Eating disorders like anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), and binge eating disorder (BED) are complex and potentially dangerous mental health disorders. These conditions don’t go away on their own and often worsen with time, making it vital to find the proper treatment.
If you or a loved one are struggling with an eating disorder and live in Tennessee, there are several treatment centers and other options that can help you.
Types of Eating Disorder Treatment in Tennessee
Eating disorders are as individual as the person experiencing them, including their severity level. The levels of care for these conditions are much the same, with varying treatment programs incorporating varying intensity levels to suit each individual’s needs.
In Tennessee, there is eating disorder treatment available for each level of care.
Virtual/Telehealth
Virtual therapy programs are a relatively new but rapidly growing type of care for the treatment of a variety of mental health conditions, including eating disorders.
This type of care is especially beneficial for people who don’t live near in-person providers, have challenges with transportation or mobility, or have schedules that make regular visits difficult. But virtual care can be effective for all kinds of people, including those who simply want to recover from the comfort of their own homes.
And while it’s still a relatively new development, studies have already shown that online therapy can be just as helpful as in-person care in most cases. However, this may not be true of all situations, especially if someone has severe eating disorder symptoms or a complicating co-occurring disorder.
Virtual Programs in Tennessee
Among the slew of new companies putting together virtual eating disorder programs, Within Health offers one of the most comprehensive and convenient options. Whether you live in Tennessee or anywhere else, you can access your treatment team, who will help design a treatment program specific to your needs. You’ll have access to your schedule via a handy app, complete all therapy sessions online, submit medical information remotely, and even have meals delivered to your home.
Residential Treatment
Residential treatment is generally the most intensive type of eating disorder treatment, requiring patients to live full-time at a treatment facility.
During their stay, patients have access to 24-hour medical care and usually follow rigorous schedules, including everything from individual therapy sessions to group therapy, meal monitoring, medication evaluations, and regular medical check-ins, among other types of care or recreation.
The length of a patient’s stay in these centers depends on several factors, including the severity of symptoms, the progress toward recovery, and insurance considerations, among others, but generally, a course of treatment can last anywhere from several weeks to several months.
Residential treatment is usually recommended for those with severe eating disorder symptoms or those who have unstable or unsafe home environments or could otherwise benefit from living at a full-time treatment center.
Residential/Inpatient Treatment in Tennessee
Tennessee has several available residential treatment center options for eating disorders, including:
- Fairhaven Treatment Center: Located in Cordova, TN, this treatment center focuses on treating both adolescent and adult women. They work toward understanding the underlying causes of eating disorders, be it trauma, PTSD, or attachment disorder. They offer personalized care for those dealing with BED, BN, AN, and other eating disorders.
- Integrative Life Center: This women’s residential program is in Nashville, TN. There are two separate homes located on a 25-acre wooded property. There’s a residential program for men as well, which is located on a hilltop in a 5,100-square-foot home. These homes are staffed 24 hours a day, and patients receive support with meals, clinical treatment plans, medical care, and transportation for off-site services.
- East Tennessee Behavioral Health: This facility offers inpatient eating disorder treatment for individuals with eating disorders. Their doors are open to adolescents, adults, and senior adults.
- Focus Treatment Centers: There are two locations for this treatment center — one in Chattanooga, TN, and the other in Knoxville, TN. They offer a home-like setting for patients and provide medical and psychiatric monitoring and 24-hour nursing care. Patients receive individualized health plans that include counseling, experiential therapies, and gold-standard treatment approaches.
Partial Hospitalization Programs
Partial hospitalization programs (PHPs) are the middle ground for treating eating disorders, offering intensive care during the day while allowing the patient to return home at night (and usually throughout the weekend).
Many of the same types of care practiced in residential programs continue throughout PHP treatment, including individualized therapy sessions, nutritional counseling, and continued medical check-ins. If a patient is transferring from a residential treatment, they may even be able to maintain the same treatment team.
One of the biggest benefits of a PHP is allowing a patient the autonomy to start making some food-based decisions and practice new coping mechanisms away from an eating disorder treatment center. But the programs are designed to offer plenty of care and support, with a schedule that can stretch anywhere from 8 hours a day up to 5 days a week, or sometimes more. (1)
Partial Hospitalization Programs in Tennessee
Like their robust offerings for residential treatment, Tennessee also has a number of PHPs available for people struggling with eating disorders of all types, including:
- Integrative Life Center: This partial hospitalization program includes extended care post-residential treatment. There are two homes on campus divided by gender, and patients are given access to their own vehicles and electronics.
- Rogers Behavioral Health: Located in Nashville, TN, this treatment group offers PHP care up to six hours a day, five days a week. They serve children and adolescents with eating disorders and offer supervised meals, nutritional education, and medical monitoring, among other types of care.
- Selah House: The partial hospitalization program at Selah is ideal for those looking to prevent hospitalization and those looking for a bridge between inpatient treatment and aftercare. The program is suitable for people of all genders over 18. They focus on developing self-management skills that allow patients to thrive during long-term recovery.
Outpatient Treatment
Outpatient treatment is often the first or last level of care someone in eating disorder recovery will go through. That’s because it’s the least intensive form of care, generally consisting of a regular meeting with a therapist, psychologist, doctor, or nutritional counselor.
The primary purpose of outpatient treatment is to help patients remain active and aware in their recovery journey, monitor for potential triggers, and stay accountable to their healing.
For patients stepping down from higher levels of care, an intensive outpatient program (IOP) may be helpful. These programs are somewhere between a PHP and standard outpatient care, with therapy taking place more frequently or for longer periods than outpatient care, but not as frequently as a PHP.
Outpatient Treatment Programs in Tennessee
Once again, Tennessee offers a number of treatment options at this level of care, including programs through:
- Vanderbilt Adolescent and Young Adult Health: Located in Nashville, this group offers outpatient treatment for adolescents and young adults between the ages of 12 and 22. They offer primary care and specialized training for patients dealing with eating disorders and other conditions.
- Integrative Life Center: This group specializes in intensive outpatient care, including a 12-week IOP program with one individual session per week. Additionally, patients are required to participate in five outside meetings per week.
- Selah House
- Fairhaven Outpatient Center
Additional Eating Disorder Resources in Tennessee
Aside from the many programs aimed specifically at eating disorder recovery, Tennessee has additional resources for those looking for help with eating disorder recovery.
Renewed Support is an organization located in Nashville, TN. They offer free, professional support to those seeking more information about recovery from eating disorders. They can confidentially refer patients to the appropriate professionals to support them in their quest for wellness.
There are also eating disorder support groups available to Tennessee residents. Eating Disorders Anonymous is an all-volunteer-led group that offers chat, online, and in-person meetings. Patients even have the opportunity to start new meetings in their location.
What to Look for in an Eating Disorder Treatment Center/Program in Tennessee
Determining the best level of care for you or your loved one is an important step toward finding the right eating disorder treatment program. But it’s not the only consideration worth keeping in mind.
Finding a treatment center that aligns with your needs, beliefs, and budget is crucial to recovery. When surveying your options, make sure to think about these additional factors.
While a patchwork of national and state laws are in place to ensure treatment facilities of all sorts are staffed by competent professionals, it’s a good idea to look for additional accreditation. This means a program has been examined by industry experts and has been determined to meet or surpass industry standards.
Accreditations by The Joint Commission or CARF International are a great sign in a Tennessee treatment center.
The specific type of therapy or therapies you receive for eating disorder treatment will likely be determined by your treatment team, though it may be helpful to check into whether a treatment center you’re interested in specializes in any particular type of treatment.
This can also be crucial when it comes to insurance coverage. Most health insurance companies will only cover treatments considered “evidence-based” or generally accepted as effective after rounds of clinical testing.
Some of the most popular evidence-based therapies for eating disorders include:
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
- Family therapy
- Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT)
If you or your loved one struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), that can be another consideration when looking at types of therapy, as many centers will integrate trauma-based care into their practices.
Thankfully, many eating disorder treatment centers offer high-quality care. But this can make it difficult to choose between similarly qualified institutions.
For additional help choosing the right program, the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) recommends asking yourself or the treatment center these questions: (3)
- Does this center accept my insurance? If not, do they offer financial assistance?
- How long has the center been operating?
- What is the overall treatment philosophy of the center?
- Does the center have any religious affiliations, and if so, what role do they play in treatment?
- What security is in place at this facility?
- If my loved one does not make progress, what will happen?
- Can family members participate in any aspect of treatment?
- How are target weights and other health-related goals determined?
Finding Help for an Eating Disorder in Tennessee
If you or a loved one are struggling with an eating disorder, it’s imperative to seek out help.
Your primary care physician, therapist, or another trusted medical professional is a great place to start. These experts can provide you with an official eating disorder diagnosis and help you determine the best next steps or choose the best treatment program for you.
If none of the above options appeal to you or you’d rather not have these sensitive discussions face-to-face, some eating disorder hotlines can also help provide you with resources and additional information.
But regardless of where you look for help, the most important step is following through with it. It’s often the first step on a journey toward a healthier and happier future.
Resources
- Taulli T. (2022, September 1). How a Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) Works for Mental Health Treatment. GoodRx. Accessed August 2023.
- Sarkis S. (2021, February 14). Online Therapy Just As Effective As In-Person Sessions. Forbes. Accessed August 2023.
- Selecting a Treatment Center for Your Loved One. (n.d.). National Eating Disorders Association. Accessed August 2023.