The Cleveland Center for Eating Disorders' Adolescent DBT Intensive Outpatient Treatment program incorporates DBT Therapy to treat eating disorders in children and teens. We encourage you to speak with our Trusted Specialist.
Our Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Intensive Outpatient Program (DBT IOP) is a comprehensive treatment set up similarly to our adolescent Day Treatment Program, but it is based on an emotion-regulation model. DBT IOP is designed to help patients gain control over their emotions, self-destructive behaviors (i.e. binge eating, purging, self injury) and quality of life by blending CBT and DBT Therapy approaches with meditative practices and acceptance-based strategies.
This track is designed for children and teens who meet one or more of the following:
- Have not responded adequately to standard eating-disorder treatments (i.e. have tried multiple treatment venues without lasting results)
- Struggle with other disorders, such as Borderline Personality Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder and/or have a history of self-harm or suicidal ideations
- Have emotion-regulation issues at the core of their illness
The goal of this treatment program is to get patients to the least-intensive level of care possible so they can develop their “life worth living”, while managing their eating disorder. Typically, patients meet three days each week within our adolescent IOP program. Our hope is to help patients make a lasting commitment to their recovery, while attempting to develop a life outside of their eating disorder. In order to accomplish this goal, we ask patients to make a six-month commitment to treatment.
Children and teens can expect to attend scheduled group therapy sessions on a weekly basis, have their weights and vitals (blood pressure and pulse) monitored and eat meals and/or snacks daily in a supportive group environment. Patients are encouraged to include parents or other family members during their treatment program.
Our adolescent DTP IOP group therapy sessions each week may include:
- Skills groups to teachchildren and teens the necessary skills for coping in everyday life.
- We help children learn to develop a life outside of their eating disorder.
- Nutritional support to help children and teens understand healthy eating and proportions.
- Support groups on building confidence and self-reflection.