Working in the trenches has taught us all this: work life happiness directly affects patient care in a proportional way. Great teamwork in Eating Disorders recovery, or any recovery for that matter, allows this to happen. The inspiration for this post comes from the photo attached. We teach patients to focus on the positive and affirm successes, no matter how small. Our staff does the same for each other. We do, in fact, practice what we preach!
Eating disorders are challenging for the people and families who struggle with them, and the doctors and therapists who treat them.
The challenge is … to get well and to move on to build a meaningful and enjoyable life.
Right here in Albuquerque, the Eating Disorders Treatment Center offers the most Certified Eating Disorders Specialists in New Mexico, all in one place. Since 2011, more than 800 individuals have been treated here at the EDTC.
Our founding Clinical Director is now President of the International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals – and she’s right here in Albuquerque!
In my 35 years as a Clinical Social Worker, I have worked at many different facilities/agencies/practices … and the EDTC is by far the best place I’ve had the pleasure to hang my hat. The staff here is friendly, warm and compassionate – everyone here loves this work. Those dealing with eating disorders know that they are truly cared for – and that’s the best context for doing the work needed to move past the eating disorder and into a more satisfying life.
Here are the facts: The EDTC staff is a team – we have each other’s backs – and we communicate effectively, constantly learning from our patients and their doctors and families. We’ve added two Higher Level of Care programs in the last 16 months to meet the needs we’ve identified in our community: both the Binge Eating Disorder Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) and the Partial Hospital Program (PHP) fit neatly with our other programs to help us successfully treat several different eating disorders, as well as co-occurring illnesses like PTSD, anxiety disorders, depression and substance abuse problems.
Just as we teach freshly-minted physicians about eating disorders (something they don’t learn much about in school), we also regularly host Interns from several colleges and universities to learn the most up-to-date treatment, backed up by clinical research, and we are on a constant search to improve eating disorders’ treatment outcomes.
Working with eating disorders sufferers is our mission here. We all hold each other up, so we can hold, for our patients, this sacred space where they can work on successful recovery. This is truly a special place to heal!
Post by Ann Flosdorf, Clinical Director