Our program uniquely combines evidence-based treatment with warmth, compassion, and a sense of humor. At the UC San Diego Health Eating Disorders Center offers inpatient, day treatment/partial hospitalization (PHP), and intensive outpatient (IOP) care for children, adolescents, and adults. As a non-profit, university-based center, we are dedicated to delivering cutting-edge, research-driven treatments to support recovery, prevent relapse, and help individuals build meaningful lives.
Healing isn't just about treatment, it's about building a life worth living.
If you are someone you love is struggling, we are here to help. Reach out today and take the first step towards hope and healing.
Treatment Team
Each individual/family is assigned a personalized treatment team. All of our clinicians are full-time employees, ensuring thorough team collaboration and comprehensive care.
| Psychiatric Provider | A psychiatric evaluation is conducted at the onset of treatment. Each patient meets with their provider throughout their course of care to address symptom severity and medication management. Parents of pediatric and adolescent patients are invited to attend appointments. Sessions are typically weekly while in PHP and monthly while in IOP. |
| Nurse | Available for medical needs, monitors weight and vitals as indicated and collaborates with external medical providers. |
| Individual Therapist | Meets at least once per week for evidence-based individual therapy utilizing DBT. In adolescent and adult programs provides phone coaching to patients outside of program hours. Additional sessions weekly to target other treatment needs. |
| Family Therapist | Each pediatric and adolescent patient has a specialized family therapist who conducts FBT sessions. Adults can have family therapy with parents, spouses/partners, children, friends—whoever is “family” to that patient and can assist in recovery. |
| Dietitian | Meets at least once per week for meal and snack planning. In pediatric and adolescent programs parents also attend sessions. Dietitians provide meal support, run nutrition groups and cooking classes. |
Treatment Components
- Individual Therapy
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Individual sessions are grounded in the DBT framework, while supplementary sessions incorporate other evidence-based modalities such as Prolonged Exposure (PE) for trauma and Exposure Response Prevention (ERP) for OCD to comprehensively and effectively address a broader range of symptoms.
- Family Therapy
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In our pediatric and adolescent programs weekly FBT sessions are complemented by Family Meals where parents learn to meal coach their children alongside the treatment team. Additionally, multi-family skills groups engage parents and children together as well as parent-focused skills sessions including Parent Management Training (PMT) and support groups to provide essential tools and support to foster lasting positive change.
In our adult program we offer family therapy and a weekly virtual Carers group and additional programming with families of adults 18—25 years of age.
- Group Therapy
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Our groups are led by master’s and PhD level clinicians who specialize in eating disorders and bring diverse expertise to address co-occurring diagnoses and symptoms. Group sizes are carefully tailored to clinical needs, ensuring optimal support and effectiveness within each specialty group.
- Therapeutic Meals
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Our chefs prepare customized meals in a state-of-the-art commercial kitchen, meticulously tailored to each individual’s meal plan. During mealtime dietitians and therapists offer personalized support, ensuring a therapeutic and nurturing environment for every patient.
- Dietary Support
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The Nutrition Team consists of highly skilled registered dietitians (RDs), dietetic technicians (DTs) and culinary staff all working in tandem to design a dietary program that is both scientifically grounded and personalized to meet each patient's unique needs. Every patient is paired with a RD who develops a tailored meal plan aligned with their specific diagnosis and recovery objectives. We also integrate Recovery Record, a mobile app, to track meal plan adherence and portioning.
The dietary program features weekly meal innings and outings, hands-on cooking classes, and dynamic nutrition education groups. Loved ones including partners, parents, and carers are actively involved through weekly psychoeducation groups and dedicated family sessions with the treatment team.
Therapeutic Meal Support Our culinary team prepares meals in our commercial kitchen with each dish carefully aligned to meet individual meal plans. Dietitians and therapists are fully engaged at every meal and snack, providing hands-on, one-on-one support to ensure patients receive the guidance they need to navigate each eating experience with confidence and care. Meal Innings and Outings Patients partake in meal exposures, either dining out or sharing takeout with peers guided by our RDs and DTs. These real-world experiences help patients confront challenging food and social situations, building confidence and resilience as they move through recovery. Cooking Class All receive individualized support from our RDs to build confidence and skills for life beyond treatment. Cooking classes offer a therapeutic, hands-on approach to food, followed by shared meals with peers. Through group and individual sessions, patients learn essential kitchen skills, food safety, and budgeting to support long-term independence. We utilize the Plate Model to teach patients how to approach each meal and snack as its own nutritionally balanced eating experience.
- Psychiatric/Medical Support
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Ongoing medical monitoring including labs, vitals, and weight checks, weekly psychiatric sessions, medication management, and drug/alcohol screens as necessary.
- Nursing
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The nursing team consists of caring and collaborative registered nurses (RNs). Each patient is assigned to one RN who works with the treatment team to coordinate care and work together with outside providers along with your team in program. Each nurse will obtain vitals and will work with patients’ individual needs to manage any issues that may occur while in program.