GROUP REGISTRATION

"Symptom Free" Program- Extended Care and on-going Support for Recovery from an Eating Disorder
Recovery from an eating disorder requires courage and a lot of support to move beyond debilitating symptoms. The extended care program “Symptom Free” focuses on providing resources for daily support in order to establish a symptom free life. After higher levels of treatment (inpatient, day and intensive outpatient) have been completed and a person has established a comprehensive outpatient team- therapist, nutritionist and medical provider, “Symptom Free” provides a combination of meal and group support three days per week, a buddy system with daily check-ins and a 7- day a week Hot Line for times when urges to engage in eating disorder symptoms become overwhelming. The program is set up in three stages of step downs supporting a person towards establishing 8 months of symptom free living and can be individually tailored using the program components that best suit your therapeutic or scheduling needs. The “Symptom Free” program is for adolescents and adults in recovery from an eating disorder. Generous extended monthly payment plans are made available in order to stay as long as it takes to establish a symptom free life.

Program Highlights

• 7-day Hot Line professionally staffed
• Extended monthly payment plans
• Friendly, relaxed, intimate setting
• Collaboration with your outpatient team 
• Daily support for symptom elimination
• On-going free Saturday meal/group  
• Monthly follow-up calls upon discharge
• Convenient location accessible by public transportation 
• Family Psycho-educational  Group 
• Variety specialty groups like Yoga,etc.
• Free drop-in on 2 week-nights 4-10PM  : relax, read or watch recovery materials, socialize with peers or eat your meal/snack
• Staffed by Professional Specialists
• Program tailored to individual needs

How “Symptom Free” Program Works

The program meets on Monday & Wednesday evenings from 6:30-9:00 PM and Saturdays from 11:00-1:00 PM. During this time you eat a meal together and attend a group afterwards. As soon as you enter the program a daily plan using peer and staff support is developed to help you through difficult times when you feel urges to engage in eating disorder symptoms. A buddy system is used to check-in daily for support and eating disorder behavior accountability. The 7 day a week Hot Line is available during times of vulnerability to engage in eating disorder symptoms. Drop-in 4-10PM on Tuesday & Thursday if needing a “safe environment”. The program moves you through three stages to attain long-term freedom from symptoms. Once you have established three months of symptom free behavior you step down to attending 2 days per week and after you have established another 3 months of symptom free behavior you attend on Saturdays for another 2 months until discharge. After discharge you may attend on Saturdays for free for as long as you like. 6 month monthly follow-up calls are made to assure you are remaining symptom free. 


Group Topics & Meal Support

Meal Support Group: A staff person supports you through the meal teaching you a variety of helpful practices to move you towards eating habits which are free of eating disorder thoughts and behaviors . You can either bring a meal from home, purchase one from a variety of food vendors nearby or prepare a meal from ingredients that you can store in our refrigerator/freezer or heat up in the microwave. 

Psycho-educational Group: Monday PM- following topics rotate every 6 months: Developing your tool kit; Utilizing daily support; Creating safe environments for change; Motivation for recovery; Family factors affecting recovery; DBT Skills; Decreasing eating disorder thoughts; Dealing with body image distortions; Healing Rituals & Sandtray 

Specialty Group: Wednesday PM- following topics rotate every 6 months (6 weeks each): Yoga & Mindfulness practices; Hypnotherapy; Art & Expressive Therapies; Energy Psychology; Body Work

Peer Support Group: Saturday AM- Peers offering support and feedback to each other.



Hot Line- Extended Payment Plans- Family Psycho-educational Group

Hot Line: The “Symptom Free” Hot Line is available 7 days per week from 6 AM-10PM. Whenever you feel overwhelmed by urges to engage in eating disorder behaviors a professional is a phone call away to spend as much time as it takes to help you through. 

Extended Payment Plans: An extended monthly payment plan is available for a variety of time frames depending upon your financial constraints. At times your insurance may cover some of the cost. 

Family Psycho-educational Group: Family members who have a loved one with an eating disorder also need support and guidance. This group is offered on Saturday mornings 9:00-10:30 AM and covers the following topics: Understanding the origins of an eating disorder; The recovery process for your loved one; Family member’s parallel recovery process; The most common struggles; Opportunity for self-growth; Providing support for your loved one;  The ins and outs of “managing the food”; Addressing guilt and self-blame; The complex relationship between loved ones; Daily support for yourself and Maintaining your center.  
 
Introduction:
The “Symptom Free” program is structured to provide long-term, on-going support in order to assist you to become completely free of eating disorder symptoms. We ask individuals to set the goal of acquiring 8 months of symptom free behavior. Why 8 months? With clear intention and consistent effort it takes 4 months to establish a new habit. With 4 more months the new habit can become a reliable new way of behaving. We strongly urge you to set-up using the “Symptom Free” program with clear goals of what you want to attain. Here is a “prototype” recommendation (of course the program can be tailored to each person’s individual therapeutic and scheduling needs- see bellow for separate cost for each program component) of how to utilize the “Symptom Free” program to attain 8 months of symptom free living. The sequencing of higher levels of support to lesser levels takes you through 12 months which is a realistic time frame to thoroughly establish a new behavior.
3 Months: Utilize all aspects of the “Symptom-Free” program- Attend 2 week-nights Monday and Wednesday PM Group and Meal Support; Saturday Meal/Group; Hot Line and free drop-ins on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Cost: 3 Months $3,060; Monthly $1020; Weekly $255
3 Months: Attend one week-night (Monday or Wednesday Group and Meal Support), the Saturday Meal/Group, use the Hot Line and free drop-in on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Cost: 3 Months $2,040; Monthly $680; Weekly $170
3 Months: Saturday Meal/ Group and use of Hot Line Cost: 3 Months $1,020; Monthly $340; Weekly $85
3 Months: Saturday Meal/Group Cost: 3 Months $420; Monthly $140; Weekly $35
Cost for 12 months is $6,540. This may vary depending upon insurance reimbursement. Insurance reimburses for group therapy which can reduce the cost significantly. (52 groups per year could cover anywhere between $1,820-$2,340.) At times insurance will consider benefit adaptation in order to support clinical need. The following is a break down without insurance coverage:
12 month monthly payment plan is $545 per month
14 month monthly payment plan is $467 per month
18 month monthly payment plan is $363 per month
20 month monthly payment plan is $327 per month
 
Intake Process:
To begin the program you schedule 3 1-hour sessions which includes your clinical history and orientation to the program. At this time releases are signed to be able to communicate with the other professional treatment providers you are seeing. If you are already in treatment with Rhoda Fuchs-Morton you do not have to go through the intake process. Please go to the web-site www.fuchsmortonholistic.com and print out the Assessment Form and mail it to be received prior to the first scheduled Intake session. The Intake sessions are billed at the regular hourly rate for either private fee or insurance.
 
Orientation:
During the one hour orientation session the following is covered:
Setting Recovery Goals: This is the most important part of your orientation. At this time we set-up an individualized program to assist you to meet your recovery goals. The program’s aim is for you to be able to have daily support when needed and for you to attain complete freedom from your eating disorder symptoms. Each month you meet with the Program Director to review your progress and make any changes needed to support you towards a symptom free life. Whichever program format you choose we develop a program plan for you to use daily support.
Overview of program: The ins and outs of groups and meal support are covered. You develop a “food plan” of what and how you will eat during program time. You can either purchase food from local vendors (we supply recommendations); bring pre-made food to the program or make simple meals on-site (there is a refrigerator to store supplies and a microwave to heat food). The use of the Hot Line is covered which you can use whenever you can’t access other support. A plan is developed when you enter the program which addresses how you are going to utilize support on a daily basis and when the most vulnerable times occur for you to engage in eating disorder behaviors. A peer support system is also set-up for you. The goal is for you to utilize your supports on a daily basis.
Program Cost: The “Symptom Free” program is set-up offering various payment plans in order to make it possible for individuals to stay in the program as long as it takes to achieve complete freedom from eating disorder symptoms. During the orientation we set-up a payment plan that works the best for you. It is our desire to work with you as much as is possible to make it possible for you to achieve your recovery goals. You sign a contract agreeing to your payment plan and the conditions of payment. The program bills on a monthly basis. Payment can be made in cash, check or through Pay Pal. Missed Program Time: In order to encourage individuals to follow through with their commitments we require you to provide the program with 4 days advance notice (of course there are exceptions in case of emergencies and sudden illness) if you are not able to attend on a particular program day you are scheduled. If you do not do this you will be billed for the missed time.
 
“Symptom Free” Program Cost:
The “Symptom Free” program structure has been developed to encourage individuals to stay as long as it takes and to utilize as much support as needed to become symptom free. The fee structure has been set-up to reflect this programmatic goal. We encourage individuals to utilize the monthly package rates which when attending either one or two week nights includes free drop-in time on both Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Free attendance of the Saturday Meal/Group and free monthly 15 minute follow-up calls for 6 months is offered for individuals who complete their therapeutic goals (8 months symptom free). If you utilize the program components separately the cost is as follows:
Monday or Wednesday Psychoeducational Group: $50
Monday or Wednesday Meal Support Group: $35
Saturday Peer Support Group and Meal Support: $35
Hot-Line use per week: $50
Monthly Follow-up Calls: $30 per 15 minute call
 
Family Psychoeducational Group: This program component is billed separately because not every individual will utilize this aspect of the program. The cost is $50 per family (attendance can be either one or two parents or other appropriate caregivers).