Chrysalis Center offers a Joint Commission accredited Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) for patients 18 and older with all forms of eating disorders.

IOP is designed for those stepping down from higher levels of care (residential or partial hospitalization) who can live independently, but need more support as they transition out of intensive treatment. Likewise, those clients in outpatient therapy needing additional structure to their treatment course can benefit from the 4 day-a-week program which includes individual care, group therapy, and supervised meals.

For More Information about our IOP program, please contact lauren.francis@chrysaliscenter-nc.com

Mission Statement

Our mission is to provide exceptional, compassionate care for our clients and to create a safe, healthy, healing environment, which will foster change and promote growth and recovery.  It is our goal to treat every client in a caring, respectful, and responsive manner. 

Chrysalis Center’s Intensive Outpatient Programs strive to offer expert level, evidence-based treatment. In both our Trauma Focused (TF) and Eating Disorder (ED) IOPs, it is our goal to provide care to clients experiencing all types of eating disorders and a wide range of symptoms secondary to traumatic life experiences.  Our goal is to provide individualized care that targets every aspect of the client’s well-being in order to improve medical, nutritional, psychological, and interpersonal functioning. We seek to understand and challenge the underlying and maintaining factors of eating disorders and symptoms resulting from traumatic life experiences in order to achieve and sustain lasting recovery. It is our desire to restore hope and health to clients by empowering them to fulfill their goals, make positive changes, and prevent relapse. We believe that collaboration amongst the treatment team, clients, families, and the community will facilitate a path to successful outcomes. 

Components of Treatment

• Thorough assessment and individualized treatment planning
• Individual therapy and nutritional counseling with eating disorder experts
• Supportive meals facilitated by a registered dietitian
• A variety of group therapies
• Family or couples therapy, when indicated
• Psychiatric care, if needed
• Collaboration with referring providers
• Aftercare planning with our treatment coordinator

Sample Schedule (subject to change)

Chrysalis IOP takes place Monday through Thursday and runs from 3-7pm. In addition to groups, participants may
have individual sessions with a dietitian, medication provider, and therapist. Family sessions can be included as needed.

Overview of our IOP Groups

Mindful Living: This psychoeducational group is designed around the Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) model, while also heavily incorporating components of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Through the use of lectures, experiential activities, and group discussion, clients will learn, develop, and apply the skills of distress tolerance, mindfulness, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. The aim of this group is for clients to learn to live a meaningful life aligned with ones’ values, utilizing practical tools to help them overcome obstacles along the way.

Staying Open About Recovery (SOAR): This group focuses on eating disorder recovery and the challenges it presents. Improving healthy body image, increasing self-esteem, overcoming distorted thoughts and maladaptive coping, and preventing relapse are key components of the curriculum. Because recovery is an ongoing process, we believe having the support of others walking the same path is essential to forward growth and progress in living a life free of eating disordered thoughts and behaviors.

Nutrition Group: This group provides clients the opportunity to check in with a Registered Dietitian to review their meal plan and set goals. Nutrition education provided helps clients make food choices based on knowledge, rather than assumptions, and on facts rather than misinformation.  The group experience also helps clients process distorted thoughts about food and  body issues in a safe and productive manner.

Meal Group: The goal of meal support will include normalizing eating in a supportive environment to fuel the body with a variety of foods. It will focus on mindful eating and recognition of hunger and fullness prior, during, and after a meal. Meal support will aim to decrease negative emotions about food during and after a meal, to decrease food fears, and to increase acceptance of food variety. Meal support group is designed to improve self-confidence around self-regulated food intake and individual nutrition needs.

Exposure Meal Group: The goal of Exposure Meal Group is for clients to lean into the thoughts and emotions that come up during a meal. Clients are prompted to record their distress throughout the meal and pay attention to the anxiety they are experiencing while eating. This group allows clients to become more familiar with their thoughts and emotions and to practice challenging those thoughts in the moment. It also provides an opportunity for clients to prove to themselves that they are able to get through distressing experiences despite the presence of anxiety.

Process Group: This open-ended group is intended to be a forum for clients to discuss their particular struggles in a safe, supportive setting.

Specialty Groups: Yoga, Lifeskills, and other groups will be conducted as available.