Eating Disorder Treatment in Maine

If you’re looking for eating disorder treatment centers in Maine, you’re not alone. Eating disorders like bulimia nervosa (BN), anorexia nervosa (AN), and binge eating disorder (BED) can affect anyone at any age and often impact entire families.

Whether you’re from a rural area or a more populated city, Maine has several treatment centers ready to help you and your loved ones find a path to recovery.

Types of Eating Disorder Treatment in Maine

All eating disorders are serious mental health conditions and should be treated by a professional. However, not all eating disorders impact everyone in the same way.

Sometimes, people struggle with different eating disorder symptoms or symptoms of varying severity. To cater to these different situations, an eating disorder treatment center will use different levels of care to ensure a patient’s specific needs are being met.

In Maine, patients can receive treatment at all levels of care.

Virtual Options for Maine Eating Disorder Treatment Centers

Virtual care is a type of outpatient care that takes place remotely. One of the best things about virtual care is that it allows people with only a few local options to access treatment. It can also open up opportunities for those with challenges around transportation or mobility, those with social anxiety issues that may interfere with in-person care, or simply those who would prefer to participate in treatment from home.

Licensed professionals meet with patients via websites, apps, or another telehealth platform and work on creating treatment plans, building coping skills, and setting goals, much like they would in in-person outpatient treatment. While the practice is still relatively new, studies show that virtual eating disorder care can be just as effective as in-person treatment in most cases. [3]

You might benefit from virtual care if:

• You live in a remote area
• You don’t have transportation
• You are stable in your recovery but need a bit of support
• You want to access a professional outside of your area

Inpatient Care

Inpatient care is the most intensive level of care for eating disorders, where patients live full-time at a facility so they can undergo 24-hour medical care and monitoring.

Inpatient hospitalization is for the most serious cases. Generally, people are admitted to this type of care when they’re undergoing a mental or physical health crisis or their lives are otherwise in immediate danger. [1] The overall goal of inpatient hospitalization is to help a patient achieve medical stabilization.

Once patients are considered stable enough to leave, they can be transferred to residential care. This version of inpatient treatment is targeted more toward long-term recovery goals, with patients generally staying for at least 30 days to work on the mental and physical health aspects of their disorder. [2]

Treatment may involve everything from individual and group therapy sessions to meal monitoring, medical check-ins, and medication recommendations when needed. Environments are more comfortable and homelike, though patients are usually under regular medical surveillance.

You might benefit from inpatient care if you:

• Have immediate medical or psychiatric concerns
• Are dangerously underweight
• Do not have a healthy support system
• Suffer from a co-occurring disorder
• Have experienced suicidal ideology
• Haven’t found success in outpatient treatment

Partial Hospitalization (Day Programs)

Partial hospitalization programs (PHPs) are another intensive form of eating disorder care, though they don’t involve living at a treatment facility.

Often called day programs, since patients return home at the end of the day, these programs can still be lengthy, lasting up to 6 days a week for 10 hours a day or sometimes longer. [2]

Day programs often mimic the schedule of an inpatient care facility, offering many of the same types of care and therapy. If a patient is stepping down from residential care, they may even keep the same treatment team, depending on the program.

You might benefit from partial hospitalization if:

• An eating disorder impairs your daily functioning, but you’re not in any immediate medical danger
• You would benefit from daily monitoring
• You’re unable to stop engaging in disordered eating habits
• You’re suffering from a psychiatric disorder but are not experiencing life-threatening symptoms

Outpatient Care in Maine

Outpatient care is the least intensive form of eating disorder treatment in Maine, and so it is usually the first or last level of care a patient will experience.

Generally, the program includes regular meetings with a therapist, dietitian, or another treatment team member to stay accountable to eating disorder recovery and look out for potential triggers or setbacks. However, since a patient is spending more time away from treatment than at treatment, their eating disorder symptoms must be mostly under control at this point.

Those who still want or need additional support can use an intensive outpatient program [IOP]. These are a hybrid form of care, often involving treatment a few days a week, for a few hours at a time. IOPs are ideal for those ready to start incorporating more social responsibilities like work or school into their schedule and recovery journey.

You might benefit from outpatient care if:

• You don’t feel a need for daily monitoring
• You’re able to function in social settings
• You have strong support systems in place
• You have shown progress in an inpatient setting
• You caught your symptoms early 

Additional Eating Disorder Resources in Maine

Below, you’ll find some of Maine’s top eating disorder resources.

• Kaleidoscope is an outpatient center in Yarmouth, Maine, specializing in helping people normalize their relationship with food. Their team is composed of both mental health professionals and dietitians.
• SilverCloud is an online app available to all University of Maine System students for free. It’s full of self-help guides and symptom-management exercises.
• 211 Maine is a service directory that allows you to search for multiple resources all over Maine. You can search for a specific need or keyword. Additionally, Maine residents can connect with a specialist by phone by dialing 211 or texting their zip code to 898-211.
• The Eating Disorders Association of Maine is a collection of providers dedicated to helping people find services in their area. You can search for medical providers, mental health providers, registered dietitians, or treatment centers. 

Eating Disorder Support Groups in Maine

Support groups can help people manage symptoms, create a sense of community, and expand their support network. Below is a list of eating disorder support groups in Maine.

• Food Addicts in Recovery is a support group for people who have a food addiction. Meetings are held in person, online, or over the phone.
• NAMI is an agency dedicated to mental health issues. They hold several peer-led support groups each month. 
• Northern Light Acadia Hospital recently created a virtual eating disorder treatment program in Maine to help people of all ages who struggle with an eating disorder. Their services are 100% virtual. One of the things that makes this program unique is that it offers services to family members and patients.

What to Look for in Maine Eating Disorder Treatment Centers

If you’re seeking treatment for an eating disorder, you might have noticed that not all treatment centers are the same.

Professionals draw from numerous interventions and models when working with patients, and knowing what to look for could help you find the perfect treatment center for you or your loved one.

Finding Help for an Eating Disorder in Maine

Asking for help can feel intimidating, but there are plenty of options to look for eating disorder help in Maine.

Your primary care physician or therapist is a great place to start. These professionals may be able to help you secure an official diagnosis or better understand what your next steps should be.

A number of eating disorder hotlines can also offer assistance. These programs are generally free and run anonymously, allowing callers to ask sensitive questions and receive honest and confidential answers.

But no matter where you look, the most important thing is looking. With the right help, you can be on the road to a happier and healthier future.