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eating disorder treatment |
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What Others Have Said About Avalon Hills Eating Disorder Treatment Programs...[Avalon Hills has received permission to use the following testimonials from the respected author. Some names have been changed or removed based on the request of the author/parent/student to protect the identity of the client.] *** You have a wonderful program with a group of deeply committed personnel. My daughter’s recovery in 85 days was a miracle and the interventions/learnings have been brought home with her. I would not hesitate to refer young women to your program. I cannot thank you enough. All of you will be in my thoughts and you have given my daughter her life back and a gift beyond compare. *** There is no question in our minds that Avalon Hills saved out daughter’s life. We knew that at the time, and it was always more important in our minds than anything else. *** Dear Benita, Four years ago, she was a depressed, morbidly obese 206 pound girl traumatized by the death of her mother from breast cancer in 1999. In September of this past year, 2003, she entered Avalon Hills at 98 pounds, anorexic and bulimic and still believing she was too fat. I would like to give you a letter of recommendation that others considering your program could read, but it’s hard to put into words the qualities that make you exceptional. In researching eating disorder programs on the Internet, my wife and I were astonished to find that there are almost no residential treatment facilities for adolescent girls under the age of 18 years anywhere in the United States. The few places available that were not attached to a hospital or psychiatric institution generally treated women of all ages, many in their twenties and thirties who had been in and out of facilities multiple times without success. From past experienced with Marcy, it became apparent that adolescent girls ages 13 to 17 need to be in a treatment program with their peers. Even though the age difference is not that great, there is a world of social, psychological and experiential differences between this age group and even women in their twenties. Avalon Hills offers the best chance for success by focusing treatment on those most treatable in the earlier stages of the disease. By the mid to late twenties, the behavior patterns have become much more ingrained, as witnessed by the multiple admissions—and failures—these women have had. As to you, Benita, I can only say that out of the hundreds of therapists, psychologists and psychiatrists I have had occasion to become acquainted with professionally and personally over the past thirty years, you are truly unique. In all senses of the word, you are a professional in your field, understanding the intricacies, depths and varied expressions of eating disorders in adolescent girls. While maintaining firm control and understanding of your role as a therapist, you take care to avoid the doctor-patient “detachment” so espoused as a necessity by those in your field. You allow yourself to be compassionate, sympathetic and vulnerable to those in your care, becoming a true friend to those in desperate need of a friend; however, you still confront your patients and do not allow them to continue to play all the tricks they have so carefully learned during the many years of their eating disorders. So many hospitals and residential facilities that promote themselves as eating disorder programs focus upon weight and caloric intake. Having watched Marcy spend two months as an in-patient and then another month in daylong out-patient therapy at the UCLA Neuro-Psychiatric Institute’s eating disorder program, one thing became apparent to me: you can place any adolescent girl with and eating disorder under constant supervision, force the calories in, and prevent the vomiting during the two hours after each meal and she will gain weight. There is no question about that. Marcy gained 10 pounds, as we were proudly told by the staff, during her three months at UCLA, leaving at 118 pounds. In actuality, however, she was only 4 pounds heavier that she was when we made the decision the week before (at 114 pounds) to admit her to UCLA. She then dropped to 108 pounds by admission. As is very common with these girls, they will loose as much weight as they can when they know they are going into a program. Therefore, they don’t really have to gain that much back for the facility to call their treatment a success. After Marcy had been at Avalon Hills for a month, I was very concerned that she had gained very little weight. I remember telling you Benita, in no uncertain terms, that you were not giving her enough calories and I remember your response as I sit here today. You heard the concern in my voice and you responded with much understanding and compassion: It is not the weight and the calories, you explained, but the underlying disease itself that must be treated, and that takes many months. However, you assured me that as the disease itself responds to intensive daily therapy, using your many modalities of treatment, the weight will follow and the eating disorder symptoms will abate…and you were right. It took seven months for Marcy at Avalon Hills to reach the end of the first phase of her treatment, that being fulltime residential care; however, your treatment and her care did not end there. The second phase of treatment continued here at home through telephone therapy sessions, both individually between you and Marcy and also with our family. I cannot tell you how important this has been for not only Marcy but for me as well. As I’ve told you before, there is no one better than you. Marcy has now been home for five months and is well on her way to full recovery but we all realize that this is an ongoing commitment for all concerned. That you are, and have always been, there for us is a gift we will always treasure. Please convey my deepest appreciation to your entire staff. They have been like family to us during these trying times. Their dedication, professionalism and compassion mirror yours. It has always been my feeling that the attitudes of staff members of any facility are a reflection of their leadership and nothing can be truer than that at Avalon Hills. You have my full authorization to use this letter and anything else that I might be able to offer that can assist you in helping other adolescent girls and their families. If any parents of prospective clients want to speak with me, please feel free to give them my office number. This is the very least I can give back to you. With sincerest personal regards, *** Dear Avalon Hills, How in the world do I begin? What I want to say is simple- thank you. Why I want to say it is so complicated. I’ve met some of you. I’ve spoken with others, emailed a few. I’m sure there are many of you that I will never even know by name. Nonetheless, you have cared for my daughter for many months. Thank You. Thank you for feeding her, caring for her, laughing with her, helping her heal, making her ride a horse, living with her, loving her. For some of you, this is probably a stepping stone, a “filling in” job until you can do what you really want. For others, this is a career, what you’ve always wanted to do. Some of you do this for the paycheck, other have probably answered a calling. But you all work hard, long hours. You all deal with real life issues that probably follow you home from time to time. You all are probably paid much less than you deserve (at least in my opinion), thanks to our insurance system, our medical care models, and our culture’s view of mental health. I will continue to do my teeny tiny part to change “the system,” but in the meantime, all I can say is thank you. Imagine this… I’m on a plane with my daughter (who hasn’t lived with me for a year) and my ex-husband (who I don’t usually see eye-to-eye with) headed for a state that I’m not even sure of its location. We get here, the air is drier than I can imagine, there are bizarre mountains everywhere, the “facility” looks like a fort and everyone keeps calling it a castle, I’ve never met any of the people and I’m supposed to walk away and leave my firstborn behind. In the grand scheme of eating disorders, Andrea wasn’t a “severe” case – she wasn’t one step away from death. But she was – and is – my daughter, my oldest, my child. So I did what I had to – I drove away with my ex-husband (give me strength!) and I left my daughter with you. And now, here I am, 4 1/2 months later, back at the Crystal Inn. Three visits to Petersboro, two home passes later, Andrea is ready to graduate, to move on with the next phases of her life. She will succeed, fail, soar and stumble. Those of us who love her will be there for her – as will you. You will be there for her in memories, in stories that Andrea will tell her friends, her family, her loved ones, for many years to come. What a wonderful gift you have given her. You are special people – every one of you. In your own way, you have helped Andrea learn, grow and heal. You have guided and coached our family. We will be forever grateful for all that you have done. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you. Peace be with you, [identity protected] *** I couldn’t remember if I had told you or not, but I just wanted to say thanks for all your help through this entire ordeal. You were there from the beginning until the end—hopefully it’s the end. I know you worked very hard on our case and without many rewards. I really appreciate all your extra efforts. At times when I was very stressed out, you were there to help. You are a great communicator and say exactly what needs to be said without any extra words or beating around the bush. Some people can talk forever and you are never really sure what they were trying to say or they go on for so long that you forgot the question. I have to say that I really enjoyed talking to you on the phone even though at times the subject was most distasteful. I am sorry that I could repay you for all the times you helped me. *** Dear Tammy, It almost seems like a lifetime ago when I spoke to you on my cell phone. I still haven’t seen your face but I want you to know how grateful we are for you. It was evident in that first phone call that you were a person who cared deeply for people. We firmly believe that your tenacity and perseverance makes all the difference. Tammy, you gave us energy to keep pursuing. Sometimes I thought the pressure was going to get the best of us – especially Derek. He’d talk to you and get energy to keep going - you have a gift for this interesting job! Get free information about our eating disorder treatment programs |
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