Gender-Inclusive Outpatient Eating Disorder Recovery Program

At Carolina House, located in North Carolina and also serving South Carolina and all states nationwide, we know that participating in a successful treatment program for eating disorders is a journey, and we have designed specialized programming at our treatment center to support our clients every step of the way. Along with our excellent residential treatment program, we also provide gender-inclusive outpatient programming in the forms of our partial hospitalization program (PHP) and our intensive outpatient program (IOP) at our eating disorder treatment center.

Our PHP and IOP programs, located at our treatment center in Durham, North Carolina, are carefully structured and designed to best help our clients heal and recover. We use the following interventions within each of these exemplary programs at our treatment center:

• Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
• Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)
• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
• Motivational interviewing
• Insight-oriented therapies
• Psychodynamic therapies

Clients typically stay in our outpatient programs at our eating disorder treatment center for 30-60 days. Below is more information about our transformational PHP and IOP program.

Carolina House’s PHP is designed to be a stepping-stone program that leads to independence. Appropriate for clients who are being discharged from a residential treatment program, such as our residential program in Durham, North Carolina, or for those who simply need more support than can be provided in an intensive outpatient program, our PHP treats people of all genders age 17 and older who are struggling with primary eating disorder diagnoses. We also welcome clients of any gender into our eating disorder program who have secondary co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders.

The goal of our PHP is to provide a beautiful, safe, and nurturing environment where our highly-trained and compassionate staff can help our clients move into lives that are free from eating disorders and co-occurring mental health concerns. We accomplish our program’s goals by using the following interventions:

• Medication management: We understand that many people struggle with co-occurring mental health diagnoses, so we provide clients in our partial hospital program with one or two weekly visits with our staff psychiatrist. In addition, clients can meet with our staff physician one to two times per week while in our eating disorder treatment program to address other medical needs.
• Individual therapy: Each client meets with their primary therapist once per week for a full session and one to two times per week for brief check-in sessions with the same therapist while participating in our program at our eating disorder treatment center.
• Family therapy: Each client receives one family therapy session per week, which is conducted by their primary therapist. Therapists are also able to provide more frequent family therapy sessions on a case-by-case basis.
• Group therapy: Clients in our eating disorder partial hospitalization program typically attend four to five group sessions per day on weekdays and weekends while in our program. Two of these groups are Food and Feelings groups that are centered around mealtimes. Other possible group topics may include:
  • DBT skills
  • Spirituality
  • Body movement
  • Body image
  • Interpersonal process group
  • 12-Step
  • Body image
  • Media awareness
  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
  • Relapse prevention
  • Nutrition
  • Guided self-care
• Experiential therapies: In addition to traditional groups, PHP clients at our eating disorder treatment center may participate in experiential interventions once per week. Some of these groups may include yoga, art therapy, culinary group, and restaurant outings.

Carolina House’s intensive outpatient program (IOP) is intended for clients who are nearly ready to live independently and are in the process of transitioning back into life within their respective communities. Our IOP consists of many of the same interventions as our PHP, such as individual therapy, group therapy, and experiential therapies. IOP clients engage in programming for four hours per day while in our eating disorder program. This program is held Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 9am – 1pm.

If you or your loved one would like more information about outpatient treatment at Carolina House, located in North Carolina and also serving South Carolina and all states nationwide, please give us a call today. Today could very well be the first day of a journey towards healthy living.