I recently had the opportunity to sit and talk with one of our newest hires, Jamee Pollard. Jamee is a Licensed Clinical Social Work Associate who is kind and vibrant. She specializes in helping adults suffering from trauma, anxiety, OCD, and depression.

What made you decide to go into Social Work?
I’ve always been interested in listening to the stories that make us human. The story of someone’s happiness, heartbreak, pain, embarrassment and perseverance. I realized that people often believe their story makes them undeserving of feeling seen, heard or valued… but I respectfully disagreed. And that’s why I’m here.

Please tell us about your experience prior to coming to Chrysalis?
I worked with individuals and groups in intensive outpatient and partial hospitalization settings. I specialized in treating suicidal thoughts, complex trauma, borderline personality disorder, and schizophrenia. I received a lot of training in dialectical behavior therapy, and its non-judgmental, acceptance-based philosophy really resonated with me.

What would you like your clients to know prior to their first session with you? 
They can expect a trauma-informed approach, where the therapeutic relationship is built through safety, collaboration, and transparency. I hold the belief that we all have the ability to change our lives if we feel empowered and supported.

What did you think you were going to be when you grew up and how does it compare to your current career at Chrysalis? 
I wanted to be a lawyer! It’s pretty different from what I’m doing now. However, in both positions your job is to help people navigate tough situations. there is also a social justice piece that is an important feature in both fields.

Would you rather live in a treehouse or houseboat and why? 
Houseboat! Because I could travel up and down the coast without having to pay for hotels.

Back to school season is upon us, and that means the return of early mornings, fall sports, and packed lunches. Packing kids’ lunches is a great, hands-on way for parents/caregivers to make sure your kiddos are being sent with a variety of foods, foods that they like, and enough food to keep them going through long days of school.

While there is nothing wrong with a traditional PBJ in a brown paper bag, this blog post is going to dive into some innovative ways to make kids’ lunches nutritionally dense and provide them with a fun lunchtime experience.

First, we will tackle the lunch box. It goes without saying that any lunchbox will be perfectly adequate, but there are lunch boxes out there that are helpful for providing some structure and encouraging variety. “Bento box” style lunch pails have a lot of little

compartments, all of which can be filled with a different snack or main course. They’re somewhat similar to lunchables, in that every compartment can hold something different. There are also bento box style containers that can snap together and fit into a pre-existing lunch pail.

Options for bento box lunch pails:
Bentgo 5 compartment lunch pail (recommended portions for kids 3-7)
Bentgo 4 compartment lunch pail (with attachable ice pack)
Bentology Lunch Bag and Box set (Insulated bag and containers included)

There are tons of fun color and print options available that can help add some extra excitement to lunchtime.

Now, lets move on to what to put in packed lunches to make them satisfying and tasty. Lots of simple meals can be based on the formula: grain, protein, fat, vegetable/fruit. Grains are a source of carbohydrate, which is our brains main source of energy. Protein and fats help us feel full at the end of a meal and help “hold us over” until it’s time to eat again. Fruits and vegetables provide us some extra micronutrients, like vitamins and minerals. To make this easy, examples will be included in this post, AND we’re providing a cheat sheet to help if you’re stuck and can’t decide what to pack.

Meal 1: Turkey, lettuce, and cheese pinwheels with carrots and ranch

Grain: Tortilla

Protein: Turkey

Fat: Cheese, ranch

Veg: Lettuce, carrots Recipe for pinwheels linked HERE

Meal 2: Chickpea, mozzarella, and cucumber salad with crackers and hummus

Grain: Crackers

Protein: Chickpea, hummus

Fat: Cheese, Italian dressing (for salad, optional)

Veg: cucumber

Recipe for salad: equal parts diced cucumber and drained chickpeas, one chopped up cheese stick, 1 tbsp Italian dressing (optional)

Meal 3: Peanut butter and Jelly on whole wheat bread with yogurt and berries

Grain: Bread

Protein: Yogurt

Fat: Peanut butter

Fruit: Berries

Another essential element of packed lunches is snacks! By covering each food group in the main meal, snacks can be a little less rigid in terms of the nutrients they contain. A good rule of thumb is to plan snacks to include at least 2 food groups. This will make

them more filling.

Snack 1: Cheese-its and grapes (2 food groups)

Carbohydrate: cheese-its

Fruit: grapes

Snack 2: Crackers and cheese (2 food groups)

Carbohydrate: crackers

Protein: cheese

Snack 3: Bell peppers and cream cheese (2 food groups)

Veg: bell peppers

Fat: cream cheese

Remember, these are just suggestions on some simple recipes and snacks to pack for your kids. There is no right or wrong answers, and the suggestions in this post can be adapted in any way that works

for you. If you’re worried about sending your kids too much or too little, its worth noting that kids are very cognizant of their hunger and fullness cues and can adjust how much they’re eating accordingly. Don’t worry if some days they’re finishing everything and other days they’re barely touching their meal. Keep open communication with them and ask what they’re liking and not liking. This is one way to make sure they’re getting nutritionally adequate meals that they enjoy!

Happy Back to School season!

School Lunch cheat sheet (pick at least one food from each category)

*This is by no means comprehensive and is only meant to help generate meal ideas*

Body Mass Index (BMI) is a way to group individuals into categories based on their height and weight. It’s a simple formula: Kg/m2. Divide your weight in kilograms over your height in meters squared and you’re left with a number. This number places you into a category that you’ve probably seen and heard before from doctors, peers, teachers, and maybe Wii Fit.

But that begs the question, where did this formula come from and what is it based on? How were the categories developed? How did it come to pass that we use BMI so heavily in our healthcare system? These questions and more are important to discuss so we can all make a decision about where BMI belongs when we have conversations about health, weight, body size, and nutrition – if it belongs in these conversations at all.

BMI chart (source: nhlbi.NIH.gov)

History:

Adolphe Quetelet is the physicist credited with the idea that weight increases with height squared. This measurement was known as the Quetelet Index until 1972 when the name was changed to body mass index (aka BMI). Quetelet dedicated his career to the application of statistics to society, which earned him the title of a pioneer in social sciences1. Quetelet is often credited with describing the “average man” through his use of the Quetelet Index in his research, however, his career took place in Europe during the nineteenth century and centered primarily on white men. Though he was a social scientist, his attempts to describe the average man through BMI has left a significant impact on public health2.

Ancel Keys is the physiologist that picked up BMI where Quetelet left off. Keys is a renowned physicist who is credited with describing the relationship between cholesterol and heart disease, created K-rations for the military, and studied starvation and the impact it has on the body in the Minnesota Starvation Experiment during WWII3. Body mass index was one of the anthropometrics used by Keys in his Seven Countries Study to categorize participants based on body size. This is one of the reasons that BMI became so popular in our modern healthcare system.

BMI Today:

Today, BMI is a part of our daily lives. It’s taught in most basic health and nutrition courses, there are BMI charts in gym bathrooms, some insurance policies use BMI to determine rates, and it’s even in some fitness focused video games. BMI has become one of the quickest ways to categorize body size – and for some, it’s how they determine health status. Most of us know our BMI, and if you’ve ever been on a diet, tracked your macros, or taken any interest into changing what you eat in pursuit of weight loss, you may have found yourself somewhat obsessing over that number.

Even though it’s used everywhere, there are valid criticisms of BMI that call into question how useful the number is. The first and most often recognized issue is that BMI doesn’t take into account muscle mass, fat mass, frame size, and water weight. Muscle tissue weighs more than adipose (fat) tissue, so someone who is active and has more muscle on their body may fall into the “overweight” or “obese” category, even if they are at a healthy weight for their body7. The second issue is that BMI was developed using white European men. Remember, Quetelet developed BMI by doing research in nineteenth-century Europe, meaning the population he used to develop the formula and categories are from just one area of the world and all from one race and gender. Body size and body composition varies between genders, with women having a naturally higher body fat percentage than men, which makes using BMI as a tool to categorize everyone problematic. The third issue is that BMI is often used as a justification for weight-based discrimination. As previously mentioned, BMI can be used to categorize people based on body size, which can be used as a justification for weight based descrimination4. Another example of this is the practice of sending home “BMI report cards” with public school students. These cards are designed to raise parents’ awareness of their child’s health status, but have been criticized for the potential harm they can cause in terms of weight discrimination and bullying between students6.

So, where does BMI belong. That answer depends on who you ask. Health providers have used BMI as a basic assessment of body size, but this doesn’t mean that BMI is inherently a marker of health or that it should be used as such. Health professionals who use BMI should be mindful that, though it does give an idea of a patient’s size, it doesn’t give insight into overall health and is by no means a comprehensive measurement. For someone not in healthcare, BMI doesn’t mean much as a standalone number. Before putting any meaning on BMI, consider your relationship with food, your body, and how you feel. Those pieces of the health “puzzle” will hold more meaning than BMI.

References:

1. Eknoyan G. Adolphe Quetelet (1796 1874) the average man and indices of obesity. Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation. 2007;23(1):47-51. doi:10.1093/ndt/gfm517

2. Faerstein E, Winkelstein W. Adolphe Quetelet. Epidemiology. 2012;23(5):762-763. doi:10.1097/ede.0b013e318261c86f

3. Oransky I. Ancel Keys. The Lancet. 2004;364(9452):2174. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(04)17578-8

4. Rasmussen N. Downsizing obesity: On Ancel Keys, the origins of BMI, and the neglect of excess weight as a health hazard in the United States from the 1950s to 1970s. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences. 2019;55(4):299-318. doi:10.1002/jhbs.21991

5. Roser M, Appel C, Ritchie H. Human Height. Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/human-height. Published October 8, 2013.

6. Thompson HR, Madsen KA. The Report Card on BMI Report Cards. Current Obesity Reports. 2017;6(2):163-167. doi:10.1007/s13679-017-0259-6

7. Body Mass Index Advantages and Disadvantages. LIVESTRONG.COM. https://www.livestrong.com/article/40808-body-mass-index-advantages/.

Both Attention-Deficit hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Eating Disorders (EDs) are increasing in prevalence. There is documented overlap between the two and how the diagnoses interact with one another. Those with both ADHD and Ed will have unique experiences that will impact their interaction, with their disorder and with treatment.

ADHD is a disorder characterized by the presence and persistence of the core symptoms of hyperactivity/impulsivity and/or inattention. Hyperactivity is defined as constant movement in inappropriate situations. It can include things like fidgeting, always talking/frequently interrupting, or talking at an inappropriate volume. Impulsivity refers to hasty decision making without forethought, which can go alongside hyperactivity in social situations. Inattention, on the other hand, manifests as wandering from task to task, difficulty maintaining focus, and disorganization. Inattention is much less “visible” than hyperactivity and impulsivity, meaning that those with inattentive ADHD are easier to miss (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). ADHD is diagnosed in roughly a 2:1 ratio of males to females, but recent research suggests that this may be due in part to different presentations based on gender.

ADHD has a worldwide prevalence of about 5%(Polanczyk et al., 2007). Most of these diagnoses are made in boys below the age of 18. In the college age population, prevalence is estimated between 2-8%. Based on current research, it appears that approximately ~75% of ADHD symptoms from childhood will persist into adulthood (Biederman et al., 2010). These statistics are changing, however, because women are underdiagnosed with ADHD. Women/girls typically present with more inattentive behaviors, vs. men/boys who tend to present as more visibly hyperactive.

The worldwide prevalence of eating disorder is estimated at 8.4% for women and 2.2% for men. The estimated combined percentage of eating disorders has risen from ~3.5% between 2000-2006, to ~8% between 2013-2018. Prevalence of eating disorders in adolescents is estimated between 6-8% (Galmiche et al., 2019).

Recently, there has been an ongoing conversation about the way that ADHD symptoms can impact the development and progression of eating disorders. Symptoms such as inattention, poor impulse control, and poor executive function all support a link between ADHD and the manifestation of eating disorders. These symptoms may manifest as forgetting meals and snacks, poor awareness of hunger and fullness cues, and strong impulses to binge/purge. Other factors may include anxiety and mood disorders, both of which occur at higher rates in both those with ADHD and eating disorders (Levin & Rawana, 2016).

The research around this topic is new and ongoing, but by bringing attention to the possibility of a relationship between eating disorders and ADHD, the hope is that, over time, screening, and early intervention for those at high risk for either diagnosis will improve. If you or a loved one struggles with ADHD, an eating disorder, or both, you are not alone. Clinicians at Chrysalis treat these disorders both individually and when they co-occur.

References:
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. American Psychiatric Association. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596

Galmiche, M., Déchelotte, P., Lambert, G., & Tavolacci, M. P. (2019). Prevalence of eating disorders over the 2000–2018 period: A systematic literature review. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 109(5), 1402-1413. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqy342

Levin, R. L., & Rawana, J. S. (2016). Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and eating disorders across the lifespan: A systematic review of the literature. Clinical Psychology Review, 50, 22-36. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2016.09.010

Polanczyk, G., M.D., Silva de Lima, M., M.D., Horta, B. L., M.D., Ph.D., Biederman, J.,M.D., & Rohde, L. A., M.D., Ph.D. (2007). The Worldwide Prevalence of ADHD:A Systematic Review and Metaregression Analysis. American Journal of Psychology, 164(6), 942-948.

I had the pleasure of sitting down recently to talk to one of our newest hires, Riley Burns. Riley is energetic, enthusiastic, and adventurous. Case in point, she recently moved to Wilmington site unseen from upstate New York, looking for a change of scenery.
Riley’s training experiences included exposure to eating disorders at the outpatient, IOP, and PHP levels of care. She did her graduate research on eating disorders and ADHD and will be submitting her findings soon for publication (see below for an informational article she wrote exclusively for our blog on this topic!). She is HAES-aligned and will be seeing clients outpatient, as well as working in our IOP.

What are your areas of clinical interest/populations you enjoy working with?
Eating disorders of all types, including ARFID. Working with clients with co-occurring ED and ADHD and neurodivergent clients with ED. Children, adolescents, and college age clients.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
Various crafts, music (she plays the trumpet), rollerskating, hiking, backpacking, and travel (she went to Rome this summer!).

Favorite book you’ve read recently? Red White and Royal Blue and Love Hypothesis.

Any pets?
Not yet! But coming soon hopefully!

ADHD and Eating Disorders: Addressing the Overlap

Both Attention-Deficit hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Eating Disorders (EDs) are increasing in prevalence. There is documented overlap between the two and how the diagnoses interact with one another. Those with both ADHD and an ED will have unique experiences that will impact their interaction, with their disorder and with treatment.

ADHD is a disorder characterized by the presence and persistence of the core symptoms of hyperactivity/impulsivity and/or inattention. Hyperactivity is defined as constant movement in inappropriate situations. It can include things like fidgeting, always talking/frequently interrupting, or talking at an inappropriate volume. Impulsivity refers to hasty decision making without forethought, which can go alongside hyperactivity in social situations. Inattention, on the other hand, manifests as wandering from task to task, difficulty maintaining focus, and disorganization. Inattention is much less “visible” than hyperactivity and impulsivity, meaning that those with inattentive ADHD are easier to miss (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). ADHD is diagnosed in roughly a 2:1 ratio of males to females, but recent research suggests that this may be due in part to different presentations based on gender.

ADHD has a worldwide prevalence of about 5% (Polanczyk et al., 2007). Most of these diagnoses are made in boys below the age of 18. In the college age population, prevalence is estimated between 2-8%. Based on current research, it appears that approximately ~75% of ADHD symptoms from childhood will persist into adulthood (Biederman et al., 2010). These statistics are changing, however, because women are underdiagnosed with ADHD. Women/girls typically present with more inattentive behaviors, vs. men/boys who tend to present as more visibly hyperactive.

The worldwide prevalence of eating disorder is estimated at 8.4% for women and 2.2% for men. The estimated combined percentage of eating disorders has risen from ~3.5% between 2000-2006, to ~8% between 2013-2018. Prevalence of eating disorders in adolescents is estimated between 6-8% (Galmiche et al., 2019).

Recently, there has been an ongoing conversation about the way that ADHD symptoms can impact the development and progression of eating disorders. Symptoms such as inattention, poor impulse control, and poor executive function all support a link between ADHD and the manifestation of eating disorders. These symptoms may manifest as forgetting meals and snacks, poor awareness of hunger and fullness cues, and strong impulses to binge/purge. Other factors may include anxiety and mood disorders, both of which occur at higher rates in both those with ADHD and eating disorders (Levin & Rawana, 2016).

The research around this topic is new and ongoing, but by bringing attention to the possibility of a relationship between eating disorders and ADHD, the hope is that, over time, screening, and early intervention for those at high risk for either diagnosis will improve. If you or a loved one struggles with ADHD, an eating disorder, or both, you are not alone. Clinicians at Chrysalis treat these disorders both individually and when they co-occur.

References:

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. American Psychiatric Association. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596

Galmiche, M., Déchelotte, P., Lambert, G., & Tavolacci, M. P. (2019). Prevalence of eating disorders over the 2000–2018 period: A systematic literature review. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 109(5), 1402-1413. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqy342

Levin, R. L., & Rawana, J. S. (2016). Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and eating disorders across the lifespan: A systematic review of the literature. Clinical Psychology Review, 50, 22-36. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2016.09.010

Polanczyk, G., M.D., Silva de Lima, M., M.D., Horta, B. L., M.D., Ph.D., Biederman, J., M.D., & Rohde, L. A., M.D., Ph.D. (2007). The Worldwide Prevalence of ADHD: A Systematic Review and Metaregression Analysis. American Journal of Psychology, 164(6), 942-948.

You are not necessarily new to Chrysalis. Please tell us about your training and experience prior to joining Chrysalis in a professional capacity.
That’s true! I interned at Chrysalis from January 2021 to May 2022 while I was earning my master’s degree in social work. Before that, I worked as a researcher with people with schizophrenia, as a hospital safety attendant, as a bystander intervention educator, and as a childcare worker.

Pride month is a wonderful time to celebrate all the awesome things about being queer (bucking gender norms! embracing diversity in sexual and gender identity! drag race!). We reflect on the heroic work of our queer forebears and celebrate the progress we’ve made. Pride month is also a time for us to look honestly at the battles we still face. For LGBTQ and allied staff at Chrysalis, this means an opportunity to raise awareness about the disproportionate impact of eating disorders on the queer community.

People in the LGBTQ community suffer from eating disorders at significantly higher rates than their cisgender and heterosexual peers. A recent study found that adults who identify as gay, lesbian, and/or bisexual were up to four times as likely to report a lifetime diagnosis of an eating disorder as their heterosexual peers¹. Eating disorders may be even more prevalent among transgender and non-binary individuals; one study found that 10.7% of trans men and 8.2% of trans women surveyed had been diagnosed with anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa¹. Early research on non-binary individuals suggests that this group may experience a heightened risk of eating disorders compared to binary trans folks². The disparity between queer and straight people starts young: compared to straight and cisgender kids, gender- and sexual-minority youth and adolescents were significantly more likely to report disordered behaviors like vomiting, over-exercise, fasting, and binging¹.

In our therapy groups, we often talk about how eating disorders are a coping mechanism, helping people deal with difficult things when they don’t have other resources or support. This is still true for queer individuals with eating disorders, but how the disorder allows the person to cope may be different. For individuals without access to gender-affirming medical care like hormones or surgery, eating disorders may serve to lessen gender dysphoria by minimizing secondary sex characteristics like breast or muscle development or menstruation³. For others, eating disorders may be a way to numb the distress of living in a world that denies and shames queer people’s identities². For both groups, transphobia and homophobia feed the development of the eating disorder.

What does pride month have to do with all this? For many, affirmation and pride in their identity can be the antidote to their eating disorder. Gay and bisexual individuals who experienced discrimination were at a significantly greater risk of disordered eating behaviors than those who lived in an affirming environment, indicating that acceptance and social support may buffer queer people from eating disorders¹. Among gender-diverse individuals, access to and use of gender-affirming medical interventions was associated with increased body satisfaction and lower eating disorder behaviors⁴. To cut through the scientific jargon, affirming queer identities and providing access to necessary medical care helps queer people recover from eating disorders. Advocating for our legal rights and protections, speaking out against homophobia and transphobia, and celebrating pride in the queer community are ways that all of us across the gender and sexual orientation spectrums can fight the scourge of eating disorders in our community.

If you’re a member of the LGBTQ community struggling with an eating disorder, stay tuned for the announcement of our new outpatient therapy group! We’ll explore the intersection of identity and recovery in a supportive environment. If interested, please talk to your therapist to be added to the waitlist.

1. Nagata, J. M., Ganson, K. T., & Austin, S. B. (2020). Emerging trends in eating disorders among sexual and gender minorities. Current opinion in psychiatry, 33(6), 562–567. https://doi.org/10.1097/YCO.0000000000000645
2. Diemer, E. W., White Hughto, J. M., Gordon, A. R., Guss, C., Austin, S. B., & Reisner, S. L. (2018). Beyond the Binary: Differences in Eating Disorder Prevalence by Gender Identity in a Transgender Sample. Transgender Health, 3(1), 17–23. https://doi.org/10.1089/trgh.2017.0043
3. Coelho, J. S., Suen, J., Clark, B. A., Marshall, S. K., Geller, J., & Lam, P. Y. (2019). Eating Disorder Diagnoses and Symptom Presentation in Transgender Youth: a Scoping Review. Current psychiatry reports, 21(11), 107. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-019-1097-x
4. Ålgars, M., Alanko, K., Santtila, P., & Sandnabba, N. K. (2012). Disordered eating and gender identity disorder: a qualitative study. Eating disorders, 20(4), 300–311. https://doi.org/10.1080/10640266.2012.668482

Photo Credit: Shutterstock

This week Chrysalis celebrates our 19th anniversary of service to our community. In that time, we’ve grown from 2 employees to 22 total clinical and administrative employees, plus 2 terrific interns. We’ve expanded our services from offering just outpatient individual therapy to include nutritional counseling, an array of groups, medication management, and two tracks of our intensive outpatient program for eating disorders. We’ve had 4 different locations, starting in a 3 room office of 1000 square feet and landing in 10,000 square feet spanning 4 office suites.

In the past 5 years, we are proud to have completed the process to become and maintain our state license and Joint Commission accreditation. More recently, we navigated a pandemic, an abrupt pivot to telehealth, and an exponential need for mental health services. This year we look forward to welcoming 4 new therapists, 2 additional dietitians, expanding our outpatient group offerings, and adding a trauma-informed track to our IOP.

We’ve undergone many changes, experienced exciting opportunities for growth, worked hard, played hard, learned a lot, and enjoyed wonderful collaborations with so many partners, practices, agencies, and treatment centers in Wilmington and well beyond. Most importantly, we’ve developed therapeutic relationships with thousands of clients and been honored to be a part of so many different recovery journeys. We thank you to all who have been part of supporting us in any way, shape, or form over the past 19 years and look forward to continuing to restore hope and empower change in the coming years.

Chrysalis IOP has gone through a lot of changes in the past year and while change can be scary and uncomfortable at times, we have come out of this metamorphosis better than ever. As a team, we believe in taking a client-centered approach. This means that the client’s needs always come first. Because of that, we are constantly striving to utilize the latest evidence-based practices to make improvements and revamp groups in a way that fits our clients’ needs. Below are some of our newest additions to the program:

Summer Intensive Track
Chrysalis always strives to provide adequate treatment resources to the community. Summer can be a very difficult time for individuals with eating disorders and it can be helpful to have a little extra support during the warmer months. Because of this increased need, we have decided to offer another track of IOP this summer. This program will begin on June 15th and run through August 18th. It will be held from 9am to 1pm on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Each day of IOP will consist of two therapy groups followed by a meal group. More information about our IOP can be found at https://chrysaliscenter-nc.com/iop/. This track of IOP is perfect for college students or teachers whose schedules make it difficult to commit to treatment during the school year as well as anyone who needs a summer reset. For more information, please contact our IOP treatment coordinator at (910)726-9194.

Exposure Meal Group
As previously mentioned, we strive to utilize the most effective evidence-based practices in our program. Exposure therapy is an evidence-based treatment that was created to help people confront fears. When we are afraid of something, we tend to avoid it. Although this avoidance might immediately reduce feelings of fear, it can actually make the fear worse in the long-term.
Exposure meal group gives clients the opportunity to replicate a typical meal with friends or family followed by a chance to process their experience. During this group, clients track their distress level to prove to themselves that, although the meal may cause anxiety, they CAN get through it.

Yoga
Movement is an important part of recovery and can be extremely therapeutic. We have started to incorporate regular therapeutic yoga sessions into our group curriculum. Yoga sessions are run by Rachel Levin who is a local certified yoga instructor. She is trauma informed and specializes in teaching recovery yoga in various settings.

Grocery Store Tours and Meal Outings
The COVID-19 pandemic really limited our ability to engage in some of the group activities that we had incorporated into our program in the past. As we begin to adjust to our “new normal,” we have decided to bring back grocery store tours and meal outings. Grocery shopping can cause a lot of anxiety and is often avoided by people with eating disorders. Similarly, going out to eat can be a distressing experience for individual struggling with eating concerns. These experiential activities have been incredibly useful to our clients and provide the opportunity to build skills outside of the treatment setting to assist in creating a life that is aligned with clients’ values.

We are thrilled to be able to offer these services to the community and are always here to help! Please don’t hesitate to reach out to our IOP treatment coordinator with any questions by phone at (910)726-9194 or by email at lauren.francis@chrysaliscenter-nc.com.

As many of you are aware, our dear friend and respected colleague, Chaundra Evans, RD, LDN is retiring from direct patient care at the end of this month. For the past 18.5 years, I’ve worked alongside Chaundra; whether our space was 1000 square feet or 10,000 square feet our offices have always been next to each other. We have shared thousands of clients together over the years, working together on the most challenging and rewarding of cases. Our collaboration has become so second nature that we’ve been accused more than once of sharing a brain. And despite the dismay over my extroversion enthusiastically committing us to numerous speaking engagements across the country, my introverted “work wife” has hesitantly obliged to publicly present even though she’d much rather set herself on fire. Little does she know how much I envy her natural teaching abilities; she outwardly makes it look effortless even though I know internally she’s sweating profusely.

If you have had the good fortune of being Chaundra’s client, you know how knowledgeable and compassionate she is. If you’ve collaborated with her professionally, you know how knowledgeable and compassionate she is. And if you’ve known her personally, you know how much she loves her dog(s), the water, and the important people in her life. She is a kind, gentle soul with an infectious laugh. We’ve grown up in this field together and I always envisioned we’d grow old together in this field. I will miss her dearly day to day, but I take comfort knowing that our journey isn’t over. I’m excited we still have projects and presentations in the works, as we strive to educate other professionals in our specialty areas.

As she sets sail (literally) on her next adventure, we wish her all the best. Chaundra, please know how much you’ll be missed by your clients and your colleagues and what a difference you’ve made in so many people’s lives over the years. You will forever be a part of Chrysalis’ legacy!