Eating Recovery Center Cincinnati

Location Details

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

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100% Confidential

Located in the idyllic Hyde Park neighborhood, ERC Cincinnati in Ohio provides comprehensive care for eating disorders for patients ages 16 and up.

A multidisciplinary treatment team of professionals oversees outpatient levels of care, including a seven-day-per-week Partial Hospitalization Program with ten hours of programming on weekdays and eight-hour day weekends, as well as an Intensive Outpatient Program to light the way for patients and their families to find lasting and sustainable wellness.

Highly Effective Eating Disorder Treatment in Cincinnati

Accredited by the Joint Commission, Eating Recovery Center (ERC) Cincinnati in Ohio provides highly effective eating disorder treatment for individuals ages 12 and up. Focusing on day treatment programs, ERC Cincinnati provides a seven-day-per-week partial hospitalization program and a three-day-per week intensive outpatient program.

Located in the idyllic Hyde Park neighborhood, ERC Cincinnati lights the way for patients and their families to find lasting and sustainable wellness.

  • 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
Cincinnati Ohio

Lighting Your Way to Recover From Eating Disorders

Take home a toolbox filled with new coping skills

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

Explore new approaches to healing

Experience self-growth with individual and group therapy, nutritional counseling education, art, music and yoga.

Be your authentic self — without judgement

Find acceptance in supportive spaces that respect diversity and cultural differences.

We will meet you where you are.

The experienced team at ERC Cincinnati provides evidence-based treatment for eating disorders and related mental health concerns. Treatment starts with an accurate diagnosis and ensuring that you are on an appropriate medication regimen. The team will then work collaboratively with you to create an individualized treatment plan acknowledging your unique history, personality, strengths and challenges. In our comprehensive program, you will work with:

  • Psychiatrists and primary care physicians
  • Primary therapists
  • Registered dietitians
  • Family therapists
  • Nursing support
  • Yoga therapists
  • Music therapists

Benefit From Expert Eating Disorder Care

ERC’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. All of our therapists are trained in a nationally validated psychotherapy model on the most up-to-date and evidence-based therapies that address complex co-occurring disorders. Treatment emphasizes supporting the whole-person, skill-building, and empowerment to help you maintain recovery after treatment.

“The level of outstanding commitment that I see — from our psychiatrists to our dietary assistants — ensures that all patients’ needs are met. Care is individualized for each patient and our team goes above and beyond to meet you where you are at.”

Daniele Kéty, MSW, APSW Executive Director, ERC Cincinnati

Who We Treat

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.

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. 

Find long-lasting recovery with 7-day PHP.

Research shows that eating disorder patients in 5-day (weekday-only) programming struggle with eating disorder behaviors over the weekend. Since eating disorders don’t take the weekend off, we don’t either. We provide programming 7 days a week for individuals in our partial hospitalization program (PHP), offering you the best chance of recovery. If you need housing nearby, we provide local apartment housing to patients in the PHP program. Please call us to learn more about PHP housing options.

"What we’ve heard from healthcare providers in the region, and have seen for ourselves, is that there’s a real need for more treatment options and resources for children and adolescents closer to home. Now we can help kids as young as 12 with the most complex eating disorders and co-occurring conditions right here in Cincinnati."

Anne Marie O’Melia, MS, MD, FAAP, CEDS-S, Chief Medical Officer & Chief Clinical Officer at Eating Recovery Center
Nutrition Services

View Our Nutrition Approach

Our goal is to help you find peace with food with supportive, structured meal planning that focuses on balance, variety and flexibility. At ERC Cincinnati, patients engage in various meal outings to practice the skills learned in treatment. Depending on the stage of recovery you are at, you may go on outings with a therapist, with a dietitian or with peers in your treatment group. Food exposures are all individualized, drawing from evidence-based exposure and response prevention therapy interventions.

Travel and Housing Assistance Provided

It can be challenging to travel out of state for treatment, but patients frequently seek care with us from Kentucky, Indiana (tri-state area) and other states. To help you coordinate your plans, we offer travel concierge services. Please call us if you need help with anything travel-related, including:

  • Airline reservations
  • Ground transportation — shuttles and car rentals
  • Local hotels

Additionally, we offer apartment housing for patients in our 7-day PHP, conveniently located across the street from a grocery store and one mile from the treatment center.

Support and Education for Your Entire Family

See our family-focused treatment approach.

At ERC Cincinnati, we offer a range of evidence-based treatment approaches such as dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), emotion-focused family therapy (EFFT), family-based treatment (FBT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).

Our comprehensive programming extends beyond traditional therapy sessions and includes diverse activities like yoga, art, and music-based therapy groups. These activities are designed to enhance experiential learning and complement the clinical process groups.

Get ongoing family support.

At ERC Cincinnati, we recognize the utmost importance of equipping parents, caregivers, and families with the knowledge and skills to provide optimal support to their young loved ones. We provide a range of resources designed for families and caregivers, firmly grounded in the principles of EFFT and FBT.

Our offerings include:

Speak with an education specialist.

ERC Cincinnati provides dedicated Education Specialists who offer structured educational programming for students, with sessions typically spanning 6-8 hours each week.

Children and adolescents collaborate with our staff in a specially designated school resource room to maintain their academic advancement while undergoing treatment.

Our Education Specialist serves as a crucial link between our program and the students' schools, ensuring that academic progress is monitored and facilitating a seamless return to the educational environment.

Just one phone call to get started

Eating disorders are serious mental health issues that can lead to damaging physical health complications. This is why it is so important to seek help as soon as you recognize that there is a problem. With just one phone call, our compassionate admissions team can walk you through the entire ERC admissions process with care and support.

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 shouldn’t have to worry about how to pay for treatment. Your top priority is to find the best, most experienced eating disorder treatment team available. If you have questions about insurance of payment, please give us a call. Our insurance and financial experts will do everything they can to simplify 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

Expert Care for Eating Disorders in Cincinnati, OH

Meet the leadership team at Eating Recovery Center Cincinnati

  • Kim Effertz, MSW
    Kim Effertz Link

    Kim Effertz

    Regional Vice President
    Kim Effertz joined Eating Recovery Center and Pathlight Mood & Anxiety Center in September 2021 as an Operating Vice President ...
    READ MORE
  • Lara Kenik MS, RN
    Lara Kenik Link

    Lara Kenik

    Regional Nursing Director
    Lara Kenik joined Eating Recovery Center/Pathlight Mood & Anxiety Center (ERCPL) in August 2016 as a full-time overnight nurse ...
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  • Heather Dlugosz, MD, CEDS
    Heather Dlugosz Link

    Heather Dlugosz

    Associate Medical Director, Psychiatrist
    Dr. Dlugosz, an Eating Recovery Center, Cincinnati staff psychiatrist, has experience with the treatment of eating, mood and ...
    READ MORE
  • Steven Crawford, MD
    Steven F. Crawford Link

    Steven F. Crawford

    Regional Medical Director
    Dr. Steven Crawford is the Medical Director at Eating Recovery Center and Assistant Chief of Psychiatry at University of ...
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  • Ellen Astrachan Fletcher
    Ellen Astrachan-Fletcher Link

    Ellen Astrachan-Fletcher

    Regional Clinical Director
    Ellen Astrachan-Fletcher, PhD, FAED, CEDS-S, is Regional Clinical Director, Eating Recovery Center and Pathlight Mood and ...
    READ MORE
  • Kelsey Estry, MS, RD, LDN
    Kelsey Estry Link

    Kelsey Estry

    Regional Nutrition Director
    Kelsey Estry, MS, RD, LDN, is a graduate of Michigan State University. She completed her Dietetic Internship at Loyola ...
    READ MORE
  • Zach Marselle
    Zach Marselle Link

    Zach Marselle

    Director of Operational Excellence
    Zach joined ERC and Pathlight in 2020, bringing a combined 15 years of experience between healthcare administration and public ...
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  • Karen Mendenhall
    Karen Mendenhall Link

    Karen Mendenhall

    Clinical Director
    I have been working in the field of behavioral health and substance abuse since 1988. I have experience treating adults and ...
    READ MORE
  • Heather VanHooser
    Heather VanHooser Link

    Heather VanHooser

    Chief Nursing Officer
    Heather joined ERC Pathlight as Chief Nursing Officer in 2023. She holds three bachelor’s degrees, a MBA, and a Master’s in ...
    READ MORE
Cincinnati Ohio

Find Virtual Eating Disorder Treatment in Ohio

We also offer virtual eating disorder treatment for individuals in Ohio through our Eating Recovery At Home program. Individuals in all cities and towns across Ohio, including the cities listed below, are eligible to participate in Eating Recovery At Home.

  • Columbus
  • Cleveland
  • Cincinnati
  • Toledo
  • Akron
  • Dayton
  • Parma
  • Canton
  • Lorain
  • Hamilton
  • Youngstown
  • Springfield
  • Kettering
  • Middletown
  • Mansfield

Explore Our Other Locations in Ohio

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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.

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