https://www.emilyprogram.comThe Emily Program offers outpatient eating disorder treatment at the following locations (some with lodging for adults):
- Minnesota: St. Paul (PHP/IOP, OP), St. Louis Park (PHP/IOP, OP), Duluth (OP)
- Ohio: Cleveland (PHP/IOP, OP), Columbus (PHP/IOP, OP)
- Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh (OP)
- Washington: Seattle (PHP/IOP, OP), Spokane (PHP/IOP, OP), Lacey (PHP/IOP, OP)
Many of their outpatient programs can do Single Case Agreements (SCAs) with Medicaid. Some also take Medicare for outpatient.
For reviews of their residential treatment programs click here.
In March of 2021 it was announced that the Emily Program and Veritas Collaborative were merging. As of July of 2021 they will each maintain their separate names, under a new parent company called Accanto Health: https://accanto.com/
We would love some updated reviews!! You can check out the FAQ and Guidelines for suggested questions, and post your review below. Thank you!
REVIEW: Virtual PHP
• My experience with The Emily Program was deeply disappointing and frankly alarming.
• I entered treatment for binge eating disorder and ARFID genuinely hopeful. On paper the program sounds exceptional with access to a dietitian a therapist a psychiatrist and a nurse. In practice that promise did not materialize. The program is overwhelmingly group based consisting of sitting with the same group of participants for six hours a day eating meals on camera with minimal individualized care.
• Despite being scheduled for one hour appointments my interactions with both the nurse and psychiatrist were consistently rushed and abbreviated often lasting no more than 20 minutes. There was little opportunity for meaningful assessment follow up or personalized treatment planning which is especially concerning given the complexity of eating disorders.
• It also became very clear that the program primarily caters to bulimia. A significant amount of time is devoted to discussing bulimic behaviors and recovery frameworks and the majority of participants in my group appeared to have that diagnosis. While that may be appropriate for some patients it left those of us with different disorders feeling sidelined. I would have felt significantly more comfortable and better supported if I had been placed in a group with individuals who shared similar diagnoses. Grouping patients with vastly different disorders is not only ineffective but can be actively distressing.
• The group format itself was extremely challenging. Participants are not grouped by diagnosis which made the environment highly triggering rather than therapeutic. Much of the content felt repetitive and superficial recycled week after week depending on group turnover. Sessions often consisted of listening to podcasts or reading aloud from workbooks an approach that felt less like specialized medical treatment and more like busy work reminiscent of grade school.
• Additionally the group setting is not always an appropriate space for emotional disclosure. There is not enough time for everyone to be heard and many people are understandably uncomfortable sharing deeply personal experiences in front of a room full of strangers. This discomfort is visible. When facilitators ask if there are any questions the group is typically silent. Anyone reviewing the session recordings would clearly see how often participants disengage rather than participate.
• What I find especially troubling is that my ARFID was barely addressed until nearly week 6 of an 8 week program. This delay felt intentional rather than clinical. When concerns were raised the response was repeatedly that treatment is not just one session and that it may require multiple rounds of programming. That explanation felt less like a treatment philosophy and more like a justification for extending care without actually addressing the presenting disorder. If a patient enrolls for ARFID it should not take 6 weeks for it to be meaningfully acknowledged.
• The most serious issue however was financial. Before enrolling I was explicit about my income which is approximately $1,500 per month and repeatedly asked for a clear cost estimate after insurance. I was contacted daily by a representative who I later realized functioned primarily as a sales rep and was assured that the total cost would be $2,700.
• I have now received a bill for $7,104.34.
• That is not a small discrepancy. It is a massive misrepresentation. Had I been given accurate information I would never have agreed to treatment. To make matters worse when attempting to apply for financial assistance the online application link does not work. The only alternative is to call which is an ironic barrier for a population where phone communication can be especially difficult. The lack of transparency and accessibility raises serious concerns.
• At this point the experience feels far less like ethical healthcare and far more like a high cost operation that benefits from prolonged participation rather than effective individualized treatment. The repeated implication that unresolved issues simply mean more programming raises uncomfortable questions about incentives.
• For a fraction of the cost I could have received individual therapy and dietetic care that was actually tailored to my needs.
• I cannot recommend this program. Patients seeking eating disorder treatment deserve honesty individualized care and financial transparency. Unfortunately that was not my experience here.
When were you there? October 2025-January 2026
What level(s) of care did you do (e.g., inpatient, residential, PHP, IOP)? Cleveland VIOP
If applicable: Is it wheelchair accessible? My program was virtual, but when I went in person in Cleveland for nursing, it seemed accessible.
How many patients are there on average? About 6 or 7. The max is 10. We had as little as 4 at one point.
What genders does it treat? all
If applicable: Do they support the gender identities of transgender and nonbinary people? From my perspective, yes. Everyone was asked their pronouns, and they were respected.
How often do you see a medical doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist (therapist), nutritionist, nurse, etc? In IOP, you only see a therapist 1x a week, a dietician 1x, the nurse 1x for vitals/weigh ins, and a nurse practitioner 1x for medical monitoring.
What is the staff-to-patient ratio? In my 3 months, there was only 1 program dinner where there was only 1 staff. During groups, it’s typically 1 staff, but during meals, it’s typically 2. That’s probably around 3 patients per staff during meals and 6 patients per staff during groups.
What sort of therapies are used (e.g., DBT, CBT, EMDR, ACT, exposure therapy, somatic experiencing, etc.)? CBT and DBT heavy
Describe the average day:
Virtual programming was 4 pm to 7 pm Monday through Thursday. With any nurse, NP, therapy, and dietician appointments during the day. (Although sometimes you could schedule your individual therapy or RD appointments during program hours).
Most groups aside from yoga and nutrition education are run by the therapist (the same one you see individually). And all meals were run by your therapist and dietician. This was nice because they saw what you struggled with or structured groups based on what was needed.
What were meals like? Meals were anything you plated. It was virtual and they did not provide food for you. I’ve heard they do provide grocery cards if you needed them, but I don’t know more about that.
Did they supplement? How did that system work? In my time in IOP, no one else was supplemented but me. Mine was used as “encouragement” to eat in a timely manner. I don’t know if this is generalized, I just know that if I had food left by the end of the meal, I was to plate an 8 oz ensure+ in the last group.
What is the policy of not complying with meals? Do most people complete their meals/snacks? The expectation is that whatever you plate, you must finish. Most people do finish their food. But there was 1-2 people in my time who didn’t finish their food or refused to finish and there wasn’t much the therapist/dietician could do about it. Those people disappeared from the group not long after.
If applicable: Do they treat ARFID? If so, do they have a separate approach to meals for ARFID? I have ARFID, and they claim to have a separate approach, but it never felt like it. They used to use the term “food discovery” to, I think, make them feel like they had a different approach, but I was always told, whatever I plated I had to finish, and wasn’t given much leniency when I was crying over eating a fear food. I was told to take deep breaths or practice the STOP skill whenever in distress and go back to the meal. I also rarely felt understood in groups. Most groups are formed around people with body image disorders and even the more neutral groups, only had examples that related to body image disorders. I was given a lot of skills, but they weren’t applicable to my needs. One of the things that they tried to implement with me was these “nonjudgmental food descriptions,” but my sensory issues weren’t food judgments and looking closely at the texture or taste of a fear food only heightened my anxiety. They also tried to implement “checking the facts” around some of my other fears like throwing up or choking when I have diagnosed GI issues and dysphagia that makes these rational fears I have. I wish they had taught me how to cope when these things do happen than try to deny the existence of them happening at all by making me “check the facts.” There was not a single group on ARFID or sensory issues. Also, having the same meal plan expectations of someone with ARFID as you would with someone with a body image disorder is just setting them up to fail. I once told my therapist that “I feel like nothing is getting easier (because they kept saying it would get easier with time and I watched this happen with other individuals with different diagnoses) and that I’ve been doing this for months now.” And she discredited all my progress by saying, “But have you?” then starts listing off my low completion percentages.
Are you able to eat vegetarian? Vegan? Vegetarian was ok, but not vegan.
What sort of groups do they have? Each program day had 2 groups, so it would be group 1, dinner, group 2. Mondays were CBT skills and self-monitoring (which is where you make goals to accomplish in the week and check on weekend goals). Tuesdays were yoga and psychoeducation. Wednesdays were Behavioral Chain Analysis (BCA) (which was where you identified a problem behavior and used “chain links” to identify the factors leading to that behavior) and DBT skills. Thursdays were nutrition education and self-monitoring (check in on Mondays goals and set weekend goals).
What was your favorite group? My favorite group days were Wednesday’s groups. I enjoyed the idea of BCA group, but I never really knew how to apply it to my ARFID or if it actually made a difference. When others provided theirs as an example, I found it neat to see the dots connect on how certain vulnerabilities could lead to a behavior.
If applicable: Is the program trauma-informed? No… prior to starting the program, I told them I was healing from a DV relationship. I had a significant trauma trigger while I was in the program and started experiencing a lot of trauma symptoms that caused me to struggle with executive dysfunction and memory. It wasn’t until I started losing weight did, they finally recognize what I was dealing with and refer me to a psychiatrist (I had one, but he had a lot wait for appointments and I told them that I needed my medication adjusted). However, it took them 2 weeks to actually listen to what I said when I told my therapist immediately what happened. (All she responded with is “I’m sorry that happened to you”)
What did you like the most? My dietician. She was so kind, and I never had any issues with her. She was so understanding and made me feel genuinely heard.
What did you like the least? I hate the constant looming threat of being stepped up to a higher level of care. Initially, I was recommended PHP, but I told them I am a full-time student, and I couldn’t do that. 1) I couldn’t afford it and 2) I have no support to provide food and 3) if a low intensity program made me feel broken and alone, a more intensive level of care would only intensify those feelings. They allowed me to “trial IOP.” I had so much motivation to get better starting the program and I did the best I could, but it felt like nothing I was doing was right for them. Eventually though I escaped the looming cloud of stepping up, but then I experienced that trauma trigger I mentioned above and they started saying I will have to step up to PHP again. In my last week, they were trying to convince me to step up. Even pressuring me about why I couldn’t defer a semester of my schooling. I told them no, and I had to drop IOP because of classes and they weren’t going to let me but at the last minute, they okayed me to do outpatient, but under the idea that I would be “trialing outpatient.” Once again, a way of saying, you’re not actually in outpatient and we’re only trying this out. I don’t like how they get to dictate what level of care will work best for me and completely drop me if I don’t do what they want. It is very controlling in my opinion. I have enough insight to recognize what will be beneficial for me and what won’t be.
Would you recommend this program? I think this program is amazing for people who have body image disorders. I see the time and effort that went into developing a program like this, and I think it is really helpful for some people. However, for anyone with ARFID, I wouldn’t recommend. I’m grateful that I had an understanding dietician, but I felt very alone and behind seeing everyone else making progress. Whenever I disclosed that, I was told “not to compare” but it’s hard not to when you are stuck in a virtual meeting with them for 12 hours a week and watched them get better. I still don’t understand the mechanics behind my disorder. I gained weight, which was the goal, but I feel like I gained nothing else on how to combat my ARFID independently.
What level of activity or exercise was allowed? Some people were allowed to exercise, but I was restoring, so I was on exercise restriction.
What did people do on weekends? Friday-Sunday are non-program days. I usually had my medical appointment on Friday, but otherwise it was unstructured with the idea of giving you freedom to practice recovery.
Do you get to know your weight? I got to know my weight, but I don’t think that’s the norm. I only knew it because it didn’t affect my ability to eat I think.
If applicable: How fast is the weight gain process? I was there for 3 months and gained 20 lbs, but I didn’t fully weight restore either. It greatly depends on how well you follow your meal plan.
What was the average length of stay? They say 6-8 weeks and those who “trial” IOP could but up to 10-12 weeks.
What was the average age range? No one disclosed ages, but everyone was above the age of 18. The oldest we had was probably 45.
For PHP/IOP: What support do they provide outside of programming hours? They provide weekend programming on Saturday and Sunday if you need it. However, it is mixed with the PHP clients, and it is not the usual IOP group or providers. They do a range of groups. We listened to podcasts, did mindfulness activities, and other stuff I can’t remember. I didn’t enjoy weekend programming, but it is helpful for the extra accountability.
What kind of aftercare do they provide? Do they help you set up an outpatient treatment team? If you decide the program is too much of a time commitment and have to “step out,” they will refuse to provide any support finding other providers. My therapist said she wouldn’t even help me look because it was against the policy.
Are there any resources for people who come from out of state/country? They do offer lounging for PHP people, but I’m not sure if you can live there for IOP as IOP in Cleveland is only offered virtually. The lounging I heard was inexpensive, like >$15 dollars a day.
Other? The program does weekly food exposures every Wednesday and weekly drink exposures every Thursday with the expectation that you buy enough of the food to repeat the exposure multiple times outside program. (Again, don’t think this was ARFID appropriate, but I rest my case).
Location: Cleveland
*Long post but please read if you are considering going to PHP at TEP*
I went to PHP and IOP at the Cleveland location May-July 2023 (age 21). I was in both PHP and IOP for 6 weeks (12 weeks total). I would not recommend TEP, at least not the Cleveland location. IOP was okay, but PHP was very, very traumatizing, and I believe res is similar based on what I’ve heard from PHP friends who went there. A major issue I had with the program was staff not listening to me or working with me at all, and telling me my experiences were not real. There was this “staff as expert model” instead of me being the expert of my own lived experience, and they regularly told me that I was untrustworthy and manipulative. Eating was the only priority, and my emotions did not matter to them- obviously eating is a super important component in intensive eating disorder treatment, but ignoring all of my emotions is cold and untherapeutic. I felt very unheard/misunderstood by providers, and several providers immediately betrayed my trust/made no effort to build trust with me. They pathologized absolutely everything, rather than learning what I was actually struggling with. Care was not individualized at all; they treated all patients the same. It was extremely not neurodivergent affirming AT ALL – very much about conforming to a “normal” way of doing things. It’s okay to do things differently than other people; that doesn’t inherently make something disordered. You have to talk to me and learn from me to know what experiences are eating disorder based. Treatment was extremely rigid in the same way an eating disorder is rigid, which was triggering, and they had zero nuance. Life is FULL OF NUANCE, and that’s actually a really important thing to learn in recovery. Therapy was not prioritized – it felt like I didn’t have a therapist or anyone I could confide in emotionally even though I spent the entire day all day in “therapy” treatment. It was hard not having autonomy over my own life or treatment goals/decisions, not having input in my own treatment, and providers’ goals being imposed on me. Nobody cared about my goals and providers’ goals were not based on my experience or individualized to me. They did not understand picky eating or eating differences related to neurodivergence and were not willing to learn. The groups were oversimplified and condescending, and providers were very infantilizing in the way they spoke to adults. There was a punitive approach if we would engage in behaviors rather than encouraging harm reduction. There was really poor communication between providers. Providers were all very young and inexperienced. They forced me to do things rather than working with me – it works in the short term but is traumatizing and does not promote sustainable recovery. Not listening to me/trying to understand me was harmful and treatment was not consensual. If I say no to something and then you pressure me to do it until I agree, that is not consent. When I spoke up about my experiences, they did not listen to me or care how I felt as long as I was being “compliant.” In summary, I would say TEP helped me physically but was extremely emotionally unsupportive. At the end of the day, eating disorders are mental illnesses, not just physical ones. It has been nearly 3 years since I went there, but I still have so much trauma because of them. I am recovered from my eating disorder (in spite of them, not because of them), and of course I do not say any of this to discourage anyone from getting help or going to treatment. If TEP is your only option, of course go to TEP over not going to treatment. Eating disorders kill people. But if you have other options, I would highly recommend going somewhere else because the trauma TEP caused me is just not worth it. I am now a therapist myself, and what goes on there is so unethical. It is not okay to treat people the way that they do, and you deserve to be treated with basic respect and dignity, even (and especially) at your lowest.
LOCATION: Seattle, WA PHP
FULL REVIEW
• When were you there? I was there for a year and just recently stepped down.
I did the Seattle php
• What level(s) of care did you do (e.g., inpatient, residential, PHP, IOP)? PHP (there are multiple programs…a morning program, an afternoon program, dbt, and adolescents)
• If applicable: Is it wheelchair accessible? Technically, but some of the group rooms are small and I’m not sure if the doorframe is necessarily wheelchair accessible. The group room for the PM group is huge though, so that could be an option. The bathroom stalls aren’t wheelchair accessible though, and I’m not sure if there’s another bathroom to use.
• How many patients are there on average? There is a max of 12, but it’s rare that it’s actually full.
• What genders does it treat? All
• If applicable: Do they support the gender identities of transgender and nonbinary people? Yes! Most of us were queer (me!), nonbinary, or trans at any given time. We say our pronouns multiple times a day, and staff is great about respecting that. Most of the clients are too with it being Seattle, but every once in awhile some misgendering would happen from other clients, but staff would try to correct.
• How often do you see a medical doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist (therapist), nutritionist, nurse, etc?
Med: Once every other week for thirty minutes
Psych: (Virtual) Once a week for thirty minutes
Dietitian: Once a week for 45 minutes
Therapist: Once a week for 45 minutes (you can also ask for quick checks in as needed)
• What is the staff-to-patient ratio? It depends on the program. My program (AM) had two dietitians, one BHS, one diet tech, and one therapist.
• What sort of therapies are used (e.g., DBT, CBT, EMDR, ACT, exposure therapy, somatic experiencing, etc.)? If you’re in the dbt program, mostly DBT. All other programs are a mix of cbt and dbt, although sometimes ACT will be thrown in there. I have OCD so I also did some exposure work with my therapist.
• Describe the average day:
For the AM program:
8:00: Breakfast
9:00: Group
10:00: Snack
10:30: Short group
11:00: Group
12:00: Lunch
1:00: Group
• What were meals like? Meals were what is called a therapeutic meal. Unlike other centers where you play games, you’re expected to talk about what is coming up for you in real time. It’s a trigger friendly environment (with the exception of not using numbers), so you process food judgments and eating disorder thoughts at the table. You work through them with the support of clients and staff. This can be a lot at first if you’ve come from other centers where you’re not allowed to even talk about foods, but I found it so helpful to be able to process my experience. You have 40-45 minutes for the meals, but that includes plating. There are two providers at meals, and one at snack. It’s either a dietitian or diet tech and therapist or bhs. You start each meal with a check in and end with a check out.
• What sorts of food were available or served? A huge variety! Some meals are bring your own and others are served. There are restaurant meals, pantry meals, catered meals, meals you cook, etc. We often select challenges to do together!
• Did they supplement? How did that system work? Supplement is individualized. Towards the end of the meal, the dietitian or diet tech will check in and ask who needs supplement. Supplement is seen as a tool and a not a punishment. Some people (mainly ARFID clients I’ve noticed) will do food backups such as toast or a cheese stick, but most people get boost. It’s a certain amount of boost for a certain amount of food finished, and the boost protocol changes over time.
• What is the policy of not complying with meals? Do most people complete their meals/snacks? If you don’t finish your supplement, you’re asked to complete a BCA. If it happens often, you’ll most likely be referred to res. People are encouraged to finish but it really depends on the particular milieu as to whether or not most people finish or not.
• If applicable: Do they treat ARFID? If so, do they have a separate approach to meals for ARFID?
I don’t have ARFID, but others did, and it’s individualized. Some people start out with regular meals and others plate safe foods and backup options and do more food exposures such as having the red foods (they use a red yellow green food rating system for many ARFID clients) just at the table next to the client.
• Are you able to eat vegetarian? Vegan? Yes to both although they will push on your motivations for this.
• What privileges are allowed? Since there’s no level system, it’s more individualized. For example, you’re supposed to take a bathroom buddy if you go to the bathroom after meals, but because of some specific circumstances I have, I wasn’t required to take one.
• Does it work on a level system? No
• How do you earn privileges? N/A
• What sort of groups do they have? Cooking, process, life stories, cbt, psychoeducation, nutrition, goals, yoga (4 times a week), nutrition, dbt, embracing recovery
• What was your favorite group? Nutrition or process!
• If applicable: Is the program trauma-informed? They truly do take an individualized approach. I came in with a lot of treatment trauma from other places, and they worked so hard to make this a safe, healing experience. I dissociate a lot and have panic attacks, and my therapist was so kind in making sure I knew I wasn’t doing anything wrong. I was allowed to take breaks as needed and my therapist was great at doing check ins with me if things were overwhelming.
• What did you like the most? The staff! I’ve been in and out of treatment for years and had given up hope. I thought I couldn’t recover because I’d been told that by other centers. However, my team worked everyday to prove that I was worth saving. They truly met me where I was at even when I should’ve been in res because they knew that me going to res after a traumatic experience was not going to be helpful. I believe I can recover now.
• What did you like the least? Most of the groups aren’t run by a therapist. The BHS is an ABSOLUTELY AMAZING human being and did a fabulous job, but there were limitations to how the groups could go/how in depth we could process due to her not being a therapist. Also, yoga four days a week was a lot sometimes.
• Would you recommend this program? YES!
• What level of activity or exercise was allowed? It depends. You usually start off with no movement and can start incorporating it back in. However, there’s not a huge emphasis on movement. You do restorative yoga four times a week.
• What did people do on weekends? You may be required to do weekend programming online (if you’re stepping down from res, are in lodging, or need more support).
• Do you get to know your weight? I don’t think normally? But there may be exceptions
• If applicable: How fast is the weight gain process? Individual! I fought pretty hard so it ended up taking almost a year to weight restore but if I’d been more compliant with meal plan at the beginning, it would’ve been faster.
• What was the average length of stay? Admissions will tell you 6-8 weeks but that’s not accurate. It’s usually longer but can be shorter. I was there a year haha
• What was the average age range? It varies! For a long while the youngest person was mid 20s
• How do visits/phone calls work? PHP so N/A
• What is the electronics policy (e.g., cell phones, iPods, Kindles, laptops, tablets)? You can have your phone just not out during meals and groups (snack is fine tho! Or on breaks).
• For adolescents: Did they provide time to do schoolwork or offer academic support? Unsure
• For inpatient/residential: Are you able to go on outings/passes? N/A
• For PHP/IOP: What support do they provide outside of programming hours? Weekend programming
• What kind of aftercare do they provide? Do they help you set up an outpatient treatment team? Yes, and they also have IOP
• Are there any resources for people who come from out of state/country? They have lodging which is 10 dollars a day in the most luxurious apartment building!
• Other? You get a lot of freedom and autonomy which I appreciated. Conversations can sometimes feel triggering, but it helped me learn to deal with them because that’s what I’ll face in the outside world
This is for the IOP in Atlanta. I would not recommend this program to anyone with an eating disorder besides anorexia: the groups were entirely focused on anorexia and often felt like a waste of time. 4 of the groups felt like activities pulled off Pinterest, such as collage making and arts and crafts: not related to eating disorders whatsoever. My individual sessions were literally just an advertisement for stepping up to PHP when I clearly stated several times that I am unable to do that due to my schedule. I would ask for help and my therapist just told me to stop binge eating or move up to PHP, instead of providing tips, solutions, or advice. Some groups (2-3x per week) were completely lecture-style, which I found to be extremely boring when they would have been better taught as a discussion-based group. Again, I found this to be a waste of my time and money. I had better results through outpatient therapy with Equip.
This is a review for the Emily Program PHP in Seattle, WA. I was in the ASPM group, which met from 1-7 pm.
When were you there?
December 2022-March 2023
What level(s) of care did you do (e.g., inpatient, residential, PHP, IOP)?
PHP
If applicable: Is it wheelchair accessible?
Yes
How many patients are there on average?
7-10
What genders does it treat?
All genders
If applicable: Do they support the gender identities of transgender and nonbinary people?
Yes, I am trans and felt safe and supported at TEP. I even started going by a new name during my time there and everyone transitioned seamlessly to using it for me.
How often do you see a medical doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist (therapist), nutritionist, nurse, etc?
I’m a little foggy on these but I believe nursing is once per week and as needed, psychiatrist once a week, therapy once or twice a week, dietitian once a week.
What is the staff-to-patient ratio?
Around 1:3
What sort of therapies are used (e.g., DBT, CBT, EMDR, ACT, exposure therapy, somatic experiencing, etc.)?
Largely DBT-based, interpersonal process, yoga, art therapy
Describe the average day:
What were meals like?
In the PM group, lunch was served at 1 pm, snack at 3, and dinner at 5 pm. I believe in the AM group breakfast was served at 8, snack at 10, and lunch at 12. Diet techs come to the group room to announce when meals are ready and everyone lines up to plate their own food. Meals are checked off by a staff member based on individual meal plans. They let you know if you need more of a certain component or if you exceeded your meal plan (which is totally fine to do in most cases).
Everyone sits at one large table in the dining room with 2 staff members, usually a dietitian or therapist and a tech. I believe meals last 30-40 minutes. There is a check-in and check-out where you share your name and pronouns, your hunger or fullness level, and answer a check-in question (think icebreakers). At least with my particular cohort, we processed a lot of our thoughts and feelings about the meal *during* the meal, which really helped me. I’ve heard this is not the case for other groups. At the end of the meal the staff will check you off and supplement you as needed.
What sorts of food were available or served?
Most meals (except for breakfasts if I remember correctly) were brought in by catering/restaurants. There were a couple meals a week that were cooked by staff. Several meals per week (roughly one per day?) were bring-your-own. Dessert was typically required at one meal per day. I remember them trying to incorporate foods from different cultures in catered meals, which was cool.
Breakfast options included bagels or toast with spreads, cereal, eggs, oatmeal, yogurt, pastries, fruit. Lunch and dinner varied a lot but some options included pasta dishes with salad, pork/beef/chicken or tofu with veggies and rice, chicken pot pie, burritos, sandwiches and fries, etc. Desserts included cookies, a variety of candy, or ice cream. Water was required at meals and they also had other drinks available like milk/soy milk, juice, and soda.
Snacks were also varied but included things like string cheese, yogurt, crackers, cookies, pretzels, fruit, jerky, trail mix, and ice cream.
Once or twice per week they had “pantry meals” which were made by staff and incorporated foods that you’re likely to have in a basic pantry. These included things like soups & chili, mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, PB&J or meat & cheese sandwiches.
Did they supplement? How did that system work?
Yes, supplement is offered if you do not finish your whole meal. I believe they supplemented based on percentage of meal completed (so if you finished 75% of your meal, you’d be supplemented for the remaining 25%).
What is the policy of not complying with meals?
I do not remember whether they send you home if you don’t complete your supplement–something to ask about for sure. If you are consistently not completing meals your team will start to have conversations with you about a higher level of care like residential.
Are you able to eat vegetarian? Vegan?
Vegetarian yes, I’m not sure about vegan. They also accommodated my dairy sensitivity and allergies.
What sort of groups do they have?
DBT skills, process group, yoga (almost every day), self-monitoring (filling out goals worksheets or behavior chain analysis sheets), art, community group, psychoeducation, cooking group, nutrition group, nutrition experiential, weekend planning on Fridays.
What was your favorite group?
Process group and yoga. The yoga teachers were amazing, and it was always very gentle and opt-in.
If applicable: Is the program trauma-informed?
I’m not sure exactly what that means. When I mentioned my own trauma I was always listened to and validated, and the small amount of trauma processing I did with my individual therapist was helpful.
What did you like the most?
I really loved the staff in ASPM. All the techs were wonderful, and my therapist and dietitian were some of the best providers I’ve ever had. I miss them and think about them often, and it’s been a year and a half since I discharged. I also appreciated the staff giving us space to talk about what we were struggling with during the meal itself–it was helpful for me to process what was going on for me in the moment vs. having to wait hours or days to process it.
What did you like the least?
One thing I experienced–that I didn’t realize was an issue until I admitted to a different ED program a few months later–is that I was being underfed at the Emily Program. I had a gut feeling that my meal plan was pretty small and I was feeling hungry very soon after meals and snacks, but didn’t speak up about it partially because I figured the staff knew best about what was right for me, and partially because my ED told me to keep quiet and avoid having to eat more. When I went to my next treatment center, my meal plan immediately increased exponentially compared to what it was at TEP. This was really jarring and hard to accept, but I eventually came to realize that what I was being given at TEP was just not enough for my body. I wish I had pushed past my ED thoughts and advocated for myself in this way–I imagine they would have helped me better meet my nutritional needs.
[*TW: SI*] I also had a really difficult experience with TEP when I experienced suicidal ideation towards the end of my time in PHP and had to be hospitalized briefly. My therapist encouraged me to go to the emergency room over the weekend if my ideation got worse, and I did. She initially told me that if I had to be hospitalized I would be allowed to re-admit once I was released. However, before I left the hospital, I got a call from her saying that the Emily Program was not willing to re-admit me, and they thought I needed to find a treatment center that focused more on general mental health than eating disorders. I moved out of TEP lodging a couple days after leaving the hospital, and started a mental health virtual IOP where I had a terrible experience. I knew I wasn’t ready to be out of ED treatment, and called TEP again to ask for an assessment. They again refused to re-admit me because of my suicidality (which had resolved by this point). I felt tricked, hurt, and let down by the program, although I don’t blame any of my providers–I think this was dictated by higher up leadership. About a month after being discharged from TEP, I ended up at a different ED facility. I still carry some hurt from this experience, and I wish TEP leadership had seen that I still needed their care instead of just seeing me as a liability.[*END TW*]
Would you recommend this program?
Yes. Despite the hard situation I faced at the end of my stay, I had a good experience here and would recommend it.
What level of activity or exercise was allowed?
I was encouraged not to engage in intentional exercise unless I was meeting my meal plan regularly. Lodging clients were not allowed to use the apartment’s fitness room.
What did people do on weekends?
There is required virtual weekend programming for clients living in TEP’s lodging, and some other clients as decided by your team. Other than that, there’s a lot of activities, cafes, and green spaces to check out in the neighborhood. The apartment complex also has a big game room with pinball, hoops, giant Jenga, etc.
Do you get to know your weight?
No.
What was the average length of stay?
A few months, although I know people who stayed for shorter or longer periods.
What was the average age range?
18-50 years, pretty varied but generally more younger folks vs. older.
What is the electronics policy (e.g., cell phones, iPods, Kindles, laptops, tablets)?
Electronics need to stay in bags/pockets other than on breaks. They will politely call you out for using your phone in group.
For PHP/IOP: What support do they provide outside of programming hours?
I don’t remember there being any after-hours support, but I could be wrong.
What kind of aftercare do they provide? Do they help you set up an outpatient treatment team?
They can help you transition into a TEP IOP group (all virtual) and/or find providers with availability at TEP or elsewhere.
Are there any resources for people who come from out of state/country?
Lodging at a nearby apartment complex (10-minute walk from TEP, with stairs) is available for $70/wk.
If applicable: How is the program responding to COVID? (Less patients, virtual programming, no visitors, masks, social distancing, etc)
When I was there in 2022, I believe masking was required in groups, and providers stayed masked while we ate at meals and snacks. Clients in lodging needed to have a backup location to go isolate if they contracted COVID. I’m not sure what the policies are as of 2024.
Other?
Despite a couple big hiccups, I had an overall positive experience at TEP and found it helpful for my recovery. The staff is all really kind and warm, from front desk to nursing to techs and clinicians–and like I said, I think I had the best dietitian and therapist at TEP that I’ve ever had in a treatment center. The facility is beautiful, welcoming and clean. The work I did in treatment at TEP was really challenging, and I consistently felt encouraged and like the staff really believed in us and were fighting for recovery with us. TEP’s Seattle residential is just a couple miles down the road, so it’s a fairly easy transition to and from that level of care. I wish I could name drop my favorite staff, but I’ll just say that I got along with all the staff and I was made to feel welcomed and important. I am so grateful for the time I spent at the Emily Program. Please feel free to reply with any questions!
Does anyone have a review of PHP at the Emily program in Columbus or Cleveland? Has anyone stayed in their lodging accommodations?
Full Review of Columbus, Ohio PHP
I was discharged from the PHP program in Columbus last week. I did not stay in their lodging accommodations. Overall, I’d say it was a good experience, but you HAVE to want to get better in some capacity because there is a lot of keeping yourself accountable. I was in the adolescent PHP group that is 16-22 years old (I’m 20). The PHP program is 5 days a week from 8-2 pm although they offer virtual PHP on the weekends if its needed. They say that you are usually in PHP 8-12 weeks but I’ve seen people leave at week 6 and 16. The groups included Body Image, DBT, CBT, Psychoed, Nutrition, Goal Planning, and Yoga. There were usually about 8 clients but some times there were more or less. I enjoyed most of the groups and found DBT skills to be especially helpful. Throughout PHP, you will see a nurse, nurse practitioner, psychiatrist, dietitian, and therapist once a week. At the Columbus location, everyone was pretty nice but I did not benefit at all from the therapy.
Food-wise, breakfast is at 8, morning snack is at 10:30, and lunch is at noon. Every day was different in what food would be provided by the program and what food you were supposed to bring. So for example, on Monday’s. breakfast and morning snack would be provided by the program, but we would have to bring our own packed lunch. The food was usually pretty good, and you get three dislike foods (like olives or tomatoes). I won’t lie, it was hard to get used to eating so close together at program and the first week was rough, but it gets easier.
Earlier, I said you have to want to get better because TEP uses paper food logs to track what clients are eating at home. You need to be honest with what you’re eating and how things are going at home. There is no point in doing PHP if the ED takes control at home or you are lying on the logs.
I found this program extremely helpful because it forced me to get into the habit of consistent eating, forced variety, and I learned a bit more about what adequacy looks like. You have the choice to pay attention in groups and get the most out of treatment. Anyone who is reading this, if you are questioning going, you should go. I pushed off treatment for two years and I regret it. I’m not recovered or 100% perfect now, but things are better. Things would have not gotten better without the program forcing me to do the scary things. You guys can do this:)
I’ve been doing IOP and outpatient services through TEP in WA (Seattle, South Sound, and Virtual) since Oct 2017, and am more than happy to answer any questions anyone may have!
They have been fantastic with allowing me to see a dietitian through their program while also seeing an outside therapist.
I have found this program to be very helpful in the stage of recovery in which you’re mostly independent and very motivated. I would not recommend TEP for a HLOC though.
Looking at getting our 21 yo child with anorexia into this treatment. Doing lots of research. What is TEP and HLOC? TIA
Not OP, but “TEP” stands for The Emily Program and “HLOC” is shorthand for higher level of care.
I haven’t been here before, but I have an acquaintance here now (I think in PHP) raving about their positive experience.
TEP stands for The Emily Program and HLOC 🙂 I’m in their php now if you have any questions!
I was enrolled in TEP’s Adult IOP from April 2022 – August 2022 and it saved my life. I was in a very dark place when I had started and being in the treatment program allowed me to get my life back on track while still being able to effectively parent my child and be a working adult in the world. I was able to learn how to better manage my ED and get my family involved with tools to keep me on track and support me. The educational aspects of the program were extremely helpful and allowed me to be able to share with my support network how to best help me through this tough time.
Thank you for posting! That’s great to hear you found TEP’s IOP helpful. Did you do virtual or in person? What were the program hours and how many days a week was it? How many patients were there at a time? I assume there was at least one supervised meal, did they provide the food or did you have to buy/prepare your own? Did they also give you a meal plan to follow outside of treatment hours?
To the extent that you are comfortable, can you share some specifics about how the program supported you as a parent and helped you involve your family and your support network in your recovery? I ask because reviews are most helpful when they include facts, details or specific examples about the day-to-day of the treatment program, so that others can determine whether it might be a good fit for them too! Especially because the EDTR community has a lot of parents who struggle to find a treatment program that can accommodate them. I know it would be very appreciated!
Location: Virtual IOP & IDP, St. Paul, MN
I did the virtual IOP at The Emily Program (TEP) from December 2021-January 2022 and then virtual IDP* for 16 weeks from February-May 2022. All of these were through the Como Location. I had a wonderful experience and wanted to comment on it for people wondering about the virtual options.
IOP was one meal and IDP was two meals and one snack. You had to prepare all of your own food to fit with your meal plan. There were challenges every week, but outside of that, you could choose your own meals/snacks. They had grocery gift cards available for patients, but that money didn’t go far. It can be overwhelming to prepare all of that but it’s nice to have a choice.
It was so much Zoom! You got a break every hour, but it took a long time to adjust. I’d recommend getting blue light blocking glasses. It was hard because you don’t get to know the other patients as well, but it was nice because you could ask for a breakout room at any point to talk something through with a provider. The other nice thing was that for Family and Friends, people from different states could come.
There were so many different groups. There was DBT, nutrition, cooking, yoga, process, timeline, community meeting. Yoga was hard on zoom so it was usually meditation or art or something else like that. It was nice because there was time for idle chatter during meals and then focused stuff during the groups.
I loved all the providers I worked with. They are so understanding and engaging even on Zoom. I got to keep working with some of them in outpatient, which was so nice. That’s the one complaint I have about TEP, that your providers change at every level of care. It doesn’t provide continuity and sometimes you work so well with someone and they know so much and then bam, you switch.
*admin note: IDP stands for Intensive Day Program, it is the same as a PHP
Location: Seattle, WA (Adult PHP)
I went to the adult PhP in Seattle after ERC res. It was a nightmare for a lot of reasons but mostly because the housing situation was so bad. I had a roommate who was 19 and I’m 40. The 19 year old didn’t know how to live independently or be a good roommate and would talk on the phone all night long while I was trying to sleep. So I was exhasuted because I couldn’t get any sleep. Secondly, they wouldn’t moderate the groups at all so people would be talking in graphic detail about their trauma for like half the group which I think really made it hard for lots of us (who are trauma survivors) to get much out of the group except to be retraumatized. They had a specific policy of “anything goes” but with no boundaries like that it seemed like they were actually doing more harm than good. I had a friend in the Seattle Res and that seemed better and more reasonable than the PHP. I think that in general the staff were not very knowledgable about EDs or neurodivergence. They knew very little about ARFID. Overall ERC had much more expertise and better therapists. Also, the amount of challenge they expected for the level of care was way more than ERC for the same level. It was very challenging to transition from ERC to Emily for that reason. I believe that because the groups were so overstimulating and all over the place it made it very hard for me to eat. ERC did a lot more containment work which allowed my anxiety to lessen and ability to eat.
Any recent review of Am or pm IDP MN Como and or St. Louis park?
Location: St. Paul-Como Adolescent
Horrible place! Brought my daughter in for a eating disorder.. after 2 days she was ready to leave cause employees telling her she couldn’t call her mother and saying her mom wasn’t coming to see her. Kids walking on all 4s barking like dogs.. forcing kids to eat foods even if allergies were an issue. *TW for misgendering* Boys using the same bathroom as girls depending on how they identify! *END TW* They had my daughter crying in a corner, the employees at the st paul location only care about the paycheck. Nice when doing a tour and as soon as you leave your child there its like they treat them like a prisoner.. wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone find a better place that cares more about the kids then a payment place
Does anyone have any information about VIOP in WA? I’m doing an intake soon and wanted to ask about how willing they are to work with you at a lower level of care if your OP team recommends it, but the treatment complex might want a higher level?
I’m in their WA IOP now after stepping down from php. There is some willingness to work with you at a lower level of care, but if they don’t feel it’s the correct level, they will have convos with you and push a higher level of care to make sure your needs are getting met. Overall, they’re pretty flexible and willing to work with you. Lmk if you have any other questions!
does anyone know how good the program is for arfid? specifically in ohio for virtual iop
op here, i am currently in the program and i will write a review when i am finished.
so far, it is a big time commitment. groups are 12 hours a week, 1 hour individual therapy, 1 hour dietician, weekly nursing assessment appts (which are in person vitals, labs, blood sugar, and EKGs early on in the program; they told me eventually labs will be discontinued and vitals can be done virtually), and then unknown frequency for virtual medical appointments to review nursing assessment results.
Does the Emily Program take Medicare it says on here but idk if it’s accurate
I know the Emily Program in MN does. When I last talked to them they told me they only take it for the outpatient levels of care (IOP and IDP/PHP), but I’ve heard others say they were able to use it for residential in MN too, I’m not sure how that worked.
Thanks so much do they have housing
They do have housing for php!
The one in WA takes state insurance for all levels of care (I’m on it currently and here in php) but I think only WA state insurance such as Molina or Coordinated Care.
Oops I always mix up Medicare and Medicaid! I’ve found that TEP is really good with most insurances so I think it wouldn’t hurt to give them a call to ask! I’ve been in and out of treatment for years, and this php experience has been my best one yet!
I was wondering if anyone knew what the php waiting list looked like php in Cleveland for adult or young adult?
Does anyone have an updated review of The Emily Program St. Paul IOP or PHP (IDP)? My OP team is looking to send me to a HLOC and this is the only in-state program that makes sense for me. I had an intake with them and they have said PHP/IDP is my only option, refusing to let me do IOP. I can’t feasibly do that for another 2 months because of school and have basically begged them to let me start in IOP and then step up later if possible. They say I’m not medically stable enough but also didn’t do a medical exam and based it on a not very comprehensive intake. They keep saying some of my medical symptoms are too much to do IOP but those medical symptoms are in part because I have a chronic illness. Has anyone else had this experience and successfully convinced them to let you to go down a level of care?
Update if anyone cares is that The Emily Program would not let me do IOP which is annoying but I’m going ahead with their PHP, in part because their financial assistance was hugely helpful for me. Relevant information: I have a PPO BCBS of MA but it’s in-network with TEP in MN. I’m also a college student. I was able to submit my annual income (not my parents, even though my parents pay for some of my education and I’m on their insurance) which is $8000 (lmk if that’s okay to share, just trying to be helpful for others) and they gave me their highest reduction of 90%. I’m realising as I write this I have a lot of privilege that allowed me to access their financial assistance and it might be less helpful for others who might not be in my exact shoes. However, they didn’t tell me about financial assistance until I asked about it and it’s helping me access treatment without involving my parents which was a huge goal of mine as I’m 21 and my parents don’t think I have an eating disorder! (I wish! I fear I do!)
When were you there?
April 2022-July 2022
What level(s) of care did you do (e.g., inpatient, residential, PHP, IOP)?
PHP and IOP
If applicable: Is it wheelchair accessible?
The program was virtual due to COVID, so N/A
How many patients are there on average?
8
What genders does it treat?
All
If applicable: Do they support the gender identities of transgender and nonbinary people?
Yes
How often do you see a medical doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist (therapist), nutritionist, nurse, etc?
IOP: therapist 1x/week, dietician 1x/week
PHP: therapist 1x/week, dietician 1x/week, psychiatrist 1x/week, nurse (in person) 1x/week, PA 1x/week
What is the staff-to-patient ratio?
There would be one program therapist running groups and the therapist/dietician there for meals and snacks.
What sort of therapies are used (e.g., DBT, CBT, EMDR, ACT, exposure therapy, somatic experiencing, etc.)?
DBT, CBT, exposure therapy
Describe the average day:
What were meals like?
You planned all of your meals with your dietician and prepared it yourself because it was a virtual program but I’m pretty sure that for the in person program the clients were responsible for 2/3 meals or snacks (i.e. breakfast + snack and they would serve lunch)
What sorts of food were available or served?
See above
Did they supplement? How did that system work?
No, you are expected to complete 100% or you will be moved up to residential
What is the policy of not complying with meals?
See above
Are you able to eat vegetarian? Vegan?
Vegetarian not vegan
What privileges are allowed?
N/A
Does it work on a level system?
No
How do you earn privileges?
N/A
What sort of groups do they have?
DBT, CBT, process group, nutrition
What was your favorite group?
Nutrition
If applicable: Is the program trauma-informed?
Some of the therapists will work through trauma with you but the program itself is not
What did you like the most?
Nothing lol
What did you like the least?
No confidentiality between patient and parent whatsoever
Would you recommend this program?
No
What level of activity or exercise was allowed?
That was determined on a person-by-person basis
Do you get to know your weight?
Yes
If applicable: How fast is the weight gain process?
PHP was 2-4 pounds per week and IOP was 1-2 pounds per week
What was the average length of stay?
6-8 weeks
What was the average age range?
11-18
For adolescents: Did they provide time to do schoolwork or offer academic support?
Programming was outside of school hours
For PHP/IOP: What support do they provide outside of programming hours?
None
What kind of aftercare do they provide? Do they help you set up an outpatient treatment team?
You are expected to have an outpatient team already set up
Just as an FYI, due to some changes in how they place people in level of care, they are really willing to let you try a php level of care instead of referring directly to res (they said they’re experiencing people really not wanting to go to residential programs lately/long wait lists). They will of course step you up as needed, but after speaking in depth with their intake team and doctors, they seem to be very open to trialing php for clients which can be helpful to know!
I’ll leave a full review later, but I just wanted to say I was really impressed with the Seattle php. I’ve actually been here before as well as SO many other treatment centers, and this experience was different than the others and what I needed at this point of my recovery. They actually are pretty willing to let people start in php (the other centers I did intakes with recommended res) with the understanding that res could be an option if things weren’t going well.
I have very frequently been seen as someone who isn’t “motivated enough” or as “non-compliant,” and I’m usually put on contracts pretty quickly. This was not the case. My team viewed me in a different light than many providers, and there wasn’t the same expectation I put on myself to continue in that role. I felt like I was allowed to “start fresh.”
I was challenged in so many ways that I haven’t been before. The therapeutic meals are hard (you’re encouraged to process ED thoughts at meals instead of light convos/games), but I was in a place where that felt helpful. I actually started doing my own exposures and challenges and going beyond what my team was requiring of me because it felt like a safe place to do so.
My team was very flexible and willing to work with me, especially as a neurodivergent person. Being allowed to bring my own fidgets to the table was so helpful, and there were other accommodations made. I felt heard and listened to overall, and that felt so refreshing. I had a lot of autonomy (within reason lol), and I think it led me to really take some ownership of my recovery.
It’s not perfect, but no treatment center is. I’m really grateful for the experience and the growth that happened.
This is so wonderful to hear; thank you for sharing! It feels like most programs now are very cookie-cutter and don’t make allowances for people’s differences so I am grateful you’re having an actually individualized treatment experience. I hope this works for you!!
I haven’t forgotten about doing a full review; I’m still there and will get to it soon but it’s been a very restorative treatment stay after some experiences other places 🙂
Does anyone know the hours for Seattle PHP? Like is it in the morning or evening or can you choose? I am worried about work.
There are two AM programs 8-2 and an afternoon program 1-7 (but 9-3 on Fridays)
any recent reviews of the minnesota php?
Any recent reviews of Seattle’s php or iop? What are their hours? Do they treat co-occuring PTSD?
I will be starting the IDP PM track shortly. I was wondering if there is any info anyone who has recently been there has like a daily schedule, groups, meal and snack times or options. I appreciate any input! This is for the St. Paul location.
Does anyone have any review of the seattle php( possibly about their lodging too) do you bring your own food to php or how does it work. Los what are the hours like and did you find it helpful
Does the Emily Program take Medicare for IOP and PHP, or just for outpatient? I had heard from a few people over the years that they take Medicare for IOP and PHP, not just only outpatient, but when I called three years ago they only took Medicare for outpatient therapy. I saw on here someone mention the Emily program again for Medicare & PHP so I’m wondering if the admissions person I talked to gave me incorrect info.
I would suggest calling to find out if they take your specific Medicare plan. Every situation is different, and the information they gave you 3 years ago is very likely out of date at this point. I’m sure they’d be happy to help! Good luck!
This is secondhand info so may not be 100% accurate but from what I understand the Ohio locations take certain Ohio Medicare Advantage plans for all levels of care. I don’t know about the other locations or other plans.
Has anyone been to the Columbus residential for adolescents? Any reviews? They’re fairly new and so far I can’t find any sort of information or any reviews about the place.
This facility used to be owned by the non-profit, Center for Balanced Living. They treated ED’s at the community, individual outpatient, intensive outpatient, and partial hospitalization levels of care.
They offered a research protocol 5-day program for adults that provided caregiver education and support along side the patient. Think modified FBT, called NEW-FED-TR: Neurobiology Enhanced w/ Family ED Treatment.
They most recently transferred resources to Emily Programs and renovated the building further to accommodate residential services.
At first, much of the staff transitioned to Emily Programs but I haven’t kept up with the changes over the last year+.
Best of luck!
My daughter was here for about 3 months. She liked it here and her therapist was awesome! She did end up having to go to the Emily Program in North Carolina cause it’s a higher level of care. But she did benefit from her time in Columbus. In our experience, everyone was friendly and helpful.
Any recent reviews on the virtual IOP program in Pennsylvania? How do they deal with binge behaviors? Do they have the philosophy of health at every size?
When I reached out to them a few months ago to inquire, the rep who called me back said that you have to be physically in Ohio for virtual treatment (even though on the website it says they offer it in PA).
This is still true for IDP/PHP/IOP, so if you are in Western PA please be aware!
Does anyone have information about The Emily Program’s virtual PHP or IOP?
I do know that they require you to physically go to Ohio for virtual treatment. I’m in another state which they say they serve on their website, but when the admissions rep returned my call, she told me that if you want to do virtual IOP or virtual PHP, you must be “willing to relocate to Ohio for the duration of treatment,” which was obviously a dealbreaker for me.
This is the case for most treatment centers. Therapists’ licenses are state-specific so they can only practice in their states. If you’re in a different state, they cannot legally treat you. Sometimes therapists can get around this by saying they’re a “life coach” or some other non-licensed professional, but a treatment center can’t. It’s not the fault of the center, honestly.
That’s not the case in most states right now because of COVID. Almost all states (but not all of them) have extended reciprocity to professionals holding licenses in other states (like myself). I’ve also been trying to do virtual treatment and haven’t had a problem with the ones I’ve reached out to as long as they take my insurance, which indicates to me that this is an Emily program specific policy.
I did the virtual PHP and IOP. It takes a while to adjust to that much Zoom and it’s frustrating because you don’t get to know the other patients as well as with in person care, but it saved me. The facilitators were so good, there was a break every hour because of how much zoom it is, and there was the ability to ask for a breakout room if you needed one on one help at any point.
I went to the Ohio program. The staff was very young, most had just left graduate school with a Masters and had very limited experience with counseling or with managing eating disorders. I was very disappointed and sincerely regret taking the time and spending money on this program. They did not have any plan to transition me into a different level of care and I honestly think it is malpractice to have such young and inexperienced clinicians working unsupervised with patients who have a combination of eating disorders, substance abuse, and self harm behaviors. It was really a worthless experience. I wasted my time and money here.
I was a client in the integrated IOP program in summer 2019 at the St. Louis Park location. The integrated program is a combined group of IDP and IOP clients (IDP eating 2 meals + a snack at programming and IOP eating 1 meal)
While in programming, the group consisted of 3 IDP clients and 7 IOP (myself included). Meals included a therapist and dietitian. There was one dietitian for the group and three group therapists, who rotated in and out of groups and meals.
Overall, having a been a repeat client (IDP and IOP in 2017), TEP has changed quite a bit. First, the staff is VERY young, most in mid to late-20s, with just a few older staff members. The turnover is high and many providers have had little to no clinical experience in working with eating disorders.
In my integrated IOP group, for example, staff let group members run on tangents during group (making reference to the size of other client’s meal plans, talking about keeping food ‘rules,’ and other off-color topics). This would all be fine in small increments, but staff were poor at drawing boundaries and relied on clients to steer conversation away from ED-related topics.
Surprisingly, my group had a very active ‘group chat’ on GroupMe, which would also be fine, but they constantly processed the contents of their chat in group and made MANY mentions to inside jokes from within the chat. This was previously banned in groups for liability reasons and also uncomfortable, as not all clients were in the group chat!
My insurance was generous and gave me the freedom to take advantage of TEP’s groups, but they were mostly unhelpful. As someone in their late-20’s who is focused solely on my own recovery, the IOP group was not helpful and I ultimately discharged ‘ACA’ (against clinical advice).
TEP’s programming may work best for new clients or younger individuals, who are new to recovery and ED-specific therapy. For those older folks (ages ~25 and up), or those who are repeat clients, I don’t recommend the IOP or IDP programming.
When were you there: I was in St. Louis Park for the Intensive Day Program (IDP) from December-January 2017-2018
How many patients on average? About ten was the biggest I saw, but usually around 6-8
Does it treat both males and females? If so, is treatment separate or combined. I’m not sure, but there were only females when I was there.
How often do you see a medical doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist (therapist), nutritionist, etc? In IDP, you schedule your own appointments, so I met with my therapist twice weekly and the psychiatrist once weekly. They draw labs whenever they need to, and the nutritionists are there everyday and at most meals.
What is the staff ratio to patients? There were always two therapists in groups and at least two people at meals.
What sort of therapies are used? (DBT, CBT, EMDR) etc? They were really big on DBT! A lot of process otherwise.
Mostly, I found it to be a really positive experience. I had a ridiculous amount of trouble getting my insurance to cover treatment, and the staff worked with me the entire time. My individual therapist was incredible, and I’ve been able to keep seeing her as an outpatient. As with any place that’s bigger, there are always some people you like more than others, but there was a lot of flexibility and never any shortage of things to do. One thing I disliked was that it seemed pretty easy for the group to get negative; table behaviors and cheating on meal plans never really went addressed, and that was hard for me. I also know that the program was completely overhauled in the past couple of months, so I’m sure a lot has changed. Still, the providers were great overall. It wasn’t the very best facility I’ve ever been at, but it definitely wasn’t the worst either!
I did IOP at the Emily Program St. Paul location July and August 2017. The program was really inadequate. The program was Mon-Thurs 5pm-8pm. The schedule was group, dinner, and then group but the three hours there were pretty much a joke. I would not recommend the Emily Program to anyone other than maybe an adolescent with a very basic eating disorder. It’s not really a program you send a complicated or chronic case to. As someone who has been to a number of other facilities it doesn’t take long to see how basic the program is structured. The Emily Program (TEP) hires a lot of young staff and the quality of care is not good. The kids they hired to lead my IOP program were given a lot of responsibility without enough training. As a whole, TEP has gotten really big over the years and the quality of the program has really drained as they have expanded. Also, if you do IOP here, under their “new clinical model†they will drop your care if you do good in outpatient for a few months. Not only is treatment here poor, the care is very unstable. The program is super manipulative because it encourages relapse, by yanking away outpatient care when you don’t use symptoms for a few months. It’s not a program that’s going to give you time to address any deep or meaningful issues or a place to find lasting recovery.
The St. Paul IOP was super disappointing. It was staffed by a dietitian in her early to mid twenties, and three provisionally licensed therapists mostly in their twenties. The clinicians had little to no experience and really didn’t have the skill set to be leading a program of this intensity. We would go in and have a group that often involved reading aloud from a worksheet, then dinner for 60-90 minutes, and then have another group for whatever time there was left. Because the meals took so incredibly long, there usually wasn’t even time for the last group. The meals took so long because the young therapists leading the meals would tell us to stop and name our feelings in-between bites. All we did the entire meal was check in, so if you weren’t upset about the food when you started the meal, you definitely would have strong negative feelings about the food by the end of the meal. It was hard listening to everyone’s complaints about the food for an entire hour. I brought this up and they said that the Emily Program likes to do these “experiential therapeutic meals†and that’s just how they do things. They said “it might not help you, but it really helps other people.†I remember one night we had sub sandwiches and it took us 90 minutes to finish them. ONE 6†sub sandwich took 90 minutes. My food rituals increased just out of pure boredom for how long we had to sit at the table. The meals were not normal and I did not learn normal eating at all, if anything, I became more obsessed with food. I remember a girl saying “I don’t eat food cooked in oil and this food really greasy and disgusting†and the therapist praised her for sharing her feelings. Any other treatment center talk like that would not be allowed but TEP encourages this in these weird “experiential therapeutic mealsâ€. Zero normal conversation happened at the meals in IOP. The meals really reinforced that the disorder is truly only about the food. I think a large part of this was because the young therapists leading IOP didn’t have enough training and didn’t know what else to focus on. Some other things we did at the meals: we would name flavors, talk about ways to dunk Oreos, eat with our eyes closed, talk about how this food impacted childhood trauma, discuss the colors and textures of each food item, etc. People would try to have full on therapy sessions at the meal, because there was no time to process anything meaningful built into the program. The meals felt super uncontained, triggering, and somewhat out of control. The meals got weirder and weirder and I finally had to discharge myself from the program to protect my recovery. The program was increasing my obsessional thinking and I was adopting other people’s food judgments.
If there was anytime left for a group after these weird meals, the groups were more like time filler activities and not actual therapy. We would go outside and write letters by trees, use the “Art Cart†and design placemats with affirmations, we would paint rocks. It was kind of like the therapists found different Pinterest ideas and that’s what our groups were. Wednesday nights were the only night we could actually have a real group, Process Group. Usually however we only had about 20 minutes to process the entire week because we had just spent 90 minutes eating a sub sandwich. Because the meals took so long “process group†would always be shortened. People would only get for 2-3 minutes to process before the therapist yelled “times up†and then the next person could talk. It felt more like hearing timed testimony at a committee hearing, not a safe space to be able receive or give support. The therapists didn’t know how to lead the groups or manage the time at all. Don’t go here for IOP. And under their new clinical model they cut your outpatient team off too when you start to make any progress . I wouldn’t recommend going here for any treatment at all. Go to Water’s Edge or the Melrose Center. Those IOPs and PHPs are a lot stronger.
My daughter attended the Emily Program in Seattle, WA in summer of 2017. There were some helpful aspects to this program and almost despite the program, my daughter did start to make some progress once I said she wasn’t going to residential and that if this was the only option, we would seek help elsewhere. Hindsight is 20/20. This is a satellite program and The Emily Program is not replicating their original program in MN. This program is IOP and takes people from the age of 13-21 in the same group. This is a first concern because 21 year olds have a lot to share and 13 year olds don’t need to hear these details. Despite that the state of WA identifies the age of 13 as a legal adult, I disagree. And, one of the tenants of treatment of ED in adolescents is to include the family and the other is to focus very specifically on restoration by setting rough caloric intakes. This program does not want to include the parent, expressed frustration when I asked to be both included and when I asked questions about the treatment process. I believe that this site may be a feeder program for inpatient. My child ate two meals and one snack five days a week and one evening a week, families were allowed to join a meal and a session. And, the meal plans were set by the nutritionist who allowed a complete breakfast to be two pieces of toast with butter or two pop-tarts. Snacks that were approved included a cheese stick and a handful of popcorn or a plum the size of a silver dollar and a cheese stick.
One time, my child refused to eat chicken pot pie (not a food she had ever eaten) and the program sent her home for non-compliance.
She offered to eat a substitute options and they did not let her. In a six week period of time, my child did not make restoration gains. She was allowed to pick her own snack with approval and portions at meals were also approved by nutritionists, yet the program seemed to think that the issue surrounding restoration rested in my hands. Despite that in a weeks time, she ate only five breakfasts and two full days of meals with me. In the six weeks that we attended IOP, more than two thirds of the participants in the adolescent program were recommended for residential. Hence, my curiosity in this being a feeder to residential. I would recommend considering the original IOP program or residential program in MN, but strongly encourage everyone to stay clear of Seattle site. The staff lacked a desire to collaborate, appointments with doctors and therapists were often dropped without notification and much time was wasted waiting for staff to start the program in the morning or transitioning to and from sessions. On the billing note, I agree 100%, after we left the program, we received a threatening phone call about collections and had never received a bill.
My daughter attended Emily program for her eating disorder and the treatment was helpful and we learned a lot.
That said the billing department and communication in general is awful. Please beware because they seem to be out to make as much money from extra fees as possible. Even if a mistake is there fault they will not admit this and will charge you many fees. We were told we could not see my daughters therapist any longer because we didnt pay the bill and didnt respond to a certified letter demanding payment (some of the charges were in dispute). I found out about the certified letter from a second letter that came directly from them. I had never recieved the certified letter….it did arrive about a week later. They had no interest in working with us and did not take any steps to assist my family who was going through a diificult time dealing with eating disorder and other serious family health issues. I recommend that you beware and dilligent around payment if you choose to use this program.
I last did their day program in Jan. 2010 so things may have changed, but here is what a typical day was like:
11am: Check-in group
12pm: Lunch
1pm: Group (DBT, Skills, Relaxation, Art therapy, yoga, CBT, Music Therapy, nutrition)
2:30pm: Snack
3pm: Group (see above)
4pm: Group (see above)
5pm: Dinner
6pm: Check-out group
Wednesday was outing day. That means that you ate out for lunch and then did an activity. You returned to the building for dinner and check-out group. Friday was an early day with hours from 8am-3pm. You ate breakfast, morning snack, and lunch there. In addition to the day program hours, you met with an individual therapist and medical doctor weekly outside of program hours and saw a psychiatrist as needed. Everyone had the same dietician while in the program and you met with her at least once a week (but she was there doing meals/groups with you every day). The group size was typically 5-10 people (really varied). If you have more questions, feel free to ask. This information is all for the St. Louis Park site and again, may be dated. I haven’t ever done IOP so I can’t help you with that part.
OP PROGRAM:
The program itself I cannot say much except my dietician was very very sweet & I liked her a lot. However she didn’t do much at all to help me. She had no more suggestions than I had already received – a vague list of “what to eat”/food pyramid stuff you learn in 1st grade & a sheet to track my intake on. She wouldn’t give me a meal plan because she said I wasn’t “ready/willing to follow it” yet since I had trouble remembering & being organized enough to track my food intake because:
a.) I was undiagnosed ADHD at the time & have PTSD which both effected my ability to do simple daily tasks
b.) I was terrified of writing down what I did eat because I was ashamed to write any “bad foods” on it b/c of my ED-voice/shame & when I asked she or my therapists about it they didn’t want to address it or didn’t seem to know how to handle the issue, so that I could work through it & better record my intake without shame when I did remember.
It was very loosely structured altogether and while not extremely detrimental, certainly didn’t help me any. It was just kind of a waste of time. I didn’t get anything out of it but *A LOT OF FINANCIAL HASSLE!*
(PLEASE READ ON for those looking into treatment @ The Emily Program – regarding finances/insurance!)
FINANCES/INSURANCE:
I was furious w/the billing department. I transferred from their St. Paul (old ’06 clinic which is now closed/moved) to their St. Louis Park clinic w/a gap of over a year in between. When I went to my first appt. at the SLP clinic I gave them my insurance info, made sure my dietician was covered by my insurance company, etc. No problems at all with any of it…while I was there…
However, months after I stopped seeing my dietician in SLP I started getting bills for hundreds of dollars. I contacted the billing dept & they insisted I was not covered under any insurance & there was a 50% discount agreement which I had signed when I was at the St. Paul clinic due to lack of insurance. This is true & I paid the whole 2 appts. I had there out of pocket w/no outstanding balance in 2006.
I asked why they hadn’t billed my new insurance which I’d given them @ my 1st appt @ the SLP clinic in 2007. They insisted that I didn’t give it to them.
After several months of phone contact w/these people demanding money I didn’t owe them b/c they failed to bill my insurance they finally realized that I wasn’t backing down & produced & sent me, as requested, the agreement made @ the St. Paul clinic (which had expired long ago) and FINALLY verified that I had in fact submitted my new insurance when I switched clinics – insurance which would have covered ALL of the bills for St. Louis Park HAD THEY BEEN SUBMITTED.
I called my insurance company but they said b/c the bills were so old they couldn’t retro pay them & the EP insisted I must pay them out of pocket even though it was their fail that they did not submit my bills NOR make any effort to contact me about it during my time there when we could have easily cleared it up.
One day after they once again insisted I was responsible for these bills I had enough of it & told them,
“Look, I know that you are praying off of the fact that I am young & have an eating disorder, & the stereotype that many w/EDs are “weak/shy/don’t want to rock the boat.” Thus, I & those like me are often seen as easy targets because you don’t think we will stand up for ourselves & will just cave under your demeaning manner so you can take advantage of us to get your money. However, you chose the wrong person because I’m not meek like you think I am & I will not let you take advantage of me this way. Perhaps it was a mistake in billing. Or perhaps no one personally contacted me regarding this issue when I was there for so many months when it could have been cleared up, simply because they saw one more young person w/o a parent/guardian w/them (I can also much younger than I am) so therefore you thought you could take advantage of me, but it’s not right & it’s not going to happen. You produce something that says I legally am responsible for these bills based upon my ‘lack of insurance’ @ the time of my treatment @ SLP & proof that the agreement from St. Paul is still effective in spite of producing proof that I gave you my new insurance & I will take full financial responsibility (even though I have no money…) but otherwise I am not paying & you will have to deal w/the consequences of treating me & this situation poorly.”
I got a call back the next day saying that “We’ve discussed this matter & we have decided we are not going to make you responsible for anything on the balance.” I demanded they send me a copy of my $0.00 balance statement as well as a letter saying that I was not responsible for the previous amount listed, which they did. Good for them.
It was lucky for them that they did clear up the matter because I had decided that if they were going to continue to take advantage of me & harass me I was going straight to Fox or other crappy news station who is hungry for these sorts of stories & reporting how unethical this so-called treatment center was.
I did not since they decided to finally admit their mistake & take responsibility, but I feel a duty still to report this to others seeking treatment there. You may very well get taken advantage of financially, particularly if you are young/have little or no money or insurance/on government assistance/have not parent or guardian directly taking care of your bills & treatment. Parents seem to make them take accountability.
I hope no one else has to deal with this problem, or worse. I was only in OP so my bill wasn’t nearly as high as if I’d been in an IOP or IP. I have had another experience where I have had to stand up for myself & say things to providers as I did here as well because I feel like this is such a rampant problem – insurance/financial being the main priority of providers @ ED clinics/treatment centers instead of treating the patient that needs help!
I had to do this for a different & much more serious reason at Methodist Hospital EDI now known as “The Melrose Institute” in St. Louis Park this past year. I can write about that in another thread. That is if this one doesn’t get deleted for my brutal honesty. It’s is 100% true though & I don’t want others to go through the same things & I’m sure many of you have already, and worse. I will post my other experience which was a much bigger issue when I have more time.
I hope this was helpful & I urge everyone to stand up for their rights as human beings to get the treatment & respect they deserve w/o discrimination. You may not be able to change the entire system, but hopefully you can make it better for yourself to get the help you need in a just manner; and possibly make a dent so that it will help others down the line too. That is my sole purpose for writing this – to help others. It has nothing to do with my eating disorder or “willfulness toward recovery,” etc. It’s about finding recovery and good treatment for myself & others who need it. Alright, I’m done. Peace. ♥
All I can say is that the Emily Program ROCKS in every way, shape, and form. You just have to get involved. Tell your individual therapist what you want to do while you are striving for recovery. They can help you get involved in so many different kinds of groups. There is IOP – which is night or day time…There is IDP – which is like the Anna Westin House but you go home at night. Or there is the Anna Westin House and I have tons of friends there right now – and they love it and don’t want to leave. The staff truly cares. They are amazing. They are so helpful in all situations from food – therapy – insurance – groups. So happy I am there. I heard for a therapist to get hired there or any staff member – its SUPER hard. So, the staff are all amazing!
I was just wondering if someone could comment on their IOP and their day program?? What is a typical day like?
I last did their day program in Jan. 2010 so things may have changed, but here is what a typical day was like:
11am: Check-in group
12pm: Lunch
1pm: Group (DBT, Skills, Relaxation, Art therapy, yoga, CBT, Music Therapy, nutrition)
2:30pm: Snack
3pm: Group (see above)
4pm: Group (see above)
5pm: Dinner
6pm: Check-out group
Wednesday was outing day. That means that you ate out for lunch and then did an activity. You returned to the building for dinner and check-out group. Friday was an early day with hours from 8am-3pm. You ate breakfast, morning snack, and lunch there. In addition to the day program hours, you met with an individual therapist and medical doctor weekly outside of program hours and saw a psychiatrist as needed. Everyone had the same dietician while in the program and you met with her at least once a week (but she was there doing meals/groups with you every day). The group size was typically 5-10 people (really varied). If you have more questions, feel free to ask. This information is all for the St. Louis Park site and again, may be dated. I haven’t ever done IOP so I can’t help you with that part.
Hi Everyone!
I’m hoping to get into the IOP in Stillwater and have an assessment/appointment in St.Paul and then another appointment in Stillwater. My first appointment is a couple weeks before the appointment in Stillwater. I was just wondering if they make their own recommendations for treatment before I am able to go to the IOP? For example, if they recommend a higher level of care, can I still do the IOP?
I’m in graduate school and have four summer courses. I believe I’m at a good place for IOP but if they want me to go into a higher level of care, will they still treat me if I decline to do the IOP.
Also, if anyone has been in the IOP and/or IDP any information would be great! Oh yea, and do they have IP or is it just Residential (Anna Westin House?) If so, where and how is the IP program?
THANKS!! 🙂
I haven’t been in the Emily Program myself, but a number of friends have so I’ll try to answer some of your questions as best I can. 🙂
– They do make their own recommendations for care, but unless you are medically unstable or going to be unable to eat the meals in IOP they will most likely let you do IOP. They want to work with you to help you recover! Just tell them why you think IOP is better for you and advocate for yourself.
– Right now they don’t have IP, just residential. I know they were trying to start an IP program, but the building didn’t work out. They work with Melrose, and refer patients who need IP to Melrose for their inpatient program.
Hope that helps, at least a little!
Hi Rachel!
Yes, this information was definitely helpful. I really appreciate your response! Having more information makes things a little easier!
Thanks again! 🙂