Giving Donations — Supporting the Eating Disorders Program

I just wanted to check in and say thank you. I am so grateful to have had you as my therapist at UCSD. Looking back, I can see how much you impacted my recovery, and I will always appreciate the work we did together.

I am happy to say that even after going through a rough break up, moving, and completing my first batch of midterms, I am ED free! I also haven't even been anywhere close to a grey area for some time now, which I never experienced before UCSD. Oh! And I have like three different types of cheeses in my fridge and ate pasta for dinner tonight (with some of that cheese of course). It's crazy how much my views on food have changed. It's not a reward or punishment or something strict. It's just food.

Never thought I would be here. And I really attribute a lot of my success to you and how you approached working with me - I felt heard and understood; I felt that you really cared, not just about me, but helping me get better; and I responded well to how you balanced your compassion and empathy with your determination and hard work. You were kind and understanding when I made mistakes or had bumps in the road, but you were also very clear on what I needed to do and how I could potentially get there in the future. When I think about all the things you did and the ways you helped me, I realize how much of a blessing you were to my life. You have really inspired my life worth living goals. When I think about how much you impacted me in the short time we got to know each other, I feel inspired by the potential impact I may have on others one day.

Our daughter was hospitalized and diagnosed with anorexia in 2006. For 2.5 years, post-hospitalization, we watched her struggle with the disease, while being treated by a physician, a psychologist and a nutritionist. We reached a point this summer where we had to consider inpatient residential treatment.

While researching places and prices for treatment programs, we came across the UCSD Intensive Family Therapy Program. Not only was it affordable, but the staff was extremely knowledgeable about the latest research and treatment methods.

We flew across the country for the one week intervention. It was the best decision we could have ever made……the staff was caring, knowledgeable and supportive. They designed the program to cater to our family’s needs at that point of time. We met as a family, as a couple, individually, and they even had sessions for siblings. The staff was extremely helpful post-intervention too. They were supportive and answered questions we had during the re-feeding process.

It is 4 months post-intervention now...our daughter is weight restored. Some days I want to pinch myself to make sure I am not dreaming. We know we still have a long ways to go for complete recovery, but all of us are so much more confident now, as we have an excellent resource to turn to. Thank you UCSD.

UCSD was amazingly wonderful. We ended up staying two weeks there in total. First week was their traditional 5-day family intensive week and then Dr. Kaye suggested we stay a second week and they tailored a program that included some family work and then a lot of group stuff for my daughter. Roxanne and the team are fantastic at what they do and I would recommend them to ANYONE going through this. They were very, very flexible and adamant that as the parent, I would know best what my daughter needs. As for XXXX, they were completely unwilling to even coach me through what to do with the melt downs, which surprised me greatly. I agreed and understood that weight restoration was a top priority, but my daughter was begging for something more, for a way to redirect her wasted energy that was obsessing over body image. Since we switched therapists, the melt downs have lessened in frequency and intensity. My daughter is working very hard at trying to redirect her mindset, etc.