What does an eating disorder intensive outpatient program (IOP) look like? An IOP provides more structure and support than traditional weekly therapy. This is while allowing you to continue many of your normal daily responsibilities.
Contact Well Behavioral Health’s admissions team to learn whether an Eating Disorder IOP may be appropriate for your needs.
What is an Eating Disorder IOP?
An eating disorder IOP is a structured treatment program. It’s for people who need more support than traditional outpatient care can provide. However, they don’t require the level of monitoring provided by residential or inpatient treatment.
Eating disorder IOPs often combine several types of care. This can include therapy, nutrition support, meal support, and skills development. The schedule and services vary by program and personal needs.
Well Behavioral Health’s Eating Disorder IOP provides virtual care for adults age 18 and older. The program focuses on disordered eating behaviors, body image concerns, emotional challenges, and developing a healthier relationship with food and self.
What Happens Before Starting an Eating Disorder IOP?
Treatment often begins with an assessment. This helps to understand your needs and determine what level and type of care may be best.
At Well Behavioral Health, the intake process helps create a personalized care plan. Depending on your circumstances, recommendations may include outpatient therapy, nutrition counseling, coaching, or the Eating Disorder IOP.
Your symptoms, goals, current support system, and level of functioning can all help inform the appropriate approach.
What Happens During an Eating Disorder IOP?
An Eating Disorder IOP may include several different components. It goes beyond focusing on just one part of an eating disorder. Treatment can address eating behaviors, nutrition, thoughts and emotions, relationships, coping skills, and other factors that may affect recovery.
Therapy Groups
Group therapy provides an opportunity to learn therapeutic skills and explore patterns. People can connect with others who are working through similar challenges.
Well Behavioral Health uses evidence-based therapeutic approaches. These are for eating disorder treatment, including modalities such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), exposure and response prevention (ERP), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), depending on individual needs.
Meal Support
Meal support is an important part of many eating disorder IOPs. Structured meal support can provide an opportunity to practice skills and work through difficult thoughts, emotions, or behaviors related to eating.
Well Behavioral Health’s Eating Disorder IOP includes meal support as part of its treatment model.
Nutrition Counseling
Nutrition counseling provides another important part of eating disorder treatment.
At Well Behavioral Health, registered dietitians can provide personalized nutrition counseling. They’re designed around each person’s nutritional needs. The broader outpatient program also offers nutrition counseling using a Health at Every Size (HAES) approach. There’s personalized meal planning, food exposure exercises, and support for developing a healthier relationship with food.
Personalized Treatment Planning
Your treatment shouldn’t be a one-size-fits-all process.
Well Behavioral Health includes a weekly treatment planning session. It’s focused on creating and maintaining a personalized care plan around your recovery goals. A dedicated team of providers oversees care. They can adjust the approach as your needs change.
Case Management and Care Coordination
Eating disorder recovery can involve multiple providers. Coordinating those services can be important when you already have an outpatient therapist, physician, dietitian, or other healthcare professional.
Well Behavioral Health provides intensive case management. We can collaborate with outside providers to help coordinate treatment.
How Much Time Does an Eating Disorder IOP Take?
An IOP requires a greater time commitment than traditional outpatient therapy. However, it often allows you to maintain more of your normal routine than residential or inpatient treatment.
The length and schedule of treatment can vary. It’s based on personal needs and progress. Well Behavioral Health describes its IOP as short-term, focused support, with treatment commonly lasting approximately 4 to 12 weeks.
Your treatment team can help determine how long IOP-level support is appropriate for you.
Can You Continue Working or Going to School During IOP?
One benefit of an IOP is that treatment occurs alongside many normal daily activities.
Well Behavioral Health’s virtual IOP offers morning and evening scheduling options. This can make it easier to incorporate treatment around work, school, family, and other responsibilities.
However, an eating disorder can affect people differently. Your treatment team can help determine whether your current responsibilities and level of functioning are compatible with IOP care.
What Happens After an Eating Disorder IOP?
IOP isn’t necessarily the end of treatment.
As symptoms become more manageable and you develop greater confidence using recovery skills, your care may transition to a less intensive level of support.
Well Behavioral Health offers individualized step-down planning that can incorporate:
- Individual therapy
- Outpatient nutrition counseling
- 1:1 coaching
- Meal support coaching
- Skills coaching
This allows support to continue after the more structured IOP phase.
Is an Eating Disorder IOP Right for Everyone?
An IOP isn’t appropriate for every situation.
In general, eating disorder IOPs are intended for people who are medically and psychiatrically stable. They can participate without the level of daily monitoring required in more intensive settings. NEDA notes that eating disorder IOP care may be appropriate when a person is medically stable, doesn’t require daily medical monitoring, and can continue functioning in typical social, educational, or vocational settings.
People who require medical stabilization or more intensive monitoring may need a higher level of care.
This is one reason a professional assessment is important before choosing an eating disorder treatment program. Contact Well BH today to learn more.
What Skills Do You Learn in an Eating Disorder IOP?
An eating disorder IOP can provide more than education about eating disorders. Treatment is designed to help you develop practical skills you can use when difficult thoughts, emotions, or situations arise.
Depending on your individual treatment plan, you may work on:
- Recognizing eating disorder patterns: Understanding thoughts, emotions, situations, and behaviors that may contribute to disordered eating.
- Emotional regulation: Learning healthier ways to manage difficult emotions without relying on eating disorder behaviors.
- Distress tolerance: Developing strategies for navigating uncomfortable emotions, urges, and situations.
- Challenging unhelpful thoughts: Identifying and working through rigid or negative beliefs related to food, eating, weight, or body image.
- Developing healthier eating patterns: Working with your treatment team to establish more consistent and supportive eating habits.
- Food-related anxiety and exposure: Gradually working through fears or challenges around foods and eating situations when clinically appropriate.
- Body image skills: Developing a more flexible and compassionate relationship with your body.
- Communication and relationship skills: Practicing ways to communicate needs, establish boundaries, and build supportive relationships.
Well Behavioral Health incorporates evidence-based approaches. This may include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and exposure and response prevention (ERP), depending on a person’s needs. Nutrition counseling and meal support can complement these therapeutic approaches.
The goal is to help you develop skills that extend beyond treatment sessions and can be applied to everyday situations.
What Should You Bring to an Eating Disorder IOP?
Preparing for an eating disorder IOP doesn’t have to be complicated. Because Well Behavioral Health’s Eating Disorder IOP is delivered virtually, you can participate from a private, comfortable location that allows you to engage in treatment.
Before starting, make sure you have:
- A reliable internet connection
- A computer, tablet, or other compatible device
- A working camera and microphone
- A private space where you can participate without interruptions
- Any information your treatment team has requested before your first session
Depending on your schedule, you may also participate in meal support or other activities that involve food. Your treatment team can explain what to expect and how to prepare for those sessions.
It’s also helpful to come prepared with questions. You may want to ask about the weekly schedule, treatment goals, communication with your existing providers, nutrition support, and what happens when you transition out of IOP.
Feeling nervous or uncertain before starting is understandable. An initial assessment and conversations with your treatment team can help. You can learn what to expect and determine how the program can be tailored to your needs.
What Can You Expect From Well Behavioral Health?
Well Behavioral Health takes a comprehensive approach to eating disorder treatment. Instead of relying on one type of service, its care model brings together therapy, nutrition counseling, meal support, coaching, groups, and IOP treatment options.
Its Eating Disorder IOP is designed for adults 18 and older and is delivered virtually, with flexible scheduling options. The program also offers an integrated Trauma & Eating Disorder IOP track for adults who are navigating both eating disorders and trauma. This track incorporates trauma-focused groups addressing areas such as safety, grounding, emotional regulation, and stabilization.
The broader goal is to provide structured support. This is while recognizing that eating disorder recovery is different for every person.
Getting Started With Eating Disorder IOP
Starting an eating disorder IOP can feel like a big step, especially if you aren’t sure what level of treatment you need. Learning more about the program and completing an initial assessment can help you understand your options.
Contact Well Behavioral Health today to speak with the admissions team. You’ll learn about Eating Disorder IOP and determine whether this level of support may be a good fit for your needs.
