At EDCare Kansas City, we understand the complexities of anorexia nervosa, an eating disorder that can profoundly impact individuals’ relationships with their bodies and food. Our compassionate team in Kansas City is dedicated to providing specialized and comprehensive care, tailored to empower individuals in their journey to overcome the challenges of anorexia.

Tailored Recovery Programs for Anorexia Nervosa in Kansas City

Anorexia nervosa can have far-reaching consequences, affecting individuals both physically and emotionally. At EDCare Kansas City, we focus on addressing the underlying factors contributing to the development and perpetuation of anorexia. Our approach is centered around understanding each person’s unique experiences and needs, providing holistic support and guidance throughout the recovery process.

  • 8300 College Boulevard, Suite 300 Overland Park, KS 66210

  • (913) 945-1277

  • Adolescent and Adult Programs

We help patients recover at every level – mind, body and spirit. Contact us below to schedule a free clinical assessment.

Step 1 of 3

Meet Our Kansas City Anorexia Treatment Specialists

Our Anorexia Treatment Process at EDCare Kansas City

Understanding your options for anorexia treatment is pivotal to embarking on the path to recovery. Our dedicated team of eating disorder professionals in Kansas City is committed to providing unwavering support every step of the way. During your initial assessment, our Assessment Clinicians will work closely with you to determine the most appropriate level of care, ensuring that your treatment plan is customized to meet your specific needs and circumstances.

Let’s explore our specialized anorexia treatment programs at EDCare Kansas City, designed to provide you with the compassionate care and support you need to achieve lasting recovery and improved well-being.

At our Kansas City eating disorder treatment center, we offer different levels of care to fully address your individual needs. We understand you may have questions about our admission process. Before we get to the different treatment options available to you, we’ll give you an idea of what you can expect during the admissions process.

When you are admitted into our anorexia treatment facility, you will undergo a comprehensive psychiatric and medical assessment. Once your assessment results are ready, you will be assigned an anorexia treatment team. We’ll give you time to settle in before we introduce you to your treatment team.

Your treatment team includes a primary therapist, a registered dietitian (RD), a psychiatrist (MD), and other specialists trained and experienced in the treatment of anorexia. In your first few days at EDCare, every member of your treatment team will provide further assessments, so we can develop a full understanding of your circumstances and needs. Then we’ll review and discuss the results before we devise and implement a unique treatment plan for you.

Anorexia Nervosa is a complex psychiatric illness. Comprehensive care from qualified eating disorder specialists is necessary for long-term recovery. EDCare’s dedicated team is not only here to help determine the right level of care, but also navigate the costs associated with anorexia treatment. EDCare is in-network with over 35 different insurance providers. We also work with out-of-network insurances to negotiate single-case agreements and arrange individual payment plans when necessary. Helping patients remain recovery focused so they can live healthy lives is why we strive to provide the highest standard in quality care that is also cost-effective.

EDCare believes that taking ownership of your treatment is pivotal to your recovery. When you recognize the role you play in your treatment that recovery can be accomplished. Our team of professionals will formulate your, then sit down with you to discuss our recommendations in detail. This collaborative approach allows you to communicate your thoughts about the treatment, including your goals. You will have a say on the elective elements of your treatment, including any steps that may be taken to also address co-occurring addiction problems or psychiatric concerns.

EDCare does not follow a cookie-cutter approach when creating treatment plans. We stress that anorexia is different for everyone, and so is recovery. This makes it difficult to provide an estimate of the duration of treatment or the amount of time a person needs to be in a treatment program.

In general, the duration of treatment for the Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) is between 30-60 days. Depending on how well you are doing, you may spend more or less time in the program. As your goals are reached, you will determine the next steps with help from your treatment team. PHP patients typically transition to our Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) to continue receiving clinical support. Your transition from PHP to IOP will help you make sure you practice the recovery skills independently.

As you transition out of our treatment center, back into your daily life at home, your team provides you with a tailored discharge plan to reduce the risk of a relapse. You will either transition back into the care of your previous outpatient team or we’ll work with you in finding local resources in case you don’t have one. Regardless, we will help make sure you are fully supported so you can meet your long-term recovery needs.

Levels of Care for Anorexia Treatment and Recovery

Anorexia Nervosa, like all eating disorders, is a serious mental illness. Learning about your anorexia treatment options, finding the right level of care, and being admitted under the right program can mean the difference between life and death.

EDCare is home to compassionate eating disorder professionals who will walk you through your path to recovery. During your initial assessment, one of our Assessment Clinicians will help you identify the appropriate level of care, based on your needs.

Let’s take a deeper look at our unique anorexia treatment programs, so you can better understand what to expect if you admit to one of our programs.

EDCare’s Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) is the highest level of care you can receive at EDCare for the treatment of anorexia. This program is ideal if you feel that you do not require the supervision provided in residential or inpatient programs, but require more support than what regular outpatient therapy can provide.

What makes EDCare’s PHP unique? We have designed this inclusive program specifically for adults, ages 18 and older. In other programs, patients meet with their treatment team only four to five days a week, but with EDCare’s highly structured PHP, you meet with your team seven days a week. You will also receive 10 hours of program support from Monday through Friday, with reduced hours on weekends. Local patients often return home after program hours. For patients who live out of town or need additional after-hours support, we offer housing at our apartment in Kansas City and Connections House in Denver.

Our Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) builds the foundation for long-term recovery from anorexia. In this program, you will begin to practice the skills you have acquired from PHP. While you will be applying these skills independently, you will still receive structured clinical support.

EDCare’s IOP is a gender-inclusive program for individuals ages 18 and above, offered at both our Denver and Kansas City treatment centers. We believe the skill you gain in PHP are essential to your long-term recovery and for this reason, we do not direcly admit individuals into our Daytime IOP.

Our Evening Intensive Outpatient Program (EIOP) is for those who need comprehensive support, but may be unable to seek a higher level of care because they work full-time, are in school, or have other responsibilities. EIOP is for adults ages 18 and older and is available at our eating disorder treatment centers at Denver, Kansas City, Colorado Springs, and Omaha. EIOP gives you four hours of program support Monday through Thursday. Under this program, you will learn to disrupt unproductive behaviors, face your fears, and tackle new challenges.

EDCare’s Adolescent Intensive Outpatient Program (AIOP) is available in our Colorado Springs eating disorder treatment center and is similar to our adult EIOP. The difference is, this program is tailored for teenagers ages 14-17. The patient’s family is also encouraged to take on an active role in their loved one’s treatment plan. AIOP easily fits into a teen’s schedule and lifestyle, with its evening programming. This allows them to attend school while learning skills essential to coping with anorexia.

Recovery from anorexia nervosa is possible. Ongoing support and access to recovery resources through our Outpatient and Aftercare Services will help you maintain success long-term.

Treatment Modalities

At EDCare, we understand that each patient faces unique challenges and goals. We use the following treatment modalities to help you achieve sustained recovery.

A type of therapy that centers on strategies to diminish anxiety, control emotions, and interrupt unhealthy eating patterns. At the end of the treatment, patients experience an increase in confidence and self-sufficiency.

CBT helps you explore how your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors fuel unhealthy eating patterns.

This personalized type of transdiagnostic psychotherapy seeks to identify the unique mechanisms that maintain the eating disorder.

IPT is based on the idea that interpersonal relationships can impact one’s mental and emotional health. In this therapy, we help interrupt unhealthy habits by examining how you interact with others.

This form of therapy centers on recognizing core values and setting goals in order to remain fully present and connected to one’s authentic self.

EDCare offers help for a number of different conditions.

Anorexia
Nervosa Bulimia
Nervosa Binge Eating
Disorder Other
Disorders

What is Anorexia Nervosa?

Anorexia nervosa, more commonly known as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by the obsession with body shape, weight, and food intake that leads to self-imposed starvation.

To prevent themselves from gaining weight or to continue losing weight, individuals with anorexia will resort to severe food intake restriction and/or over exercise. Some people with anorexia may eat regular meals or even engage in binge eating, only to purge later. They may also refuse to change disordered eating behaviors or to be admitted to anorexia nervosa treatment centers. Without a proper anorexia treatment plan, a person with anorexia may reach a point where they still perceive themselves as fat despite being significantly underweight.

While anorexia is most distinguished by irregular eating behaviors, it involves factors beyond food. Its symptoms are attempts to cope with emotions that are seemingly unmanageable by achieving control and perfectionism, at least over the body and appetite. For those living with anorexia, the feeling of self-worth comes from the ability to reach their goal of losing weight.

Often, symptoms of anorexia develop after certain emotional life experiences. A person’s genetic history also plays a role. Symptoms often develop gradually, over a period of years. Among women, symptoms usually manifest in the teenage years. But reports citing anorexia symptoms in preteen girls and boys are increasing in number.

Symptoms of anorexia appear in two patterns:

  • Deliberate refusal to maintain a healthy body weight relative to their height and age
  • Severely distorted self-image; often accompanied by the perception of fat, despite being underweight

At the onset of anorexia, the individual may exhibit symptoms that can be hard to distinguish from normal eating or dieting behavior. The symptoms may also be dismissed as side effects of substance use or attributed to other health issues.

In many cases, anorexia symptoms are invisible to the untrained eye. Trained eating disorder professionals have the ability to distinguish anorexic behaviors. Some of the physical signs professionals look out for include:

  • Thin appearance
  • Severe weight loss
  • Fatigue
  • Brittle nails
  • Dry skin
  • Dizziness or fainting
  • Thinning, breaking, or falling out of hair
  • Seizures
  • Dehydration
  • Abnormal blood counts
  • Low blood pressure
  • Elevated liver enzymes
  • Irregular heart rhythms
  • Amenorrhea or the absence of menstruation
  • Lanugo or the presence of fine hair on the extremities
  • Constipation
  • Intolerance of cold
  • Osteoporosis or the loss of bone calcium

It is not uncommon for people who have eating disorders to experience co-occurring symptoms such as:

  • Abuse of Stimulants
  • Co-occurring Alcoholism
  • Co-occurring Personality Disorders
  • Purging Behaviors with Starvation

The early signs of anorexia mostly involve preoccupation with obsessive or compulsive dieting or eating behavior. A person with anorexia may gradually show disordered eating patterns until these become visible to others and possibly interfere with their career, school and relationship with family and friends.

If you worry that you or someone close to you may have anorexia, here are some early signs to look out for:

  • Obsession with body size and shape
  • Denial of hunger
  • Skipping meals
  • Making excuses for not eating
  • Refusal to eat
  • Developing eating rituals like spitting food out after eating or cutting food up into small pieces
  • Eating only certain foods they consider safe; often those low in calories and fat
  • Preparing huge meals for others but refusing to eat
  • Exercising excessively

Several other behaviors may also be apparent, including:

  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Lack of emotion
  • Flat mood
  • Repeated weighing
  • Frequent complaining about being fat
  • Checking for perceived flaws in the mirror

The effects of anorexia nervosa vary, depending on the disease’s severity. A person with anorexia may feel the following effects:

  • Disruption of career
  • Withdrawal from school
  • Isolation
  • Loss of connection to religion or faith
  • Suicidal thoughts or attempt

These effects tend to worsen as the person crowds their mind with thoughts about food. Anorexia also affects an individual physically, and the consequences of starvation are often irreversible. Physical effects reflect the high death rate associated with anorexia.

Some of these effects include:

  • Infertility
  • Heart attacks
  • Brain damage
  • Shutdown of major body organs

These are some of the common effects experienced by individuals with anorexia. However, the disease affects men and women differently and there are signs, symptoms, and patterns that specialists can better detect and identify.

Schedule A Complimentary Consultation