Posts Tagged “Services”

We are pleased to share that Veritas Collaborative’s Triangle Outpatient Center in Durham, North Carolina, has opened its doors! At this new facility, children, adolescents, and adults of all genders can access our individualized, best-practice outpatient eating disorder services in a warm and inclusive environment.

We are excited to announce that Veritas Collaborative is now accepting patients for virtual outpatient therapy in South Carolina! With this expansion to South Carolina, we’ll increase access to specialty eating disorder treatment in the Southeast, ensuring that more people who need care can receive it. Virtual eating disorder treatment in South Carolina is available for children, adolescents, and adults of any gender.

Virtual therapy sessions take place via a secure video connection and provide the same structure and support as traditional in-person treatment. Virtual eating disorder treatment also offers flexibility to those who live far from one of our treatment centers or require a treatment option that fits into their busy schedules. Outpatient care is ideal for those who are medically stable but in need of ongoing support for their eating disorder for lasting recovery.

Veritas Collaborative’s patients generally enter eating disorder treatment mired in food rules and rituals. Their mindsets around food tend to follow a pattern of dichotomous extremes. Types of food and eating behaviors are labeled either “good” or “bad.” Food consumption might alternate between periods of total restriction and severe overconsumption. One might hyperfocus on food when eating or disconnect entirely. Often, the “perfect conditions” must be met to eat, with rigidity around the location, specific foods or food groups, and other people present while eating. Eating can feel like a test that one passes or fails. Disordered eating and eating disorders weaken the mind-body connection, elevating the power of these intense cognitive distortions as the mind takes over as a micromanager of the body’s needs.

The importance of identifying binge eating early

Binge eating disorder (BED) is a serious mental health condition marked by recurrent episodes of consuming a large amount of food in a short period of time, often accompanied by feelings of distress, guilt, and lack of control. If left untreated, BED can lead to significant physical and mental health issues. 

As a healthcare provider, it’s important to screen for binge eating in your patients to identify and treat the disorder early. Here are some steps you can take to screen for binge eating:

“My patient received a recommendation for a higher level of eating disorder care, but their family wants to hold off until a ‘better time.’ How do I help them understand the risks of waiting?”

Eating disorder clinicians frequently face the challenge of resistance to care. This resistance stems from various factors, such as a fear of the unknown, difficulty acknowledging the severity of the illness, and ambivalence toward the recovery process. The prospect of interrupting life for treatment often only adds to the anxiety.

We at Accanto Health are deeply concerned by the bills being introduced in state houses across the country that single out LGBTQ+ individuals – many specifically targeting transgender youth – for exclusion or differential treatment. The ACLU is currently tracking 420 anti-LGBTQ+ bills in the U.S. These laws are aimed to limit access to medical care for transgender people, parental rights, social and family services, student sports, or access to public facilities such as restrooms, and unnecessarily single out already marginalized groups for additional disadvantage. 

As an inclusive healthcare organization, we strongly believe in every individual’s right to access high-quality care. Emerging data show transgender individuals are at particularly increased risk for eating disordered behaviors. We believe that exclusionary legislation, barriers to care, and societal ostracization is harmful and unjust and will only cause these trends to increase. We are saddened by lawmakers’ refusal to listen to best practices set by the American Psychological Association and American Academy of Pediatrics, as well as many others. We at Accanto stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community and strive to create a space that is safe for all, where all are treated with dignity and respect. 

At Veritas Collaborative, we provide the highest standard of care across a continuum of levels. We recognize that each patient comes to us with a unique set of treatment needs based on their current medical status, the amount of structure necessary to decrease their eating disorder behaviors, and their motivation for recovery, among other factors. To create a treatment plan just for them, we consider these factors, as well as individual clinical judgment, to ensure each patient receives the treatment modalities that align best with the severity of their illness. We know that recommending the level of care that is right for each patient provides a solid foundation for long-lasting recovery.

Veritas Collaborative’s virtual CARE IOP is specifically designed for adults with binge eating disorder (BED) or OSFED marked by a pattern of binge eating. CARE stands for Cultivating Awareness and Resilience with Experience/Eating/Emotions. The virtual intensive program provides therapeutic intervention and peer support while offering an opportunity for self-accountability and recovery-focused skill development at home. CARE IOP is currently available in North Carolina with plans to expand across other states. 

Veritas Collaborative’s virtual intensive treatment brings our individualized, evidence-based eating disorder services directly to you. We offer the same quality care online as we do in person, ensuring you have the structure and support you need for lasting recovery.

What is Virtual Care?

In our virtual treatment programs, you will connect with your professional multidisciplinary care team and peers in a secure online environment. You will typically spend a minimum of 30 hours per week in virtual PHP and a minimum of 12 hours in virtual IOP, as in traditional in-person programming. Your program schedule will include components such as individual, group, and family therapy, therapeutic meal support, nutritional counseling, psychiatry sessions, and medical appointments, as appropriate. (A sample schedule is available here.) 

Veritas Collaborative’s new partnership with Project HEAL was announced at Accanto Health’s 2022 Symposium in Atlanta, GA. Pictured from left to right: Jillian Lampert, Accanto Health Chief Strategy Officer; Rebecca Eyre, Project HEAL CEO; Dave Willcutts, Accanto Health CEO; Liz McCabe, Accanto Health Chief Clinical Officer

We’re excited to share that we’ve partnered with Project HEAL to help increase access to care for individuals currently underrepresented in eating disorder treatment—particularly those who are low-income, underinsured, or marginalized. 

Our charitable care efforts have historically focused on individuals whose insurance prematurely cuts off during a treatment stay. This partnership allows us to expand these efforts to provide charitable care to individuals who are otherwise unable to admit to care due to prohibitive insurance, financial, and systemic barriers.

As part of this partnership, Veritas will provide free residential treatment to at least 12 Project HEAL beneficiaries per year who are low-income or facing extenuating financial circumstances, experiencing medical or social discrimination related to their identity or appearance, or don’t currently have quality eating disorder treatment options through an insurance provider.

Veritas Collaborative now provides lodging for adult patients (18+) of all genders in Durham, North Carolina! Lodging is currently available to those in our partial hospitalization program (PHP) who do not live near our Durham Adult Center. The comfortable, safe space is just minutes from this treatment location, making it easy to go back and forth for care. 

Veritas lodging provides patients a homelike place to stay in a safe neighborhood with lots of shopping and restaurants nearby, as well as public transportation to get there. The non-therapeutic, peer-supported setting offers patients an opportunity to put what they’ve learned in formal treatment into real-life practice.

As Veritas Collaborative and The Emily Program continue to integrate under our parent company Accanto Health, we are so excited to now have a common Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Council. The EDI Council has been shaping our shared policies, procedures, and culture since our brands merged, and we feel it is time to introduce ourselves. The common questions and answers below provide an overview of the Council, its members, and its initiatives.

What is an EDI Council?

An Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Council is a group of staff from different levels and departments of an organization who represent varied personal and collective identities. EDI Councils typically work to advance the rights of marginalized folks within an organization, as well as those the organization serves. They also catalyze advocacy and spaces for reflection in response to local, national, and global events that challenge social justice or the rights of vulnerable populations.

Episode description:

Dietitian Bailey Weirens joins Peace Meal to discuss the truth behind nutrition and healthy eating. Bailey discusses the importance of calories, why macro and micronutrients are important, and what recovery meal plans are. By advocating for an anti-diet approach to nutrition and promoting body acceptance, Bailey enlightens listeners on the importance of listening to our bodies in order to sustain long-term health and wellbeing.