Treatment Components Of UCSD's Eating Disorders Intensive Outpatient Program

Psychiatry

Treatment Components

  • fArt Therapy: This group provides patients with the opportunity to be less linear in their thinking. By drawing, painting, and expressing their feelings through Art they can access hidden issues and learn how to uncover them in a supportive environment.
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Therapy is offered in a group setting and offers patients the opportunity to work on their dysfunctional thoughts and beliefs. These beliefs can either support recovery or support the eating disorder. By changing the way that patients think about their self, body, food, relationships etc. recovery can be strengthened.
  • Dialectical Behavioral Therapy: This group is designed to help patients learn how to regulate emotions and become better able to manage distress. Coping skills are taught by staff and homework is assigned.
  • Dinner Meal: This group is designed to help patients to cope with eating a meal in front of others and keeping it down. Patients confront their fears by being exposed to the feared object (food, fullness, etc) and response prevention (staying in the room and eating the required amount). Exposure and response prevention is a powerful method to reduce anxiety.
  • Family/Couples therapy: For teens, family therapy is a mandatory part of treatment in the IOP. Families are viewed as vitally important in the recovery of their son or daughter. Although families are not responsible for creating the eating disorder, their help is essential for the recovery of their teen. Adults can also bring in family members, partners, etc. for family therapy.
  • Goal Setting: Each treatment day, patients engage in a goal setting process to help them continue their progress when at home. Goals are related to reducing eating disorder behaviors such as bingeing and purging or restricting. Patients are encouraged to set reasonable goals and get feedback from both staff and other patients.
  • Group therapy: We have many groups available in the IOP including: Dialectical Behavior therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioral therapy (levels 1 and 2), Meditation/Yoga, process groups, and relapse prevention.
  • Individual therapy: Each patient is assigned an individual therapist from our program unless she or he already sees a therapist in the community. These sessions are scheduled once a week for 50 minutes. This gives patients time to process individual responses to treatment.
  • Meditation, Relaxation, and Yoga: Therapy is offered in a group setting and helps patients to learn how to decrease their anxiety without using their eating disorder. Guided meditations allow patients time to relax and let go of some of the tension they carry.
  • Nutrition Education: Our registered dietitian leads this group which is designed to help patients to unlearn the myths they have about food, metabolism, weight, and nutrition. Patients are required to fill out meal plan reports after they are given a meal plan to follow which meets their individual needs.
  • Process group: This group is less structured than the other groups in order to provide a time for patients to bring up topics and issues of their choice. Group leaders provide a safe environment for patients to discuss personal issues.
  • Psychiatric consultation: Each patient will be given a full psychiatric evaluation upon admission to the IOP. Our psychiatrist will consult with the patient’s existing psychiatrist if they have one.
  • Psychoeducation: Therapy is offered in a group setting and covers a variety of topics such as: body image, anger management, stress management, and assertiveness.

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