Center for Discovery Austin provides
outpatient eating disorder treatment for adolescents (age 10+) and adults of all genders. This facility opened in July 2018 and offers
intensive outpatient (IOP) and
partial hospitalization (PHP) programs. Treatment methods include eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy, motivational interviewing, trauma-informed care,
cognitive behavioral therapy (
CBT), and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). Discovery’s specialized binge eating disorder (BED) program, Path to Peace, is also offered at this location.
Center for Discovery believes in establishing “connection over correction.” Their inclusive community spaces foster safety and vulnerability for patients who struggle with bingeing and chronic dieting. The Path to Peace program is designed to honor the unique nuances of bingeing and the deceptiveness of diet culture. The trauma-attuned program’s core tenets include representation and belonging, shame resilience, and weight-neutral care.
PHP falls on the continuum of mental healthcare between residential and outpatient treatment. Center for Discovery offers both adolescent and adult PHP options. The treatment team includes dietitians, psychiatrists, and counselors. The program involves individual, family and group counseling, as well as medication management, nutritional counseling and meal supervision. PHP meets 5-6 days a week, but participants go home each day to the comfort of their own beds. This allows clients to receive much of the same structure as residential care during the day, with the opportunity to begin practicing new skills as they transition to life outside the treatment program.
Patients will eat and be provided one or two meals/snacks at the facility for hands-on support and some meals/snacks will be eaten at home. This provides patients with the space to practice and implement the skills learned while in the program. Center for Discovery provides free in-person eating disorder support groups every Thursday evening, as well as free online support groups.
IOP treatment is a lower level of care that does not require hospitalization, around the clock monitoring, or overnight stays, and is usually part of a step-down approach from residential or PHP treatment. IOP requires individuals to obtain at least 9 hours of group and/or individual therapy per week, which is divided up into 3-hour sessions 3 to 5 evenings a week, or on weekends, for 12-16 weeks. The goal of IOP is to allow clients to shift the majority of their time and focus back to life outside of treatment, using IOP to continue the work on those areas where they need additional therapy or skills practice. In IOP, meals are eaten outside of the program.
Center for Discovery is in-network with all major insurance companies and provides complimentary benefit verification.