Eating Recovery Center (ERC) is a national treatment center with a number of locations across the country. This page is for their Baltimore, Maryland location.
ERC provides all levels of care across their many locations, from inpatient, residential, PHP, IOP, transitional living, and virtual treatment. They are unique for offering every level of care, and are known for their intense specialty track called BETR that treats Binge Eating Disorder separately from the main ED track.
Some ERC locations also have a separate PHP and residential treatment program specifically for mood, anxiety, and trauma through their partner treatment center, Pathlight Mood & Anxiety Center.
Eating Recovery Center Maryland has multiple locations in Baltimore and one in Bethesda. ERC also offers Maryland-based virtual IOP treatment.
Eating Recovery Center (ERC) Baltimore offers Residential, PHP, IOP, and outpatient to adults, adolescents, and children. Lodging is offered for PHP patients across the street in an extended stay hotel, with financial aid for those who need it. They also have a treatment program called Pathlight Mood & Anxiety Center on the same Baltimore campus that provides multiple levels of mental health care for people without primary ED diagnoses.
ERC Baltimore started as a partnership between ERC and the Center for Eating Disorders (CED). CED has been led by Dr. Harry Brandt and Dr. Steven Crawford for over 30 years and used to be located at Sheppard Pratt. ERC Baltimore opened in January 2020 with PHP and IOP. In February 2022 they added a residential treatment program a few blocks away.
ERC recently also opened an outpatient location in Bethesda, Maryland. ERC Bethesda offers PHP and IOP for children, adolescents, and adults. They work with the ERC Baltimore locations for people who need residential.
Any reviews?? You can check out the FAQ and Guidelines for suggested questions for reviewing. Thank you!
Any reviews on ERC PHP in Bethesda, MD?
staff to patient-staffing has gotten a lot better normally two MCs per unit and two bhts and two nurses
What sort of therapies are used (e.g., DBT, CBT, EMDR, ACT, exposure therapy, somatic experiencing, etc.)? DBT, CBT, ACT, CPT, exposure, music and art
Also to note they have increased outside time, you get 3-4 15-30 min outside breaks a day and can vape smooke just enjoy outside etc. but they will not allow you to go if you are on acute food refusal protoocl
Does erc really take Medicare it’s listed on here
I know they were working on it, you might want to call and ask, but from what I know they currently do not in MD
Hi I’m looking into treatment options and was considering erc Baltimore. I was wondering whether anyone there can let me know how the current milieu is. whether it is recovery focused as a whole, or struggling more.
I’m in the adult res unit at ERC in Hunt Valley/Baltimore right now. The majority of the milieu is very much recovery oriented. A lot of patients outwardly struggle with restriction and it can very hard to complete at meals when no one else at the table is completing. The BHTs don’t really redirect or offer meal support, even when patients are clearly using behaviors. It’s kind of defeating because the staff will just walk around on their phones during meals and snacks. There are some milieu coordinators (MCs) who are fantastic and offer really great support and insight. Some BHTs are also super great. It can be a hit or miss with the MCs and BHTs. A lot of the staff does care though and you can tell they want to help and support you. If you have any other questions, please let me know!
I just discharged from ERC Baltimore beginning of March 2025 (adding on to Anon’s post below) I did not rewrite everything because most of what Anon said is still accurate.
There is only 1 adult unit right now and they are accepting up to 24 clients so it is really crowded when it is full.
They are changing food service providers on March 15th company wide so Sodexo is no longer the food provider.They use complete cookies as a supplement option rather than probars.
They were pretty liberal with phone use but technically those are still the phone hours. We also got phone time 12:30-1pm now.
I experienced a Milleu that was very much struggling and the norm was restriction. I was very motivated so I did okay but it was a hard environment. The BHT’s were less than helpful except one or two. There were some MC’s that were somewhat helpful in the meal room but overall the meal support was lacking. The average length of stay if you complete Res and don’t leave early seemed to be close to 6-8 weeks with outliers on both ends while I was there.
Right now the Milleu is skewed younger (this changes all the time) but the average age when I was there was 18-22 with about 5-6 over 30 and the rest in their 20’s.
My take: I would say this program in its current state would be good for someone coming in highly motivated and willing to be accountable for their behaviors and advocate for their needs. This is more like IP than res with the benefit of passes which is exactly what I needed. The experience is also dependent on the team you get I was very lucky with my team. I would avoid ERC Baltimore if you have severe food allergies. I saw multiple people being given their allergins. This might get better now that they are moving away from Sodexo. If I needed to go back to treatment I would go back to this program because it was able to meet my very specific goals. I have been through multiple rounds of treatment and my team really was willing to work with me and what I wanted out of this treatment stay.
I would not recommend this program in its current state to someone easily influenced by others behaviors or someone who needs intense meal coaching.
Happy to answer any questions
Thank you so much for this!! I’m really glad to hear they are getting rid of Sodexo. I did Pathlight PHP there Summer 2022 and then again Summer 2023. We had the same caterers as ERC, as ERC and Pathlight are literally right next door to each other at Baltimore. My first time there the food was INCREDIBLE. The food from the original catering company was a mixture of restaurant style options and family deli style options and home cooking style options, and there were maybe only two or three things total in the entire rotation that were mediocre, and nothing that was bad. In between my first and second time they switched to Sodexo, and I was honestly astounded by how completely different the food was. That time it was like a mixture of cafeteria style foods and hospital style foods and bland mass produced style foods. It was such a bummer. Hopefully they’ll go back to whoever they used before.
Here now if anyone has questions
I’d love to talk if you’re willing. My email is wheretooo@gmail.com
Kat, would you mind putting your questions here so that all can benefit from the answers? that would be sooooooo helpful.
I am happy to answer questions on EDTR but don’t usually go off the forum. Feel free to post whatever questions you have.
How strictly do they monitor bathroom time?
It is a community style bathroom so there are multiple showers and toilets and sinks in the middle. If you mean in terms of checks you can close the door to the stall but you have to have flush checks and you have to count if it’s right after a meal. Showers are stalls and you have an assigned shower time. There is always a staff in the bathroom anytime clients are in there.
There is no way to be in the bathroom without a staff present.
are you in php? i’m inpatient rn and looking to plan for after i step down to residential and am looking for a php.
I am in Res, but I have heard good things about PHP.
Are you able to do a review of PHP at Bethesda for adults? Anyone with recent info? Thanks! Kelly
I did not attend the Bethesda PHP or the Baltimore PHP, only res/IP
Highly recommend* the Pro ts are nice
they don’t do RO-DBT like other ERC locations btw
have You been to erc res? If so I have some questions! My email is jenna12s@yahoo.com
*TW*
how quick are they to tube? is it based on just meal completion or meal completion + supplement completion? (other than if you’re unstable, ofc)
[second question redacted*]
tysm for any info!!!
*admin note: after careful consideration, the second question has been redacted due to the chance that it may trigger others who read it to engage in new ED behaviors in treatment
The fastestness of how they tube is very very dependent on the patient. If you are consistently completing supplements they definitely will not. But I have personally been there and been tubed upon admitting before starting meals and been there and not been tubed at all. In most situations they will give you 3-7 days to do a decent amount of meal plan before talking about the tube but obviously can depend on medical complications.
If you were there recently will you do a full review?
staff to patient-they def hae some issues with staffing they tried to have one PROT and two BHCs on the main unit plus a nurse
What sort of therapies are used (e.g., DBT, CBT, EMDR, ACT, exposure therapy, somatic experiencing, etc.)? DBT, CBT, ACT, CPT, exposure, music and art
Also to note they have increased outside time, you get 3-4 15-30 min outside breaks a day and can vape smooke just enjoy outside etc. but they will not allow you to go if you are on acute food refusal protoocl
Also to note they are very flexible w visitors if they are beneficial to your recovery I had a friend whose parents lived near by and came and brought her breakfast or lunch and ate w her multiple times a week and my mom couldn’t come at designated times so they would allow her to come at different times or extend visiting for her to eat meals w me. These are all things you have to know to ask for though cos they won’t just advertise it to everyone but if they see it’s helpful they will keep doing it and will also do incentives like if you meet goals your therpaist will bring you Starbucks or if you are stable take you to Starbucks
I’m about to be admitted to the Baltimore (Hunt Valley/Cockeysville) adult res this upcoming week. Any information/thoughts/experience? Any and all will be appreciated!
I went to ERC’s WA location for adult res like 5 ish years ago, so I know a little bit ab ERC res, but I assume there will definitely be some differences.
Thank you, friends 🙂
I’m not sure if you are there yet, but I may be admitting in the next few weeks. Can you let me know how it is? I don’t know much about the specific program as I don’t know anyone who has been there
Hi, I have heard recent feedback from people in the community that ERC Maryland residential has gone down hill. Does anyone have any recent experience with this location?
ERC is a gigantic nope for my daughter. It seems that the patients are all miserable and the ones who have been there longer really bully the new ones and no staff intervene. Also, my daughter was so hungry the first week bc they don’t let new people choose their menus until they’ve been there one week and she was given a cup of soup for dinner while she watched others get full pasta meals, bread, and a brownie. There are many patients who have alot of other addictions and behaviors. On my daughter’s first day, someone befriended her and they walked to a local store and the ‘friend’ challenged her to steal from the store. They make them eat everything (including extra ranch dressing even if it is way too much for the small salad).One day their snack was a bag of candy at 10 am and another day it was ice cream at 10 am (yes, even for the diabetic patient). If you are there over a holiday, plan on the staff being miserable and punitive because they have to work. We’re both really disappointed. It feels like if you are looking to ACQUIRE an ED you should go there. Otherwise, steer clear.
Any recent reviews of bethesda php?
asking again 🙂
my daughter is in her 4th week of adolescent PHP at ERC in Bethesda. it has been a huge disappointment now that we see how rigidly they demand patients/parents follow the FBT principles. We are researching other options to get her out of the ERC program asap.
The program therapists generally seem to be too young and inexperienced to be effective mentors and they frequently watch TV/movies and skip groups throughout the week-weekend. Very disappointing to see how the actual therapy is minimized for these teens; the sole focus seems to be on meal or supplement completion. My daughter really likes the kids she is with and some of the program therapists (because they are “cool” and they don’t “make them do the deep stuff” and let them “watch TV and chill”). Needless to say, we aren’t happy knowing the fee is around $900 per day and they are doing more “Disney and chill” than actual group processing.
staff to patient ratio is pretty high its 5:1
What sort of therapies are used (e.g., DBT, CBT, EMDR, ACT, exposure therapy, somatic experiencing, etc.)? DBT, CBT, ACT, CPT, exposure, music and art
Thank you thank you THANK YOU trev!!
UPDATE: they are now doing outings for phase 3 every friday they rotate between a movie and a restaurant you get to be out for 4 hours with a staff member
hi I was wondering if erc baltimore residential is quick to tube I have a lot of trauma around that and wantt to reallly have the opportunity to avoid that but i know some places jump on it before you really can.
it really depends on your history and medical stability. for some they got tubed in the first few days while others had like a week or two of warnings before they decided to do the tube. if you’re progressing and increasing completion, they won’t push the tube even if you aren’t gaining weight (in my experience). in comparison to other ERCs, this one will not cert you or involuntarily make you get a tube. i saw one or two people get an ultimatum that they had to agree to a tube or they’d be discharged and transferred to a different ERC, but that was really rare!
ERC Maryland Updates:
Oh wow. Does anyone know if Dr C and/or Dr B are still there?
Right!! From what I can gather, they both are still there. Dr. B is now titled Regional Medical Director, MidAtlantic at Eating Recovery Center and Pathlight Mood & Anxiety Center. Dr. C is titled Medical Director at Eating Recovery Center Maryland. The new CMO is titled Medical Director at Eating Recovery Center and Pathlight Mood & Anxiety Center Baltimore.
Location: ERC Baltimore PHP/IOP (Child & Adolescent)
i was there for about 20 weeks. i never got past phase one and ended up being kicked out when sent to the hospital. i had lost so weight and the meal plan was so large it made me so sick one of my arteries collapsed. i was sent to the hospital and they did not let me return to partial hospitalization afterwards. i was given no prep to be home and not set up with any outpatient things. erc did not work for me. my parents were made to believe i was lying abt the uncontrollable throwing up bc of the artery and that i was making myself. i felt very lsot and trapped. i was only 12 at the time. our main care taker was moved randomly without saying goodbye to us at one point and we were put with a woman who had never had to lead a group. during meals we weren’t helped and it affected all of us bc she didn’t know what she was doing. i think the way erc is very strictly run works for some but it backfired on me.
Question on ERC Bethesda IOP for adolescents – do they discuss weight with patients and/or openly weigh them versus blind weight? D13AN and just got her away from the scale and I’m not looking to open that chapter back up again.
Great question! Weights at ERC Bethesda are always blind and are never discussed with or told to patients.
Thank you – do you know if they disclose calories? I am looking at ERC and CFD in either Alexandria, VA or Columbia, MD as well, but I understand they list calories with food and that is very triggering to my D.
Not sure about ERC but they definitely do not list calories at CFD.
in the cockeysville [Baltimore] facillity when i was in iop and php i was always shown my weight as an exposure and even sent home with a growth chart.
They did weight exposures for you at age 12?? Oh Mattingly, I’m so sorry you had to go through that. You’re a kid, you deserve to be protected from the pain of your eating disorder, not to be further exposed/desensitized to it. Thank you for sharing your experience here on EDTR, both in this comment and in your review, you are very brave to do so. I think you’ll help save a lot of other kids from having to go through what you did.
This is not to say anything for or against open weights, but FBT is very strict about only doing open weights and ERC Baltimore officially uses FBT.
Thank you AJ! I thought they used modified FBT, thanks for clarifying.
this is really interesting to know, because I did many years of FBT, in a few different programs, and I was never to know my weight. I guess that policy has changed. From what I’ve seen in online groups, most parents prefer their children not know.
The policy has always been strict about open weights. The programs that you used probably used a modified version of FBT. Most PHP and IOP programs do not use pure FBT. Most of the FBT programs including UCSD, Children’s Colorado, Equip, etc do not use manualized FBT.
Very good to know! I was at Denver Children’s and ucsd so that explains it. I would like to be more educated so I appreciate your information 🙂
FYI the Baltimore/Hunt Valley Residential, PHP and IOP locations have separate Kosher menus as well as separate Kosher write-in meals for clients who need to stay Kosher. The Bethesda PHP and IOP may have them as well, I’m not sure. The Kosher menus are printed on a different color paper than the regular menus so that they are easy to tell apart. Regular menus are printed on white paper, the Kosher ones are I think green or blue. I don’t know any further info about how the food is prepared/transported, or what is on the menu, but thought I’d share!
Also, we still don’t have any reviews for any ERC Maryland locations, for any non-virtual level of care, even though they have been open over three years now. If anyone who has been there can take one for the team and post one (doesn’t have to be full, anything helps!), I would be extremely grateful. Or if you know someone who has been there, if you can reach out to them and see if they can share one, that would be wonderful!
im being admitted at the baltimore res program tomorrow so i’ll review in abt a month
Interested in any recent reviews for IOP at the Bethesda location, especially the arfid track. I don’t think PHP is feasible for me, but I’m uncertain about doing IOP for arfid since I do have coexisting medical conditions and I heard there’s no dedicated medical team for IOP.
I had asked a program therapist who works at both ERC Bethesda PHP and ERC Pathlight Baltimore PHP about whether Bethesda uses the same catering company as Baltimore (I did Pathlight Baltimore), and she said that because Bethesda is a much smaller program than Baltimore, rather than a rotating menu every day with multiple options to choose between for every meal like in Baltimore, at Bethesda everyone usually eats the same thing at meals (with modifications for vegetarians, Kosher, and allergies). Bethesda get meals catered from local restaurants rather a large catering company like Baltimore so it is more unique/local. I’m not sure whether this has an effect on their treatment for ARFID/ARFID protocol, but I’d have to imagine Bethesda staff would be less able to individually tailor meals for clients with ARFID just due to having less variety on site, so you would eat a wide variety of foods/meals from the start rather than being able to slowly add foods. Something to bring up with them and ask about before admitting!
Thanks for the reply, Mary! I’m actually starting residential next week, then I hope to step down to this php so I can be at home. Hopefully I’ll be at a stage where I can eat more variety then.
Could anyone review ERC Bethesda’s PHP for adults?
Has anyone been to the adult residential?
I just had the most amazing thing happen to me! I was told a couple of days ago that my new insurance would not cover my therapy anymore. I did not know what to do, I could not afford the copay. I have attended both inpatient PHP and virtual IOP with ERC. My therapist and psychologist are with ERC. This was devastating news to me, and especially my recovery.
The amazing ladies in the office, *** especially, helped me to find a way to be able to continue my treatment! I am absolutely floored by the care, concern, and love these ladies put into their jobs! I AM TRULY, TRULY GRATEFUL FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART! This is an amazing place and I am so glad to be a patient!
10/10 highly recommend!
So do they offer scholarships? What exactly did they do for you?
Here is a sample week of lunch menus for ERC Baltimore (no I don’t have breakfast or dinner menus ?):
Lunch Menus for One Week
Monday
Entrees:
Fruit: Apple slices, seasonal fruit
Vegetables: Cucumber slices, carrot sticks
Sides: Caprese salad, peanut butter cookie
Tuesday:
Starch: Corn muffin, Fritos
Vegetables: Carrot sticks, green bean & tomato salad
Fruit: Mango, seasonal fruit
Sides: Fritos, Corn muffin w/ butter, Gatorade
Wednesday:
Vegetables: Snap peas, carrots
Fruit: Grapes, seasonal fruit
Sides: Tortilla chips w/ guacamole, chocolate chip cookie
Thursday:
Vegetables: Garden salad, baked beans
Fruit: Diced peaches, seasonal fruit
Sides: Potato salad, M&Ms
Friday:
Vegetables: Caesar salad with dressing, vegetable soup
Fruit: Grapes, seasonal fruit
Sides: Garlic bread, cheesecake
Saturday:
Vegetables: Carrot sticks (ranch dip option)
Fruit: Cranberry juice, applesauce
Sides: Tater tots, brownie, Sprite
Sunday:
Entrees:
Vegetables: Bell pepper strips with hummus; Cucumber, parsley & tomato salad
Fruit: Seasonal fruit, Diced pears
Sides: Snickers bar, Sun chips
Every day:
Dairy: 2% milk, Soy milk (plain or vanilla), Whole milk, Chocolate milk, Yogurt (strawberry or vanilla), Greek yogurt (strawberry or vanilla)
Sub meals: PB sandwich, cheese quesadilla, vegetable quesadilla, veggie burger
I hope this helps someone out!
How often are you able to do sub meals & have you ever seen them allow people to write in turkey a sandwich versus a PB sandwich?? Also, how do you like the program + staff in general ?? Very curious about this location & if you’d recommend it or not….feedback appreciated !! Thanks for sharing sample menus <3
*admin note: trigger warning for brief mentions of a teen’s orthorexia triggers, in the context of finding their daughter the right treatment center
Trying to get anyones input on ERC in Bethesda’s PHP for my 14 yo teen daughter. Looking at their program V Center for Discovery in Alexandria. She has “orthorexia” with “some ARFID, fueled by anxiety, etc. She became vegan over covid and now “presents’ as anorexic. Her orthorexia is controlling her and she needs to make her food, etc all from whole foods, clean pure foods vegan etc and this is why she is too underweight. She does not have dysmorphia, etc. We want to try maximum PHP for her and hope she will not need to do residential. Also, regardless as to whether she does ERC or Center for Discovery the ERC Pathlight Mood loction in Hunt Valley, MD has good reviews for their adult program. Wondering re their teen program because that could be life changing as she gains more weight to get her anxiety under control. I am going to talk to ERC intake people about the program, but I believe you need to do one or the other even if you are in the Hunt Valley Res setting. It’s interesting because the res ERC in Hunt Valley looks like an office building??? Thanks for ANY info. And yes I know my daughter will need to be vegetarian at either location. I’m so worried though as I DON’t want them to use a tube on here as she is incentivized to eat she just has not been eating “enough”
Hi! I was at the ERC Pathlight Baltimore (Hunt Valley) location in the Pathlight Mood & Anxiety (MAP) PHP adult program. I also did ERC in Chicago a few years ago (adult ED program residential) so also have a general idea about how ED treatment at ERC works. I can help some with general info because in Maryland at least ERC and Pathlight share a lot of resources and in Hunt Valley are next door to each other and even have the same food options! The Bethesda location is the newest location in Maryland, and they only have the Eating Recovery Center and no Pathlight yet, so I don’t know much about it, aside from that it is a smaller program than the one in Hunt Valley (aka Baltimore). I live in DC so would have done the Bethesda location if there was a Pathlight there, but since there wasn’t I went to Hunt Valley. For ERC, generally teens will do the PHP that is closest to them, and if they needed residential would go to the ERC residential that is closest to them. So for your daughter she would probably do the Bethesda PHP/IOP, and if she ended up needing residential would go to Hunt Valley for residential then discharge back to Bethesda for PHP or IOP.
But no matter what, ERC doesn’t do tubes in PHP or IOP, so you don’t have to worry about that! They do sometimes give patients tubes in residential, but most clients don’t get one. As long as she is trying she should be fine! They only give tubes to teens who still won’t finish their meal plan and who also won’t have the supplements (like Ensure, Boost, protein shake, protein bar, etc) for uncompleted food even after being there awhile. But I’m almost positive that for ARFID they would only give a tube if the person needed it medically, because ERC has a separate ARFID protocol for food/meal plans that is different than the other ED protocol for food/meal plans. It isn’t “punitive” for not completing, they do it more exposure based like for OCD and introduce foods gradually. I know at the Chicago location at least they even have a completely different menu for ARFID! I would assume they do in Maryland too, since Maryland ERC specializes in ARFID/OCD/sensory things.
But yeah all ERC residential programs are in buildings that look more like office buildings or hotels or medical clinics from the outside, while most of the Center for Discovery programs across the country are in houses. Center for Discovery residential locations usually have around 6 patients per location, so they are smaller and a more home-like setting, located in houses and having more family-style meals. For adolescent treatment at CFD that means that if you have a group of teens that is mostly really motivated or at least mostly want to get better/recover, it’s a great environment for a teen and they all work hard together. Ambivalent kids will be motivated by the people who want to recover, and will usually end up wanting to recovery and working hard too. But if most of the teens have been forced there by parents and they don’t want to be there or they want to stay sick/relapse so won’t put effort in, it’s a really negative environment for a teen and they all keep each other down. ERC locations will have like 16 patients on a unit, so they are in bigger buildings with more group rooms and with more of a dining hall/rec room feel to meals. So then on the other hand, with ERC there are a lot more teens, so at any given time you’ll have a mix of teens who want to recover, teens who don’t want to recover, and teens who are unsure/ambivalent. So depending on your mindset and who you hang out with, and whether you do the therapy and go to groups, the environment isn’t as important.
At the Hunt Valley location, Pathlight PHP/IOP is in the same building as ERC PHP/IOP, and then the ERC residential is across the street from PHP/IOP. The pictures on their website are a little confusing, especially because the addresses are so similar to each other, but the PHP/IOP programs are in a building that used to be an office building so that is what it looks like from the outside. The residential programs are in a separate building which looks completely different from the outside, and before ERC bought the space and renovated it to become a residential treatment center, the building used to be a hotel, so that is what it looks like from the outside. The whole program (ED Res, ED PHP, ED IOP, MAP PHP) share the same caterers since they are all right next to each other, so the food options are the same across programs. (The extended stay hotel where parents can stay and where adult PHP/IOP patients can lodge is right on the other side of the residential building, so if she did end up having to do residential you could stay at the hotel if you wanted to any nights to be closer to her.)
I hope this helps some! If you have more questions let me know, and I will try my best to answer what I can!
Does ERC Maryland accept NG tubes?
At residential they do
Any updates on adult residential at ERC Baltimore?
This is probably rambling, so apologies in advance! I just discharged from PHP at Pathlight Mood & Anxiety Center at the ERC Pathlight in Baltimore, Maryland, and had an incredible experience. I’ve seen people asking about programs that treat trauma and OCD recently. So I wanted to post something as soon as I discharged so that more people will know it exists! I will write a full review (using the review template) soon. But feel free to ask any questions. As someone who has spent years trying to find a place that treats those two things, but that will also take someone with an eating disorder history or who isn’t in full remission, I know how difficult it is to find something, let alone something that takes insurance. They don’t take Medicare or Medicaid, but they will take people who have both Medicare and a private insurance. That’s what I have. They also take Tricare, which is especially good because it is the DC area. And they have a LOT of financial assistance. I’m low income and I didn’t pay a penny for treatment.
The Baltimore location of Pathlight opened about 10 months ago. The main location of Pathlight is in Chicago. ERC and Pathlight are partner treatment centers. Pathlight is in the same building as ERC, but aside from the parking lot out front, and the psychiatrist office hallway, they don’t share any space and are completely different programs. Pathlight is is a mood & anxiety program (MAP) with 7-day PHP and 3-day IOP. They specialize in trauma, OCD/panic disorder, and ADHD. Most people while I was there had either trauma or an anxiety disorder (OCD, panic disorder, agoraphobia, generalized anxiety disorder). A lot of us had both. Always at least half of us had ADHD lol. But because they are associated with ERC, they admit/treat people who have EDs, or who have just left ED treatment, or who have an eating disorder history do their program as long as your primary presenting concern currently is mental health (depression, SI, NSSI, anxiety, trauma, OCD, agoraphobia, panic disorder, bipolar, etc). I have not found to be the case at basically any other treatment program anywhere else in the country. For so many other mood/trauma/OCD programs that I’ve looked at, the second that you say eating disorder they tell you that they can’t take you. And, as someone who has been in and out of recovery for years, and hasn’t needed a higher level of care for my eating disorder in years, the idea of having to do a full eating disorder treatment program again just in order to qualify for a mental health treatment program was extremely burdensome and usually not possible. Not to mention how triggering it would be. But I would say about 1/3-1/2 of the Pathlight patients were either recovering or in recovery from eating disorders. I see an MD and a psychiatrist who understand EDs, but aside from that haven’t done ED treatment in years. One person had come from an ERC res, and one had done ERC res a few years ago. A couple had BED and had never done ED treatment before, but their primary issue now was mental health related. The age range while I was there by the way was 18 – 55, but generally the ages skewed older than in ED programs. I would say on average there would be one person under 20, a couple in their 20’s, a couple in their 30’s, and 2-3 people in their 40s or 50s. A lot of people were parents. I’m in my 30’s and loved having a large age range. Anyway Pathlight is a program that is 7 days a week for 4-6 weeks. It’s intense. If you don’t live nearby, there is an extended stay hotel a block away that you can stay at with either reduced fees or for free. I stayed at the hotel for four weeks for free. You have lunch and an afternoon snack at Pathlight. The hotel has breakfast, and then Pathlight let me bring some food from programming back to the hotel each day for snacks. You’re on your own for dinner. There are a TON of grocery stores and other kinds of stores within a .5 mile radius. If you do live nearby, obviously you do breakfast and dinner on your own. You also have to be medically& bevavioraly stable ED-wise – not be using a lot of ED symptoms, not needing weight restoration, not needing medical stabilization, and not need meal/behavioral intervention for their ED. Essentially you have the equivalent of outpatient ED treatment with PHP mood/anxiety treatment. You can see the ERC dietitian, and then will have vitals done twice a week, weight once or twice a week, bloodwork/EKG as needed, and your therapist and psychiatrist have knowledge of the interplay of EDs and mental health issues that may cause you to keep relapsing into your ED, but other than that you don’t do anything on the ED side. I didn’t even see the dietitian, because I had been in ED remission for so long. Oh actually, there is a Mood & Food group once a week that she leads. And you do see a dietitian assistant for menu planning. You don’t interact with the ED patients at all – the only ones I could even see were ones who were out smoking lol, but they are on the other side of the building (which I really appreciated, because I get triggered easily by being around people in eating disorder treatment). But another great thing was that they were very accommodating with me because I deal with a lot of trauma dissociation, and they were flexible in letting me finish my meal later if I was having a trauma response or panic attack or just really out of it for mental health reasons.
What do you mean by a private insurance plan in addition to Medicare? Does that mean having traditional Medicare plus something from the healthcare marketplace? Or a Medicare advantage plan like United/Aetna/BCBS?
Does Pathlight only bill the private plan and not Medicare? Or is Medicare used for anything? What kinds of private plans are accepted?
Wonder if it’s possible to get a secondary private plan to use for treatment and cancel it as soon as you discharge…has anyone done that? I’m sure the insurance company would require having it for a few months before treatment would be covered.
I’m in ED recovery/remission but just did a phone assessment for the Pathlight location in Maryland (Pathlight is ERC’s separate mood/anxiety/trauma program), and got a bit of info about the Maryland ERC treatment while talking to them. It’s not much, but since the ERC website has almost no practical info about their Maryland locations lol, hopefully this will be at least a little helpful! I’m starting PHP at Pathlight Baltimore in a few days. It is on the same campus at ERC Baltimore, so I’ll try to add some more info at least about what the building is like and stuff once I start.
– ERC Maryland is the first ERC on the east coast!
– You can be vegetarian but not vegan.
– They can accommodate most disabilities – they will ask during the assessment what (if any) accommodations you need. Also it is wheelchair accessible and has elevators. I asked because I have a disability and can’t use stairs.
– PHP is 7 days a week.
– Virtual IOP is 3 days a week I believe? Not sure about in-person IOP. It might also be 3 days? The assessment person said it used to be more but with COVID they went down to less days.
– ERC Baltimore (technically located in Hunts Valley, MD) has adult ED residential, PHP and IOP, as well as adolescent (ages 10-17) ED residential, PHP and IOP. They are completely separate, no interaction. FYI Baltimore is also where the Pathlight location is, which has mood/anxiety/trauma residential, PHP and IOP for adults (maybe adolescent too?). You can be in ED recovery or remission and do the Pathlight program, as long as your primary diagnoses/issues are currently mental health related rather than ED. That is how I am able to do it.
– ERC Bethesda location is the newest Maryland location, and it has ED IOP and ED PHP for adults as well as adolescents. The programs are completely separate. (Because it is their newest location they don’t have a separate Pathlight MH track.)
– If you can’t start within 2 weeks, they will wait until you can before you can do the phone assessment.
– The phone assessment is 60-90 minutes.
ERC Baltimore doesn’t have supported living apartments yet for patients in PHP. However they have discounted rates at the Marriott hotel across the street for people in PHP who don’t live close by or who live in the area but would have a long commute. You can also stay there the night before admission to either Res or PHP if you are coming from out of the area, so that you can just walk across the street to admit in the morning. The discounted rate is around $90/night for a studio there. But they also have income-based financial assistance for the hotel lodging, which can cover up to 100% of the hotel cost for the duration of treatment. I am low income and was just approved for 100% financial assistance for the hotel as well as gas/Lyft/Uber travel costs.
Hi, any recent reviews of the adult residential in Baltimore? Thanks!
At the Bethesda location are adults and adolescents together or seperated?
They are separated!
Not Baltimore related but has anyone been to php at the bethesda location?
Also interested in a Bethesda review!
has anyone been to ERC Maryland residential program? its so new that there isnt a section on this website for them, but curious if anyone knows anything?
* cross-posted from client general forum by admin
Eating Recovery Center (ERC) Baltimore will be opening a residential treatment center in February 2022, on the same campus as their PHP/IOP.
Interesting. Do you have any details? I’ve been to CED at Sheppard Pratt a few times when it was still run by those two doctors who started the ERC I think. I wonder what it will be like.
I haven’t heard of any details yet, only that it will be on the same campus as the ERC Baltimore day program, and across the campus from Pathlight’s Mood & Anxiety Day Program. I’ll update as soon as I find out more! I’m interested as well, particularly, like you said, because those doctors ran the inpatient program at Sheppard Pratt so have a basis of knowledge for running intensive treatment, have decades of experience with 24/7 care and decades of proven commitment to ED treatment and research – so I wonder if they will do a better job running an ERC residential program than is done at most of ERC’s other outpost residential locations around the country, which are mostly currently run by people who have none of those.
hey rachel, any updates on this? their baltimore res program?
Hi Rachel –
My child was just admitted to this ERC outpost residential program yesterday. I will ask them to review after a bit.
Did you ever find out more about the leadership or have any other recent info about this program specifically?
Thanks!
Any updated reviews of the in-person PHP? I’d so appreciate it!
Only did the virtual IOP program here. Was extremely disorganized with little to no support. Basically spent the entire time alone despite being in a pod with a group of other people. Meals were painfully silent. The therapists didn’t seem to care about being supportive or available. I was even wondering if some of them were still students, as they didn’t seem to understand the basics of CBT, DBT, ACT, etc. The dietitian was non-existent for the most part. No meal plan given to me for the longest time. I was basically told to eat whatever I had until they had the time for me. The doctor was meh at best. All of the patients were texting each other through the entire 3 hour IOP session. They were making suggestions on how to get away with ED behaviors while on video. People are faking their weights, eating diet foods, not completing the meals, etc. Staff is totally unaware of this going on. Staff seems very bored with their own program. Waste of time and money. I ended up leaving and going to another program for more support- a program that is organized and seems to care about the patient and not just the money coming in.
What are the hours of the virtual Iop? You had said you were in a “pod”? Were you in your own home but in a virtual chat? Did you have individual appointments in the program too? Thanks!
All is virtual. Hours are 11-2 or 5-8. I participated from my home as well as that of another patient at times. We just sat across from each other so that the team didn’t see us together. We were not the only ones doing this.. In my opinion people are leaving sicker than when they entered. I have done the IOP when it was CED at Sheppard Pratt. Was fairly well organized and run (very repetitive tho). I am surprised they are still operating at this low level of care.
Did ERC Maryland virtual PHP and it was so unorganized. Most of the groups were the same unhelpful worksheets every week and it’s very easy to get away with using behaviors during meals/snacks if you’re not particularly motivated… some group leaders are definitely not haes* oriented and it makes some groups very uncomfortable. One staff member in particular was not liked by any of the clients and for good reason. She spoke to us and treated us like children even though it was an adult group and her way of “helping” was just reminding us to “use our skills”. Waste of time. After virtual treatment with ERC for months I’m stepping up to in person in the new year.
*HAES stands for Health at Every Size
Which program did you go to? Were you successful? Thx
I went to CFD in Greenwich (for the second time!) and it was even worse than my experience at ERC. Recurved horrible, traumatizing and invalidating treatment.