day-to-day living where they can practice the coping skills they learn in therapy sessions, while they are in a structured, supervised program.
Our residential program offers longer-term treatment for patients who do not have acute medical or psychiatric symptoms, but who need more treatment before they are ready to advance to Walden’s partial hospitalization program or return to their home community.
Importantly, our residential treatment program in Dedham is located downstairs from our inpatient eating disorders treatment units, should a more intensive level of care is needed.
The Focus and Goals of Residential Treatment for Eating Disorders
The focus of residential treatment for eating disorders is on providing a supportive environment where personal accountability and responsibility are emphasized. Residents learn and practice newly acquired skills by experiencing supervised activities outside of Walden. Living in a setting that simulates life beyond their residential treatment for eating disorders, patients can better identify what triggers their disordered behavior and learn to cope with the challenges they will find most difficult to overcome when they return to life outside of Walden.
- Developing healthy eating patterns in a non-institutional setting
- Gaining insight into triggers that cause disordered behavior and the function of eating
- Developing skills for dealing with challenges
- Developing an individual recovery plan (life without an eating disorder)
- Advancing to partial hospitalization or independent living
- Developing a plan to prevent relapses
Treatment of Eating Disorders in a Residential Setting
Residential treatment for eating disorders includes case management, evaluation and management of medication, nutrition counseling, and individual, family, and group therapy. Residents of Walden Place are supervised throughout the day. Case managers conduct individual and family therapy and establish and coordinate care with an outpatient team. Nutrition counseling focuses on education, individualized meal plans, food diversity, and a system that encourages increasing flexibility over food choices, preparation, and estimated amounts.
Duration of Residential Treatment of Eating Disorders
Patients typically participate in residential treatment for eating disorders for four to 12 weeks.
Requirements for Admission to Walden’s Residential Treatment Program
- Female and male, 12-17 years of age
- Require 24-hour care, but not at a hospital-level of care
- Cannot be treated in a less intense setting
- Ready to eat at group and family meals and to incorporate a variety of foods into their meal plan
- Female of male, 18 years of age or older
- Require 24-hour care, but not at a hospital-level of care
- Cannot be treated in a less intense setting
- Ready to practice cooking, meal planning, and other tasks leading to greater independence
Helping Someone With an Eating Disorder
If you suspect you or someone you know has an eating disorder, contact us at Walden Behavioral Care at 888-305-2997 or online.
Besides our Residential Eating Disorders Program, Walden offers inpatient, partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient care, and outpatient counseling. We provide discrete, highly specialized treatment for patients 12 and older with anorexia, bulimia, binge-eating disorder and other eating disorders.