Denver, Colorado, Oct. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Virtual care is changing the way providers and patients alike think about behavioral health care. It increases access to treatment and allows mental health experts to meet people where they are: in their everyday lives, surrounded by their daily stressors and support systems. For many people with eating disorders and mood and anxiety disorders, specialized virtual care is key to sustainable recovery. That’s why, today, Eating Recovery Center and Pathlight Mood & Anxiety Center (ERC Pathlight) announced a new name for their proven virtual intensive outpatient programs (IOP): Eating Recovery At Home and Pathlight At Home.
With years of experience rooted in evidence-based mental health care both in-person and online, ERC Pathlight has already brought treatment into the homes of more than 7,000 patients through virtual IOP. Currently available and accessible across the nation (see the current list here) and covered in-network by most commercial insurance plans in the U.S., Eating Recovery and Pathlight At Home will expand to 40 states by the end of the year and all 50 states in 2023.
“Our virtual programming is an amazing platform rooted in clinical excellence, transforming access to services so patients can receive care when and where they need it,” said Anne Marie O’Melia, MS, MD, Chief Medical Officer and Chief Clinical Officer of ERC Pathlight. “We have been providing in-person care since 2008 and virtual care since 2016; we didn’t have to start from scratch in the pandemic. We’ve seen the positive effects of our virtual treatment model for years now. And soon we will bring our proven treatment to Americans in every state.”
ERC Pathlight is the nation’s leading mental health care system dedicated to the treatment of eating disorders and primary mood, anxiety, and trauma-related disorders; the largest provider of online mental health treatment at higher levels of care; and the first virtual IOP provider with published results showing virtual IOP is clinically effective in all outcomes measured including eating disorder symptoms, depression, self-esteem, quality of life, and overall satisfaction. Led by the industry’s most experienced clinicians—a team of renowned professionals with extensive training in telebehavioral health ethics and delivery—Eating Recovery and Pathlight At Home is breaking down geographic barriers and putting patients at the center of their healing with easier access to treatment from comfort of their homes.
According to ERC Pathlight’s Director of Telebehavioral Health Initiatives, Casey Tallent, PhD, virtual IOP patients reported significant improvements in their symptoms while participating in the program.
“Patients in treatment for eating disorders reported clinically significant improvements in body dissatisfaction, binge eating, cognitive restraint, purging, restricting, and excessive exercising; while our mood and anxiety patients reported clinically significant improvements in depression, anxiety, and PTSD,” said Tallent.
ERC Pathlight’s virtual IOP outcome data also indicated higher levels of attendance, participation, and program completion compared to in-person treatment. Eating Recovery and Pathlight At Home programs offer the same intensive treatment and clinical expertise as in-person programming, but with the convenience of participating wherever a patient is located.
Five distinct programs make up the Eating Recovery and Pathlight At Home virtual IOP offerings:
• Eating disorders treatment for adults
• Eating disorders treatment for children and adolescents
• Binge eating disorders treatment for adults
• Mood and anxiety disorders treatment for adults
• Mood and anxiety disorders treatment for children and adolescents
A new patient portal app will launch in early November to improve the patient experience, ensuring virtual patients feel supported and connected to their healing community. The new app features easier access to joining sessions and a direct chat function to communicate directly with their health care provider.
For Eating Recovery At Home alumna Mackenzie Carmichael, moving from in-person treatment to a virtual format provided her with the ability to maintain her everyday life and routines without having to travel. Apprehensive at first, Carmichael wondered if she would receive the same level of care or connect with other group members the same way she did in person. With a decision to “trust the process,” she fully immersed herself in the program and was able to connect and participate in the same ways she did through in-person meetings.
“It (was) similar to what our programs were like within the buildings when we were in person,” said Carmichael. “We all felt very much supported, our voices were heard. It was very supportive and loving and inclusive. And for me, it was such a comfort to be able to do treatment at home, where I had my family pictures on my desk, and I was in a place where I was completely comfortable.”
One of the hallmark features of the Eating Recovery and Pathlight At Home programs is that patients stay with the same group and treatment team throughout their care to ensure they have a cohesive, supportive, and connected experience.
“At Home programs mean our patients can experience recovery in their everyday lives, getting the treatment they need without having to travel to a facility or putting their jobs, families, or life on hold,” said Tallent. “We are removing geographic barriers and helping to provide access in communities where there are limited resources or long waitlists.”
Eating Recovery and Pathlight At Home provide:
• A team of experienced clinicians who provide three hours of programming a day, three days a week.
• Weekly individual or family therapy in addition to weekly nutrition therapy sessions for those in the eating disorders program.
• Support and resources for family members to participate, learn, and grow alongside their loved one are offered via weekly caregiver groups for education and support. A caregiver nutrition group is also offered for those supporting loved ones with eating disorders.
• In-network coverage by most commercial insurance plans in the U.S.
“Family involvement is essential to facilitate and maintain recovery, regardless of age, so we ensure that we offer a robust program in which families are strongly encouraged to participate,” said Deborah Michel, PhD, CEDS-S, FAED, National Director of Virtual Care at ERC Pathlight.
To learn more about Eating Recovery and Pathlight At Home programs, visit www.eatingrecoverycenter.com/virtualcare or www.pathlightbh.com/virtual-treatment.
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About Eating Recovery Center and Pathlight Mood & Anxiety Center
Eating Recovery Center (ERC) and Pathlight Mood & Anxiety Center (Pathlight) comprise the nation’s leading mental health care system dedicated to the treatment of eating disorders and primary mood, anxiety, and trauma-related disorders. ERC specializes in treating patients struggling with eating disorders and related conditions including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, diabulimia, binge eating disorder, avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), and unspecified feeding or eating disorders (UFED) and co-occurring conditions. Pathlight specializes in treatment for mood and anxiety disorders such as generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, depression and mania, trauma-related disorders including post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as co-occurring substance use disorder. ERC and Pathlight provide innovative, evidence-based, treatment programs tailored for patients of all ages, genders, races, and ethnicities. Working closely with patients as well as their families, ERC and Pathlight’s multi-disciplinary treatment programs are designed to help illuminate their unique paths forward and provide a foundation for resilience and long-lasting mental wellness. ERC and Pathlight offer Inpatient, Residential, Partial Hospitalization (PHP) and Intensive Outpatient (IOP) levels of care in centers across the country as well as Virtual IOP (video) telebehavioral health services. For more information, please visit eatingrecoverycenter.com or pathlightbh.com.
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