Eating Disorder Recovery Services (EDRS) is an at-home eating disorder treatment program conducted virtually, in-person, or both. EDRS is known for providing one on one meal support that occurs outside of a traditional treatment setting. They treat both adolescents and adults.
Any reviews? Please post in comments below. You can check out the FAQ and Guidelines for suggested questions. Thank you!
This may seem like a stupid question but their “Locations” have me confused. Other than some services being offered in-office in NY, they are all-virtual. But yet, when you click on “Locations” on their website they ask you to “Select your State” to see what services are offered. Does this mean if you are not in one of their “Locations”/states they cannot treat you?
I know that there are often times issues with insurance and utilizing telehealth in other states, but it’s clear they offer SCA’s and do some maneuvering on their end, so I’m confused…
to offer telehealth therapy, a provider must be licensed independently in each state. I would assume that edrs only has licensed providers in certain states, so they can only treat people in certain places. I hope that makes sense.
I’m working with EDRS right now (only started a week ago though) and am happy to answer any questions!
Any information you can provide is helpful! Maybe just a rundown of how you engage with this “program,” like, what is your day-to-day, how are the meals structured, etc.
I am very interested in learning more because I have been having a very difficult time finding traditional treatment and this could be a possible idea that isn’t that.
I can definitely share how my treatment plan is set up with them. I have no idea if other people’s differs significantly or not though.
They’re providing me with 1-on-1 meal support via zoom 3 times a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner), 7 days a week. They set me up with a team of 4-5 ED specialists who conduct all the meal support sessions so there is some consistency and I’m able to build a relationship with each of them. The meal support sessions are 45-50 minutes long and you have your meal prepared and ready beforehand. You begin the session by showing them your meal and confirming it meets your meal plan. They also do a check-in before and after the meal where they ask about your hunger/fullness levels, anxiety levels around food and in general, and your intention for the meal. The staff are extremely well-versed in eating disorders (some are actually recovered themselves and most have worked at ED treatment centers for years) and are incredibly caring and supportive.
They have dietitians on staff that they will connect you with if you don’t already have one. I have weekly appointments with the dietitian in order to establish and adjust my meal plan as well as set goals to work on during the week. They also offer a couple groups on top of this (a body image group and a DBT group). Once a week I meet with my team lead where we discuss how I’m doing and what I want to work on. Those meetings are almost more like therapy because she’s giving me worksheets on body image (one of my overall treatment goals is to work on body image) to complete during the week in order to discuss them at the next meeting.
Overall I’ve been very impressed by EDRS and really recommend them. I was also looking for an alternative to traditional treatment as well as a program that is more individualized and would meet me where I’m at. So far, I feel like EDRS has checked all those boxes for me. I hope this helps! Please feel free to ask more questions and I will try my best to answer them.
thank you. this was extremely informative!
Thank you, Lauren! This was super helpful! Do the team members sit with you on Zoom after the meal is complete? Or do you finish and end the call right away? Also, could you give us any information on what the assessment process was like? Did it seem like they would deny anyone admission to the program? Also, how were they about working with insurance?
(sorry for so many follow-ups, no pressure!)
If you finish eating your meal before the 45 minute session is up, they will stay on until then. At the end of the sessions they almost always prompt a discussion about what your plan is for after the meal and what you can do to support yourself (eg. distraction, coping skills…etc). That being said, EDRS seems to really value customizing the treatment plan to what you need so I wouldn’t be surprised if you could set it up for the staff to stay on afterwards if that’s what you needed.
The assessment process was pretty simple. I called them to inquire about the program and once I confirmed I wanted to move forward with an assessment they first sent me a form to input my insurance info so they could check the coverage. Once they confirmed my insurance would cover it, they sent me a couple more intake forms. After I completed the forms, a zoom appointment was scheduled with an admissions specialist for an assessment where we discussed my whole ED history and what I’m struggling with currently. At the end of the appointment they gave their treatment recommendations and connected me via email to a treatment coordinator who is now the person I contact for anything related to my treatment plan.
I’m not sure if they deny anyone admission to the program. However, when the admissions specialist gave their treatment recommendation following the assessment they told me they “had some concerns” and that their clinical recommendation would ideally be for a higher level of care but, because I had clearly stated (and explained why) I do not want residential treatment right now, they agreed I could “try it (EDRS) and see how it goes”. Tbh, I’m still not exactly sure what would cause them to decide a higher level of care was needed. Although, I did ask one of the meal support staff members if clients are ever kicked out of the program and she said it was rare so I’m taking that to be a good sign.
In terms of insurance, they work with a lot of major insurance companies (I have anthem BCBS). They had no problem getting a pre-authorization for me to receive services until February 2023 (5 months). That being said, I’m blessed to have a good insurance plan so I can’t speak on how it would go with other plans.
I hope this answers your questions but please let me know if I missed anything! 🙂
This was wonderful yet again, Lauren! Thank your putting in so much effort and detail in answering my questions. It’s incredibly comprehensive and helpful, and I’m definitely going to look into this program/service further. Thank you for your incredibly generous reply, and for detailing every aspect fully. 🙂
Wishing you nothing but the best—it sounds like you’re on a very healing and positive path. <3
Hi there, wondering if you have an update after having potentially finished the program on how you liked it overall? Looking at your timestamp, looks like you might have completed and I was hoping to get a full review. Also, were you doing the IOP program? Thanks for any insights and all the information you’ve already posted.
I worked with EDRS for well over a year. It’s hard to do the full review using the template because they are not a brick and mortar treatment program. But I’d be more than happy to answer any questions about EDRS and how they work in general!
Does anyone have a review?