Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) for Eating Disorders

Our Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) offers some of the same intensity and structure of Residential 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.

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Partial Hospitalization Program

Unlike many Partial Hospitalization Programs that only offer 6 hours of eating disorder treatment, 5 days per week, our Partial Hospitalization Program offers patients a full day of treatment, 7 days per week.

By offering a full day of adult eating disorder treatment programming every day of the week, patients are supported through all meals and snacks with ample structure and containment to achieve symptom interruption and/or weight restoration.

Programming in our Partial Hospitalization program emphasizes the development of lifelong recovery skills in a safe, structured and supportive environment. A well-rounded curriculum offers staff-supported opportunities to practice interactions and challenges outside of treatment through many avenues.

Many of our patients travel from around the nation to receive care at Eating Recovery Center. We are pleased to assist these patients by providing housing and transportation options to out of area patients. This is done through our Concierge Services program.

Programming Curriculum

  • Interactive group sessions
  • Transitions groups
  • Process groups
  • Art therapy
  • Psychodrama
  • Cooking groups
  • Restaurant outings
  • Yoga
  • Addiction groups
  • Peer support groups
group puzzle

Partial Hospitalization Program for Children & Teenagers with Eating Disorders

Eating Recovery Center’s Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) offers the intensity and structure of Residential eating disorders treatment while providing opportunities for our younger patients and their families to practice recovery skills outside of the treatment environment — during evenings at home or in recovery-focused housing near the eating disorder eating treatment center. Adolescent patients can direct-admit into the Partial Hospitalization Program, or step-down to the program following medical and/or psychiatric stabilization at a higher level of care.

Continuity of care is a priority for patients stepping down to the Partial Hospitalization Program from Inpatient or Residential levels of care. Patients retain the same eating disorder treatment team throughout the course of treatment and maintain the trust that is achieved in the Residential treatment environment, where patients spent approximately 60 percent of the day in therapeutic programming with their primary clinician.

What to expect in the partial hospitalization program at ERC

Our Partial Hospitalization program actively engages families in the recovery process and is rooted in the Maudsley approach to treating eating disorders using key therapeutic Family-Based Treatment (FBT) tenets. Patients and families continue working with their assigned clinician, dietitian, and physician in the PHP level of care, although the distribution of time changes slightly (less face-time with primary clinician, more family programming and multi-family group therapy).

PHP offers 11 hours of daily programming for patients, parents and families that emphasizes the development of recovery skills, communication, relapse prevention and healthy parent/child interactions through individual, group and family therapy and staff-supported meals. 

Family, Patient and Treatment Team Involvement

The patient's role in therapy

A combination of individual, group and family therapy emphasizes recovery skills and the role of families in lasting recovery. For those patients stepping down from 24-hour care, there is a shift in therapeutic focus from “what is happening on the unit with you and other patients in the milieu” to “what is happening with your family when you are not on the unit.” Patients continue to participate in school in the afternoons at the Learning Center.

The parents' roles in therapy

Parents are invited to attend parent groups in the morning and education lectures/discussions in the afternoon, during which time they learn about meal planning and weight restoration, recovery skills, parent empowerment and relapse prevention in a supportive environment of peers. Parental involvement in eating disorder treatment can play a major role in recovery.

The family's role in therapy

Families receive two family sessions per week and patients continue to meet weekly with their individual clinician. Registered Dietitians meet with parents to provide individualized education and training tailored to the needs of their child. Clinicians and dietitians also facilitate Family Meals, during which families practice eating together again while supporting the patient with meal completion and coping strategies. Multi-family group therapy brings together the milieu of patients and parents for expert-guided experiential and skills groups.

Resources for Child and Adolescent Patients and Families

In addition to comprehensive daily programming for patients and families alike, Eating Recovery Center’s Partial Hospitalization Program for Children and Adolescents offers several services to support families that do not reside in the Denver area:

  • Comprehensive educational support for patients includes 1.5-2 hours of daily study, a fully-equipped Learning Center and a personal laptop for use in completing assignments. Eating Recovery Center’s educational services are overseen by a licensed teacher providing comprehensive academic support, including preliminary educational assessments, individual tutoring, ongoing liaising with students’ school and academic transition plans at the time of discharge.
  • Family Meals on and off the unit, including supervised meals with Registered Dietitians and Primary Clinicians and restaurant outings to practice meal planning and eating with young patients before returning home. Eating Recovery Center’s Executive chef works collaboratively with the Director of Dietary Services to build creative, nutritionally sound menus with diverse options for a balanced diet. All food is prepared onsite in state-of-the-art kitchens.
  • Several temporary family housing options near the treatment center, including Ronald McDonald House and nearby long-term stay hotels.
  • Discounted group rates with car rental agencies to meet transportation needs.
  • Information about Denver-area resources, events and attractions, including nearby supermarkets, restaurants, retailers, parks, museums and places of worship.

Partial Hospitalization Treatment Locations

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