This Monday, October 9th, a years long dream will become a reality. Chrysalis will begin offering our IOP for adults 18 and older with all forms of eating disorders. IOP is considered a step up from outpatient care and a step down from partial hospitalization, residential, or inpatient eating disorder treatment. It is appropriate for those who are able to live independently, but require more structure and support than typically achieved by attending once weekly individual and nutrition therapy. It is also a useful way for those who’ve been at a higher level of care, with nearly constant supervision, to transition back to “the real world”. For those who’ve been away at treatment, IOP serves to help prevent relapse and sustain recovery.

Our mission is to offer expert level, evidence-based treatment to our clients dealing with all types of eating disorders (including anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder), while also addressing co-occurring issues such as anxiety, depression and other mood disorders, trauma, and substance use. 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 the eating disorder 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.

Our program will be offered Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 3pm-7pm and will include a variety of group therapies, ending each day with a supportive meal led by a registered dietitian. These meals will rotate between catered options, “brown bag” or potluck dinners, and restaurant outings so that clients experience a variety of exposures to food challenges in different environments. Therapy groups include the ACT/DBT informed Mindful Living, Staying Open about Recovery, Motivation for Change, and a general Process Group. Additional specialty groups for trauma survivors and those dealing with substance use will be available dependent on the needs of the clients enrolled at any given time. Yoga and art therapy groups will also be incorporated into our programming.

Those clients interested in IOP can self-refer or have their treating provider (therapist, dietitian, or medical doctor) make a referral. Pre-screening with our clinical director will be required to determine if IOP is the appropriate level of care. All clients will have to undergo a medical evaluation to ensure their physical stability prior to being admitted into the program. If a client is already connected with a therapist or dietitian, they can maintain their current treatment team while also attending our IOP program. Close communication and collaboration between the IOP team and the referring provider will occur. If a client does not have a treatment team (i.e. therapist, nutritionist, or psychiatric provider) in place, Chrysalis will offer those individual services as well to round out the treatment experience. As we are the only eating disorder specific IOP within a 130 mile range, we will also accept clients from out of town. Our director of professional relations will work with those clients to attain affordable lodging options.

Insurance typically covers IOP level of care with prior authorization. Our helpful administrative team will assist clients to determine their benefits and to obtain the authorization required to attend IOP. If we are not in-network with a particular insurance company, our utilization review department will strive to negotiate a single case agreement with the individual’s carrier. Once enrolled in the program, our hope is that at least 6 weeks of continuous care will be approved.

Our staff is a friendly, knowledgeable mix of experts in the field. Our clinical and nutrition directors are a certified eating disorders specialist and a certified eating disorders registered dietitian, both with previous experience working in higher levels of care for eating disorder treatment. Our IOP therapists and dietitians have specialized training and experience in the groups that they facilitate. Chrysalis’ program is licensed by the NC Department of Health and Human Services and accredited by the Joint Commission.

Making the decision to pursue IOP care is a big step in the recovery process and should be applauded. Visit https://chrysaliscenter-nc.com/iop/ for more information about the schedule, specific descriptions of the groups offered, and to meet our leadership team. If you have further questions about our program or to request a screening, please contact us at 910-790-9500 or iop@chrysaliscenter-nc.com.

Kelly Broadwater, LPA, LPC, CEDS is the founding executive director of Chrysalis Center. She is extremely grateful for the IOP leadership team who has put in countless hours of blood, sweat, tears to develop the program (and write more policies and procedures than she ever thought imaginable) and excited to see what the future holds as the IOP “takes flight”.