Treatment Program Overview
Carolina House features a multi-disciplinary approach to eating disorder treatment based on current research and best practices. Our highly skilled clinical staff is continuously discovering ways to bring unmatched quality and service to our patients. Our evidence-based approach is backed by cutting-edge technology, software, and medical equipment, all designed to make highly effective eating disorder treatment available to our patients.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is the core treatment approach at Carolina House. DBT is a well-researched approach proven to be highly effective in treating eating disorders through teaching effective coping skills. Additionally, other appropriate treatment modalities are utilized to support increased awareness through a variety of experiential, insight-oriented, cognitive behavioral, and educational components.
Depending on each patient’s individualized treatment plan, treatment goals may include:
- Weight Restoration
- Medical Stabilization
- Symptom Reduction
- DBT Skill Building
- Family and Support System Stabilization
- Desensitization to Food Amounts
- Discharge and Long-Term Recovery Planning
Our comprehensive treatment approach includes individual and family therapy, art therapy, yoga and mindfulness experiences, culinary, nutrition and body movement therapies. Also vital to our treatment approach are groups centered on interpersonal process, effective communication, and patients’ experiences of spirituality and wholeness. Patients leave Carolina House several times a week for supervised group outings, including opportunities for a variety of experiences with food, creativity groups, community service, and group-building activities. Included in our core program are the following:
- Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) psycho-education sessions three times per week
- Interpersonal process group three times per week
- One visit per week with our internal medicine physician and one visit per week with our psychiatrist; additional visits scheduled as needed
- Weekly individual session with primary psychotherapist, in addition to weekly sessions with our registered dietitian, psychiatrist, doctor, and art therapist
- Daily interaction and check-in with primary therapist and clinical staff
- 24-hour nursing care seven days a week
- Family therapy with primary psychotherapist at least once per week
- Participation with chef and dietician in the kitchen at least twice per day
- Ancillary groups listed on Program Schedule
Aftercare Program: Our aftercare program is designed to offer continued support for ongoing development of core coping skills, sustainable living practices, and effective patterns of behavior. Weekly aftercare programming is offered for local patients who have completed our residential eating disorders program.
All patients who complete our residential program are referred for follow-up care. Intensive discharge plans are coordinated by a patient’s primary therapist in accordance with the following guidelines:
- Discharge planning begins at intake. As the patient nears completion of treatment targets and meets criteria for a lower level of care, discharge plans are solidified.
- The patient, her family, and referral providers are actively involved in the discharge planning process.
- The primary therapist and patient schedule appointments with an outpatient multidisciplinary team that consists of a therapist, psychiatrist, nutritionist, general practitioner, and aftercare DBT group (when available). An online, weekly DBT skills group is provided free of charge to patients who have completed our residential program.
Online Continuing Care: Recovery from an eating disorder is a lifelong process that requires continuing care. Continuing care programs are structured support groups designed to strengthen the treatment process by providing the therapeutic support necessary for long-term recovery.
Carolina House’s continuing care program, offered through eGetGoing, CRC Health Group’s online eating disorder support group, provides world-wide accessibility through live, confidential online group sessions. The groups meet for one hour each week with an experienced counselor to discuss topics related to relapse prevention, DBT skills reminders and enhancement of one’s quality of life. In their online groups, members give and receive support from others who relate to the complex issues, stresses, and fears associated with the process of recovery.
The many advantages of being enrolled in an online continuing care program include the ability to engage in weekly group sessions from the comfort of your own home, while participating in a safe, confidential and supportive atmosphere. The online eating disorder support group is a natural complement to existing therapeutic treatment recommendations, and enables members to work together to maintain and promote long-term recovery.
Family Interventions: Family involvement is a vitally important part of the Carolina House treatment model. We recognize that the definition of “family” is fluid for many persons and we welcome participation of those persons most closely connected to the patient (most often spouses, partners, or significant others, parents or guardians, and occasionally siblings as appropriate). We offer individual family therapy sessions once per week as well as an intensive group family weekend once per month, in consort with the Duke Eating Disorders Program.
During these sessions, Carolina House therapists treat the patient and the family through evidence-based interventions and education about eating disorders. Our goal is to help alleviate guilt regarding eating disordered behaviors, provide information about the true etiology of the illness, and increase the patient and family’s engagement in treatment.