Eating Recovery Center Bethesda

Location Details

Who we treat
Adult
Child and Adolescent
Level of Care
On-site Intensive Outpatient
Outpatient
Partial Hospitalization
Conditions We Treat
Eating Disorders
Orthorexia
Anorexia Nervosa
ARFID
Atypical Anorexia
Bulimia Nervosa
Compulsive Overeating
OSFED

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100% Confidential

Highly Effective Eating Disorder Treatment in Bethesda, MD

Located in Bethesda, Maryland, less than 25 minutes from Washington, D.C., ERC Bethesda offers medically stable adults, adolescents and children with eating disorders:

  • A seven-day-a-week partial hospitalization program (PHP)
  • A three-day-a-week intensive outpatient program (IOP)

ERC Bethesda is in the heart of the community, within walking distance from Bethesda Row: a bustling, pedestrian-friendly downtown district full of shops, restaurants and entertainment with easy access to Washington, D.C. via the Metro System. With natural greenery and a walking trail directly behind the center, ERC Bethesda is a supportive, social and therapeutic community matched by convenience to nearby urban epicenters and world-renowned medical systems.

  • Trusted by over 20,000 patients and their families
  • 87% of former patients agreed that their experience at ERC was helpful
  • 91% of parents of former patients would recommend ERC to others in need of services
  • Specialized treatment designed by a team of experienced clinicians
bethesda maryland

Lighting Your Way to Recover from Eating Disorders

Come as you are: your authentic self

Learn how to interrupt eating disorder thoughts and behaviors to create a life based on your values.

Get the right support at the right time

Embrace a compassionate care team who knows your story and is there every step of the way.

Stay connected with your recovery community

Healing doesn’t end when you leave our program; it’s just the beginning. Stay connected through extensive supportive resources.

Benefit From Expert Eating Disorder Care

Accredited by the Joint Commission, our center's medical and clinical leadership team includes the world’s leading eating disorders treatment experts, many of whom have actively led research supporting effective, evidence-based eating disorders treatment. Located in the middle of a vibrant healthcare ecosystem, ERC Bethesda often coordinates care with other hospitals and health systems nearby including Johns Hopkins, Inova, MedStar, George Washington University and more.

“We provide the leading empirically supported treatments for all eating disorders while attending to the individual needs of our patients, families, and supports. Our clinicians receive intensive training and are led by a team of experts with decades of experience in the field.”

Kim Anderson, PhD, CEDS

Who We Treat

Struggling with an eating disorder?

One conversation can make all the difference. Connect with us today.

Conditions We Treat

  • Eating Disorders

    An eating disorder is a treatable mental illness that includes a number of different symptoms, including extreme emotions, attitudes, and behaviors surrounding weight and food issues.

  • Anorexia

    Anorexia nervosa is characterized by an obsessive fear of weight gain and a refusal to maintain a healthy body weight.

  • Atypical Anorexia

    You can’t tell if someone has an eating disorder just by looking at them. See how atypical anorexia affects people in a variety of body shapes and sizes.

  • ARFID

    ARFID is a lesser known eating disorder that frequently begins as early as infancy or childhood, but adults can also suffer.

  • Binge Eating Disorder

    Binge eating disorder is characterized by frequent overeating – at least once a week for three months – combined with a lack of control, intense feelings of distress and several other characteristic behaviors.

  • Bulimia

    Bulimia is characterized by patterns of bingeing and purging.

  • Compulsive Overeating

    Compulsive overeating can involve binge eating and weight gain, but it can also involve other behaviors.

  • Diabulimia

    The term diabulimia is used to describe the diagnosis of an eating disorder in an individual with type 1 diabetes. These patients intentionally misuse insulin for weight control.

  • OSFED

    Some eating disorders do not meet all of the diagnostic criteria for specific diagnoses like anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.

  • Orthorexia

    Some people go to extremes to “eat clean” at all times. This may lead to a disordered eating pattern known as orthorexia.

Struggling with an eating disorder?

One conversation can make all the difference. Connect with us today.

Levels of Care Offered

  • Inpatient

    Our Inpatient programming is designed to support adults, children and adolescents of all genders who are acutely ill and are experiencing medical and mood instability as a result of their eating disorder.

  • Residential

    Within ERC Pathlight's step-down model of care, the Residential eating disorder treatment program as well as the Residential mood & anxiety treatment program offer medically stable patients a highly-structured and supportive 24-hour treatment environment.

  • Partial Hospitalization

    Our Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) offers some of the same intensity and structure of Residential mood, anxiety, and eating disorder treatment while providing additional opportunities to practice recovery outside of the controlled eating disorder treatment environment during evenings at home or in peer-supported apartment communities.

  • On-Site Intensive Outpatient Treatment

    Our Intensive Outpatient program is a flexible mood, anxiety, and eating disorder treatment program that allows patients to work, go to school, or care for children during the day and sleep at home at night.

  • Virtual Intensive Outpatient - Eating Recovery At Home

    ERC is removing the barriers that can keep patients with anorexia, bulimia, and other eating disorders from receiving treatment. Through telebehavioral health programming, Eating Recovery At Home (our virtual Intensive Outpatient Program) offers the same proven care as our in-person treatment centers. 

Struggling with an eating disorder?

One conversation can make all the difference. Connect with us today.

Outpatient eating disorder therapy in Baltimore

ERC Baltimore offers outpatient eating disorder treatment led by a team of expert therapists. Outpatient therapy typically includes one individual therapy session per week and is an ideal fit for patients seeking a lower level of care, including patients transitioning from PHP. Outpatient therapy serves as an important step in the full continuum of eating disorders care, providing accountability, processing and skill-building.

Call today to learn more about our outpatient program, or to find a therapist.

Get the right support at the right time

Our highly experienced physicians, registered dietitians and licensed therapists bring vast expertise to ERC Bethesda. Combined decades of experience at leading behavioral health treatment centers are integrated into the ERC curriculum, and all therapists are trained in a nationally validated, trauma-informed psychotherapy model to deliver the most up-to-date, evidence-based therapies. Having our clinical team on-site provides seamless coordination of care. While in treatment, you’ll work with:

  • Psychiatrists and internal medicine physicians
  • Therapists and family clinicians
  • Registered dietitians
  • Nursing support
  • Alumni support and other support staff

Find long-lasting recovery with our 7-day PHP

Research indicates that unstructured weekends without meal planning and accountability create unnecessary setbacks during treatment. Because eating disorders don’t take weekends off, neither do we. At ERC Bethesda, our 7-day PHP provides the maximum clinical standard of care for the best chance at lasting recovery. Our program enables patients to eat three meals each day with their treatment team and offers ample opportunities to practice new skills in a safe, healing environment.

Additionally, we work closely with our Baltimore-based ERC centers to provide a comprehensive continuum of care that helps patients easily transition to various levels of care based on our patients’ needs. We also engage in frequent communication and coordination with local outpatient community providers to ensure continuity of care and positive outcomes.

Nutrition Services

Nutritional Counseling & Education

Through education, support and structure, we offer patients a comprehensive, personalized nutrition plan: nutritional rehabilitation that safely helps each individual achieve optimal physical and mental health. Individualized eating disorder treatment plans at ERC Bethesda include:

  • Evidence-based interventions
  • Medical support
  • Family involvement
  • Discharge planning and alumni support

Individualized nutrition plans are developed from a thorough pre-admission assessment, which acknowledges each patient's unique history, personality, strengths and recovery challenges. At ERC Bethesda, patients participate in:

  • Cooking classes
  • Food exposures
  • Grocery store tours and more
  • “Innings” (bringing food into the facility) 
  • “Outings” (attending one of many nearby restaurants)

This treatment approach helps patients and families experience the freedom of healing and recovery. For those interested in specific programming for binge eating disorder (BED), we have virtual groups for adults in the state of Maryland.

Traveling for care? We can help

We're happy to help out-of-town patients and their families with any questions you might have related to travel and housing. ERC Bethesda offers apartments for families to stay in while loved ones are in treatment. Out-of-town PHP patients can also stay close to the treatment center. The area includes a variety of other hotels. If you need support with housing, travel and any other logistics, just let us know and we'll be happy to help.

Support for the Entire Family

Providing families guidance and care

Our evidence-based treatment modalities include dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), emotion-focused family therapy (EFFT), family-based treatment (FBT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).

ERC Bethesda’s programming includes yoga, art and music-based therapy groups to support experiential learning and supplement clinical process groups. Patients often go for nature walks along the trail behind the center, surrounded by lush greenery and natural lighting. Therapists can accompany patients to help guide exposures and mindfulness.

New skills to support your loved one

At ERC Bethesda, we understand the critical importance of helping parents, caregivers and families learn how to best support their young loved ones. We offer an array of resources for families and caregivers rooted in EFFT and FBT, including an education series, family therapy sessions and more. Patients and loved ones are also connected with a community outreach liaison for ongoing support after treatment.

Stay up to date with school

ERC Bethesda offers Education Specialists for all students, providing programming 6-8 hours a week. Children and teens work with our staff in a dedicated school resource room to continue their academic progress while in treatment.

Our Education Specialist functions as an academic liaison with schools to ensure academic tracking and a smooth transition back to school. For young adult and adult students, most colleges offer flexibility when seeking mental health care – and we will work with you to ensure your loved one can balance recovery with outside obligations.

Testimonials

Just one phone call to get started

Reaching out for help is a critical first step on the path to healing and recovery. Give us a call and our compassionate admissions team will walk you through the entire process with care, compassion and support. Got a question?

No referral is ever needed for you to access the treatment you need and deserve.

Let us help you with insurance

When facing a life-threatening eating disorder, you should never have to worry about how to pay for treatment or any financial burdens. Your top priority? Finding the best eating disorder treatment center possible. Our experienced team of insurance verification experts does everything we can to simplify, summarize and streamline the payment process for you.

Get matched with the exact support you need.

With one conversation, our mental health professionals will help you better understand what you’re going through and what you need.

We will meet you where you are, listen to your story in a therapeutic setting, and match you with the level of support that meets your struggle.

Covered by Most Commercial Insurance Plans

  • cofinity
  • compsych
  • magellan health
  • moda
  • multiplan
  • phcs
  • rocky mountain health plans
  • ascension seton
  • value options

Our patient access team is here to advocate for you. We can help you address financial challenges and work with you to get you the maximum coverage offered by your plan.

Learn More About Insurance

Frequently Asked Questions

bethesda maryland

Find Virtual Eating Disorder Treatment in Maryland

For additional convenience and flexibility, we also offer virtual eating disorder treatment for individuals in Maryland through our Eating Recovery At Home program. Individuals in all cities and towns across Maryland, including the cities and counties listed below, are eligible to participate in Eating Recovery At Home.

  • Annapolis
  • Falls Church
  • Frederick
  • McClean
  • Great Falls
  • Tysons
  • Arlington
  • Fairfax
  • Columbia
  • Washington, D.C.
  • Potomac Falls
  • Rockville
  • Alexandria
  • Ellicott City
  • Montgomery County
  • Howard County
  • Harford County
  • Anne Arundel County

Explore Our Other Locations in Maryland

Eating Recovery Center is accredited through the Joint Commission. This organization seeks to enhance the lives of the persons served in healthcare settings through a consultative accreditation process emphasizing quality, value and optimal outcomes of services.

Organizations that earn the Gold Seal of Approval™ have met or exceeded The Joint Commission’s rigorous performance standards to obtain this distinctive and internationally recognized accreditation. Learn more about this accreditation here.

Joint Commission Seal