updates on what the SF location is like?

FYI Lotus is now in-network with Anthem BlueCross

• When were you there? I was at Lotus 3 times. Late 2021, early 2022, & late 2022. About 7 months all together.
• What level(s) of care did you do (e.g., inpatient, residential, PHP, IOP)? I did PHP (7,6,& 5 days a week at different times).
• If applicable: Is it wheelchair accessible? No, there are many stairs.
• How many patients are there on average? About 7 patients.
• Does it treat both males and females? If so, is treatment separate or combined? Yes and treatment is combined.
• If applicable: Do they support the gender identities of transgender and nonbinary people? Yes, Lotus is very accepting of different gender identities and everyone is good about respecting pronouns.
• How often do you see a medical doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist (therapist), nutritionist, etc? You are responsible for getting your own medical clearance from an outside doctor once a week (at least for PHP I’m not sure about IOP). You meet with a therapist twice a week, one of these will be a family session if that’s something you want to do or if you’re a minor it’s required I believe. You meet with a dietitian once a week. Lotus has their own psychiatrist you meet with once a week (this isn’t included for IOP).
• What is the staff-to-patient ratio? There’s usually about 5 staff members around during the day, but sometimes less or more depending on what’s on the schedule and if there are individual sessions happening.
• What sort of therapies are used (e.g., DBT, CBT, EMDR, etc.)? Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), acceptance & commitment therapy (ACT), internal family systems (IFS), art therapy, somatic therapy, movement therapy, and mindfulness.

Describe the average day:

• What sorts of food were available or served? At Lotus you bring all your own food! It’s super unique for a treatment center but can be a big plus because you can eat the food you like and don’t have to worry about convincing people you genuinely dislike a certain food. Downsides are it’s up to you to spend your own money on food, to choose to challenge fear foods, and to make sure the meals and snacks you bring fit into your meal plan (big learning curve for some people).
• What were meals like? You can bring a lunchbox everyday with your food but most people have stuff in the fridge and freezer that they can put together for a meal, and some do a mix of both. You get about 15 minutes to prep meals and 10 minutes to prep snacks and there are microwaves and a toaster oven you can use. Everyone sits together (sometimes split into two rooms if there’s too many people for one table) and you get 30 minutes to eat meals and 15 minutes to eat snack. There’s conversation and table games.
• Did they supplement? How did that system work? If you complete 50% or less of a meal, you are given two supplements (ensure or ensure plus depending on your meal plan, you can also ask your dietitian to allow you a different supplement like boost, kate farms, or a cliff bar, etc). If you complete 50% or more of a meal but don’t finish you get one supplement. If you don’t complete a snack you get one supplement. You also may be asked to supplement if the meal or snack you bring doesn’t satisfy your meal plan or if you report restricting outside of program on the daily check in forms.
• What is the policy of not complying with meals? At Lotus you are always expected to finish everything you plate or supplement for it. If you do not do this you get something called a “non-negotiable.” If you get three of these you will have a meeting with your team and the clinical director to figure out what’s not going right and if you need a higher level of care. In this way Lotus is very strict and there’s not a lot of room for bad days or mistakes.
• Are you able to eat vegetarian? Yes you can really eat anyway you want since you bring your own food, as long as it satisfies your meal plan (certain amounts of starch, protein, fat, and fruit/veggie).
• What privileges are allowed? You can get privileges to use the bathroom without a staff member. If you’re doing really well you can get 80/20 which means you’re allowed to only complete 80% of your meal if you get full or if you’re still hungry after finishing everything you can add 20% more.
• Does it work on a level system? No
• How do you earn privileges? Finishing your meals and snacks or supplementing, show mental progress and motivation, and gain weight if nutritional restoration is a part of your treatment.
• What was your favorite group? I really enjoyed IFS process group as that therapy modality isn’t used in many places and can be really helpful. Nutrition education groups were also really fun.
• What did you like the most? The clients! A few of my best friends I met at Lotus. The clients I was there with still have an active group chat where we support each other. There are also a few really incredible and special staff members. If you’re reading this thank you BH, JB, and MW<3 (censored names for privacy)
• What did you like the least? The clinical director while I was there was awful. She kicked so many people (including me twice) out for struggling without follow up care, resources, or referrals. This didn’t only happen for eating disorder struggles but if you have other mental health stuff going on or deal with addiction. Some of the staff there have not been trained well or said insensitive/triggering things.
• Would you recommend this program? If you are ready to recover and very self motivated then yes Lotus is a great program.
• What level of activity or exercise was allowed? Most people are on ADL (activities of daily living) only when they arrive which just means no exercising. This is determined by a lot of factors though and you work with your dietitian to introduce exercise back into your life. Sometimes we would go on short, slow walks during program or stretch in a movement group
• Do you get to know your weight? You’re weighed twice a week in program and they don’t let you know. They also encourage you to do blind weighs at the doctors when you go for medical clearance but it can’t be enforced
• How fast is the weight gain process? Totally differs for everyone and not all people in recovery need to weight restore! If you do need to gain weight though you’ll probably be put on a higher meal plan to help with that process.
• What was the average length of stay? You have to commit to 30 days but most people are there for about 2-7 months maybe?
• What was the average age range? I think it’s 14 and up. I’ve been there with clients as old as 80! There tends to always be a few teenagers and young adults there though.
• What is the electronics policy (e.g., cell phones, iPods, Kindles, laptops, tablets)? No electronics at all you have to give your phone in when you arrive each day.
• 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? They are supposed to help set up an outpatient team but this doesn’t always happen if you’re kicked out. If you graduate though you’ll probably get that.
• If applicable: How is the program responding to COVID? (Less patients, virtual programming, no visitors, masks, social distancing, etc) Masks are required all day unless we’re eating and you must be vaccinated or getting weekly COVID tests. Sometimes we go online and do virtual programming around times where people might be travelling like holidays to prevent infections.

Any reviews on the mermaid house pleaseee? 🙂