Please note that this is an Archived article and may contain content that is out of date. The use of she/her/hers pronouns in some articles is not intended to be exclusionary. Eating disorders can affect people of all genders, ages, races, religions, ethnicities, sexual orientations, body shapes, and weights.

Author:  CFC

Please note that this is an Archived article and may contain content that is out of date.

When a family member is suffering with the unrelenting effects of an eating disorder and all the rest of the problems that come with that illness—depression, anxiety, self-contempt, social fears, medical complications, etc., you are in a place that you may have never been in before in your life. You are filled with constant worry about her welfare and you want to know what would be the best treatment for your family member. You will desire in your heart to find the best type of treatment for her that will help her have a full recovery from the eating disorder. The difficulty is that there are many different kinds of treatment facilities and programs that basically all say they have what is needed for your loved one’s care. How can you really know for sure? You might wish that you could look and compare what every program offers in their approach and treatment, so that you could truly know what would be the best option. You might wish you had a guide to help you sort out what are the real differences between the different treatment programs.

At Center for Change, we have empathy for your dilemma and recognize your sincere desire to know clearly what is the best treatment option for the expert care of your family member. We ask you to look at Center for Change and to let this information about our personal commitment and our clinical programs be helpful to you in your search.

CLINICAL EXPERTISE

Center for Change has been a specialized eating disorder treatment Center for nine years. Our specialty is the treatment of anorexia and bulimia, and we have developed and refined a complete program over these nine years that addresses every aspect of recovery for an adolescent or an adult woman suffering with an eating disorder. In addition to this clinical expertise, we address and resolve the coexisting difficulties and problems that are present at the same time. We treat the major depression, the panic and anxiety disorders, sexual abuse, trauma issues, family problems, substance abuse, educational and academic struggles, relationship and social difficulties, and the psychiatric and medical needs, etc. of each patient in Center for Change. At Center for Change we provide comprehensive treatment for every contributing factor in a woman’s illness, so that when she leaves the Center, she can look forward to a happy life without an eating disorder and without the underlying contributors to the illness.

 

LOVING CARE BY DEDICATED STAFF

Center for Change has had a long-term commitment to therapeutic integrity. We put the quality of care for every patient ahead of any other consideration. Center for Change employs a large number of highly trained and qualified staff members because we have learned from experience in working with eating disorders that the type of care that is personal, the emotional support that is personal, and the structure and interventions that are personally given from a large group of loving,dedicated, and talented people is what creates the atmosphere and environment for change and recovery. There is no other treatment facility that provides this level of treatment intensity and personal involvement by this many staff members in the care and treatment of women suffering with eating disorders. We are committed to doing everything that we possibly can do to aid these women in facing and overcoming this terrible illness. There is a feeling at Center for Change that is difficult to explain, but it is felt by all who come here for treatment. Patients feel loved, they feel valued, and they feel personally supported by every staff member who works with them at the Center. Our staff to patient ratio is four staff for each patient at Center for Change. Patients in the Center receive the personal care and support they need to help them move through the stages of treatment and recovery. They receive constant support and therapeutic involvement by treatment team members that include physicians, psychiatrist, psychologists, therapists, dietitians, nurses, chefs, care techs, teachers, experiential therapists, and support staff on a daily basis.

We have a beautiful facility with 56,000 square feet of comfortable and spacious living space, but it is the personal touch of love and therapeutic care by many dedicated people that sets Center for Change apart from other treatment programs.

INTENSIVE AND INDIVIDUALIZED TREATMENT

Center for Change adheres to the highest standards of treatment provided by experts in the clinical field of eating disorders. We have maintained the highest level of quality standards through our accreditation with the Joint Commission on Accreditation on Healthcare Organizations [JCAHO] for the past seven years. We are licensed as a Specialty Psychiatric Hospital. We are unique in comparison to other treatment programs because of all the individual treatment that patients receive in addition to their group participation. Every patient: 1) meets individually with a general physician every week of her stay at Center for Change, 2) works individually with a psychiatrist every week of her entire stay in treatment, 3) works individually with a clinical therapist four times every week for therapy during the inpatient program and a minimum of two times a week for residential care, 4) works individually with a certified dietitian twice a week, 5) works individually with registered nurses every day, 6) works individually and as a group in specialized therapy groups with highly trained professionals everyday.

These therapy groups include open process and theme-based treatment groups, social and relationship groups, DBT groups, substance abuse groups, body image groups, life-skills groups, family groups, accountability groups, dietary groups, commitment and feedback groups, and educational groups, 7) works individually and in small classes with certified teachers. Adolescents work individually and in very small classes with certified teachers five days a week, 8) works individually and in groups in experiential therapies, classes, and activities including music therapy, dance and movement therapy, art therapy, sand tray, self-defense, yoga, and recreational therapies every day of the week, 9) works individually and as a group in 12-step and spirituality classes twice a week to address the nondenominational spiritual aspects of recovery, 10) works weekly in family therapy and is involved in an extended family week at least once during her treatment stay, which is available each month, 11) works every day with an individual care tech and with a group of care techs who provide support, encouragement, and structure every day, 12) works on goal setting, community and feedback meetings three times a week, 13) is involved in two specialized, three-day, intensive and structured aftercare workshops before leaving the Center, and again for a three-month follow up after discharge, 14) is engaged in weekly service activities, as well as weekly leisure, experiential and recreational activities, 15) is engaged individually, as appropriate, in therapeutic exercise under the care of a trained dietitian/exercise specialist two to three times a week, 16) participates in outdoor recreational and experiential activities in the beautiful mountains and deserts of Utah, 17) participates in equine therapies, ropes courses, and adventure outings. Patients are active and busy in the process of change and recovery every day at the Center while surrounded by kind and loving staff members. All of this individualized treatment and group work is designed to help each patient prepare herself while at Center for Change to successfully resume a normal life and maintain her progress and recovery after she has left the Center.
A HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL DIETARY APPROACH TO RECOVERY

Center for Change was the first treatment program to fully implement the Intuitive Eating Recovery Model with eating disorder patients. This model teaches and assists each patient, over the course of their treatment, to trust themselves and their bodies with food. Through ongoing challenges, experiences, and educationreceived from their highly trained eating disorder dietitian, the patients learns how to have a normal relationship with food without the fear, obsession, guilt, or anxiety which is associated with an eating disorder. They learn to be accepting and “in touch” with themselves and their bodies so food becomes a normal and positive part of their lives.

 

AN INTEGRATION OF EDUCATION AND THERAPY

Center for Change fully integrates therapeutic and educational programs together so that the high school principal, education director, counselors, and teachers are actively connected and involved with the clinical team and programs. Center for Change has a licensed high school called Cascade Mountain High School that is accredited by the Northwestern A

Association of Schools and Colleges. We provide core curriculum classes for adolescent patients from the eighth to twelfth grades, as well as many elective courses which are taught by exceptional and certified teachers. Some of these elective classes include Speech, Art, Business, Technology Education, Lifeskills, Health, and Physical Education. The curriculum is flexible to the needs of the individual students. We utilize state of the art technology. We have curriculum education that provides comprehensive “in class” and “out of class” learning experiences. We adapt to meet other states’ curriculum requirements in order to meet the needs of our students. Our core curriculum is in harmony with the state requirements of Utah and our education program is designed to prepare students for college education. Our classes are small in size and we average less than ten students per teacher. The adolescent patients involved in our high school are bright, articulate, and motivated students and we do everything in our power to enhance their educational experience while at Center for Change while at the same time ensuring the positive interconnection between therapeutic and educational goals.

 

A COMMITMENT TO RESEARCH, TRAINING, AND PUBLICATION

Center for Change has been committed from the very beginning to research, professional training, and publication in the specialty area of eating disorders. We have published many articles in professional journals from research conducted at Center for Change. We will publish a book through the American Psychological Association on eating disorders in the Autumn of this year. We have completed professional and educational trainings and workshops throughout the United States to support therapists, physicians, teachers, dietitians, and counselors in the treatment and prevention of eating disorders. Through our research efforts, we are committed to be on the cutting edge of treatment and recovery of women with this serious illness. Center for Change staff have presented at major national conferences including International Eating Disorders Association and Programs [IEDAP], the Independent Educational Consultants Association [IECA], the Families and Addiction Conference and Educational Seminars [FACES], the National Eating Disorders Association [NEDA], and The National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs [NATSAP]. We have four hundred articles on various aspects of treatment and recovery for eating disorders on our web site that the staff at Center for Change have written to help women, professionals, and families in this area of concern.

 

A LONG-TERM COMMITMENT TO RECOVERY

Center for Change has a very comprehensive and cost effective treatment program for adolescent and adult women suffering with eating disorders.  We provide the intensive structure and care that patients need at the beginning of their treatment and we can help and follow them through to the end of their treatment needs. We provide inpatient care, residential care, partial day care, transitional living care, and outpatient therapy for women who suffer with eating disorders and the other complicating issues and disorders of the illness. Every woman who comes to Center for Change moves through the program at her pace as she advances through the different stages of treatment and recovery. The program can be individualized and adapted to the specific needs of each patient, even while she engages in the overall treatment program. We are committed to aftercare at Center for Change. We provide three intensive three-day workshops called Life Quest, Life Strategies, and the Accountability Series that come during the residential treatment and as a part of aftercare following a patient’s discharge from the program. We work to establish excellent aftercare plans for each patient and we have a full-time aftercare specialist that coordinates with families, parents, physicians, therapists, educational consultants, and the patient to ensure ongoing support and treatment for a full recovery. We follow up with every patient for up to five years after her discharge from Center for Change.

 

THANK YOU FOR LOOKING AT CENTER FOR CHANGE.

We hope this information will be helpful to you in your search for expert treatment for your family member. Hopefully this information may also generate further questions you would like to ask us about the care and treatment given at Center for Change. We would love to talk to you in more detail about what we can provide for your family member who is struggling with anorexia or bulimia.