Avalon Hills Blog

Outcome Studies

In June of 2007, Avalon Hills Residential Eating Disorder Program began collecting its initial outcome data.  There are several objectives that we are hoping to achieve through this research.

·         Increase our understanding of eating disorders and co-morbid disorders.

·         Demonstrate to ourselves in a more systematic way what we already know– our program has a positive impact on the lives of our residents.

·         Work to continually improve our treatment and verify that we have succeeded.

·         Contribute to the national data pool on treatment of eating disorders. By adopting a standard set of assessment tools we may soon be able to collaborate with other treatment teams across the country to improve quality of treatment.

·         Demonstrate that residential treatment is a worthwhile investment, with the hopes of improving insurance reimbursement.

·         Improve the ability of clients and their families to select the treatment option that is best suited to their needs.

We would like to thank all of the residents and their families who have and continue to participate in this process with us.  We recognize that this takes an enormous time commitment on their part. Their willingness to provide us with their responses up to a year after discharge is critical to our meeting the above goals.

For most everyone Thanksgiving is a time for family, maybe watching football, or going to church. All families have their own traditions. You can be sure, though, that all Thanksgivings will revolve around what seems to be a mountain of food. For those individuals struggling with an eating disorder, that mountain of food can quickly become fraught with anxiety and stress.  The young women at Avalon Hills are familiar with this anxiety all too well. This year, instead of avoiding the pain, anxiety and depression, these women have chosen to face their fears. They are in residential treatment. Yes, they are not with their family and friends but they are with a supportive and caring team, dedicated to making this holiday a “family affair”,  Avalon style.  Thanksgiving started off at a leisurely pace. Everyone slept in a little later. After all, it is a holiday! Telephone calls were made to home while watching the Macy’s Day parade on television and getting dressed. After breakfast, time for pet care and then a walk for  D-o-gee.

This is her favorite activity! Time to start getting ready for dinner! The table was set using the best linens and dinnerware. See the little table decorations? They are all handmade.  Most meals at Avalon are served family style, this dinner was no different.  Dinner began with a toast to health and to hope.  Potatoes and turkey and cranberry sauce were shared along with jokes, laughter and stories.

After cleaning up, all gathered in the family room to listen to and sing along with Liz and Lila, two of Avalon’s talented culinary staff. Later Marty, one of the therapists, joined in.

After meals had settled, we took a long walk around a little lake next to our home. It was such a beautiful day!

Later, more calls to family and friends before heading out to see a movie in town. After the movie, most everyone was tired and glad to get back home. Our Thanksgiving was becoming just a pleasant memory for the most part, still with anxiety but no melt downs!

We at Avalon are thankful to share our Thanksgiving Day with such determined young women.

The Unfashion show name has been changed based on client request to the ME Fashion show, which is actually very reflective of the theme of the event. The outfits are as individual as the clients and they are looking really cool, it should be a very fun as well as therapeutically challenging night! Another component that has been incorporated is the horse participation. Each client will be paired with a horse and will decorate him or her to match their own outfit and will model their animal companion as well.

Fitness for Fun special therapy group will be held at the local gym this week to incorporate body image issues as well as find fun with movement. Our head adolescent therapist will accompany and process before and after the group where the clients are challenged to incorporate into a typical gym environment. The focus is going to be on “listening to your body” as well as allowing for some variability in activity intensity.

Art Therapy has been provided to patients at Avalon Hills for the last two years as one of multiple alternatives to traditional “talk therapy” in eating disorder recovery work. Art Therapy has proven to be a particularly useful tool in treating eating disordered behaviors. Art and eating disorders are similar in nature in that they both serve to enable expression without words. Individuals struggling with eating disorders are often unable to express their innermost thoughts and feelings. They are unable to adequately verbalize the inner turmoil, rage, shame, guilt, and powerlessness that controls their every waking moment. Art allows these individuals to speak in a safe and acceptable way rather than through their disorder.

The projects of Art Therapy groups are varied and include body image tracings, self portraits, life collages, emotion sculptures and others specifically designed to encourage expression of deeper thought and feeling. Art Therapy sessions are held weekly in the format of a group session. The session begins with a brief introduction of the assignment followed by ample time allotted for exploring and experimenting with different mediums. Topics can be explicitly defined or abstract in nature based on the desired outcomes as determined by the therapist. The end of each session is followed up with time to share and process what has come up for each patient during the art experience. Discussion of each patient’s experience allows the therapist and group to connect in a non-threatening way through artistic expression and reflection.

As patients reveal their feelings and emotions in their creations, a strong therapeutic alliance is formed. This alliance serves to facilitate healing and aids in establishing a “voice” for the inner turmoil and pain. In time, patients begin to develop a sense of trust in their own feelings and their ability to speak about them. The power behind Art Therapy is the opening of a dialogue without words or language but one which in reality speaks volumes. Over the last few years, I have seen time and time again women finding more of themselves through art and art therapy work and gaining the insight needed for forward movement in their personal recovery.

The women in my group today are in various stages of recovery but they all have the same goal….to reclaim their lives free from their eating disorder. They all want the “color” back in their world. I am privileged to be along on their journey to recovery.

Kathryn Clements, LCSW
Avalon Hills

Across the country, chickens are popping up in cities and suburbs, not to be fried or barbecued, but spoiled and pampered. You just know there’s something special about pet chickens when Martha Stewart devotes a whole segment of her show to urban chicks along with a tour of her birds’ home the Palais de Poulet. Not to be outdone, Avalon Hills entered the world of designer chickens with the arrival of Eggo and 8 of her friends.

The Avalon chick family ranges from a very elegant Mille Fleur named Goldie Hawn, to twin gray Silkies named Heckle and Jekyl, to a very buff looking Frizzle, Dr. Zhivago. Our chicks have a custom made coop suitable for birds of quality. Thanks, Jake!

For the residents and staff at Avalon Hills, our chickens are feathered friends and family members just like our dogs, cats and horses. Each hen has her own personality and interacts with people in an individual way. Goldie Hawn is loving and affectionate, little Eggo is inquisitive, Dr. Zhivago can be somewhat intimidating, Lacy is haughty…all, however, are connected to the young women who care for them daily.

While our chickens lay healthy, hormone free eggs, provide low cost(actually free) fertilizer for our garden, and throw off beautiful feathers we use in craft projects they also provide non stop entertainment and a feeling of contentment after listening to their soft, warbling, cooing clucks.

Looking back:

Avalon Hills 5th year celebration was a huge success. We want to express our gratitude to those who attended and to those who participated. Special thanks to the panel participants and to Jenny Harrop, our guest speaker.

As we move past our 5th year in operation we would like to acknowledge the efforts of those who have supported our mission, because of this hard work we can continue the battle for recovery.

Announcement:

AH will be holding its 1st Unfashionable Show on October 24th. This event will involve Avalon Hills clients expressing themselves related to who they want to be and what they are about as individuals rather than common stereotypes or cultural emphasis on what they “should” be. The focus is anti-establishment and defining new rules to live by. It will be a means for the participants to define how they present their healthy bodies with expression taking the form of them writing their biography for the emcee to read, choosing a song to get them pumped, determining their attire, and strutting their stuff on the runway-all in the name of health. Clients will be involved in all stages of the preparation as well, with the artistic designing the catwalk and the organized helping with logistics. Additionally, this type of activity serves as an exposure exercise to prepare clients to deal with social pressures they will face back in the real world. Staff will also be putting their best foot forward, participating in support of being proud of who you are. Who knows, maybe some of the cats will slink into the event as well; they are always good role models for healthy body image!

This event will be a private function for Avalon Hills clients and staff. Stay posted for more details as the event draws near.

Coming Soon:

On June 18th Avalon Hills family grew and keeps on growing. We added designer chickens to the adult unit. Watch for the next post with more information on our new little additions!

Avalon Hills Residential Eating Disorders Program is planning an event to celebrate our 5^th year anniversary on August 2, 2008. We are combining with the Avalon Hills Foundation for Eating Disorders to formally recognize the current momentum behind grassroots efforts to obtain insurance funding for eating disorder coverage and the progress in nationwide mental health parity. It is our mission and passion to continue to support advances in this area. It is also fitting to recognize those who are recovering and who continue to educate and advocate for the prevention and treatment of eating disorders.

Events for the celebration will include an advocacy panel geared towards sharing struggles, knowledge, and advancements in securing funding for treatment. We will also include a panel that will allow former clients to continue to share their story as a part of their recovery path. This will be a public event and recorded on video. The video will be available for distribution to increase awareness of eating disorder issues.

Afterwards, Avalon Hills will host a barbeque for employees, alumni and their families as well as current client families to provide time for celebration and mingling.

If you have questions or would like to R.S.V.P please contact Carrie Schmidt at (435) 755-0434 or by e-mail: carrie@avalonhills.org.

Itinerary is as follows:

Winning the
Battle for Recovery

August 2, 2008
Bullen Center
Carousel Ballroom
43 South Main
Logan, UT 84321

12:30 pm – 12:45 pm Introduction
Dr. Benita Quakenbush-Roberts

12:45 pm – 1:15 pm Does this Life Make Me Look Fat?
Jenny Harrop

1:15 pm – 2:45 pm Panel: Success in Recovery
Featuring youth and women recovering from eating disorders

3:00 pm – 4:30 pm Panel: Advocating for Treatment
Featuring parents who have secured funds for treatment

4:30 pm – 5:30 pm Reception