Treatment Components

In the beginning, our staff assists you in setting up a fairly structured contract. This helps ensure initial success in overcoming your destructive eating, exercise, thinking and behavior patterns as well as individualized behavior, family and relationship goals. As you progress and your confidence grows, you are asked to create a less structured contract in order to practice your newly acquired skills with less external control. Goals and contracts are made and reviewed in weekly Contract Group and staffing meetings. Throughout the week you will be working on and discussing your contract goals with your primary therapist, other treatment team members and your peers.

Clients vary in their motivation to overcome their eating disorder, tolerate weight gain, stop intrusive thoughts or alleviate depression. Our program is based on providing individualized care. With a small number of clients and a relatively large staff, we have the ability to address each client’s unique individual needs. Each client meets with a therapist three times per week as well as receiving individual sessions with the dietitian, medical director, psychiatrist and clinical director. Every client has an individualized contract with personal goals for each week. Clients work out their contract goals in conjunction with the treatment team and in the weekly contract group.

All passes are decided on an individual basis, but each of our levels allows for different kinds of passes. Details about passes are explained in the client handbook given to clients upon admission.

We know all too well clients can be successful in a treatment setting and then relapse after returning to normal living; our entire program and level system are based on this concern. Progressing through the level system at a Monte Nido program gives each client increasing freedom over food and exercise so that, upon graduation, he or she is better prepared to handle real life situations. Experience has shown us if clients can remain in treatment through the entire program we provide, they will have less chance of relapse and a far greater chance of full recovery.

One goal is to provide a variety of activities that nourish both body and soul. We believe providing activities for a fuller, more soulful life is part of what helps clients diminish their ‘need’ for an eating disorder or exercise disorder. We have scheduled outings three to four times per week and special events periodically. Our recreational outings can involve going to an art studio, the beach, a museum, a miniature golf course or anywhere that seems appropriate. Occasionally, we attend special events like dance performances, concerts and plays.