Stories from our Alumni

No treatment center will every give you your life back, that's a very personal and ongoing task, but ERC kickstarted my journey to being 'me' again. I have spent years in and out of various eating disorder treatment facilities. However, ERC was my last. I have been in recovery for approximately five years, only needing therapy tune-ups here and there. Recovery is a hard-fought battle and ERC Denver taught me how to fight for myself. I wouldn't consider myself to be a success by any means but I am doing better than I ever have and ERC Denver, especially Dr. Brown, gave me the opportunity to do so.

Finding ERC 24 hour residential care was exactly what I needed to begin my journey to recovery. I found the staff to be knowledgeable about the struggles I was facing, and empathetic as I learned to use new coping skills. It wasn’t easy to be away from family and friends, but I found I was exactly where I needed to be to focus on myself and heal physically and emotionally. Thank you, ERC, for being there for me when I wasn’t able to do it alone.

ERC saved my life. I came in for treatment that I am now confident I would have died without. I have struggled since, but the skills I learned at ERC have allowed me to stay out of the hospital and continue living my life in recovery. The program was also very queer accepting. I was one of several queer people in the milieu, which was a concern of mine before I started.

Quality treatment, helped me feel at home in recovery

I didn’t know they saved my life til i left but gosh im so grateful, the staff cares a TON (even if youve neglected caring for yourself and are unsure what support looks like for you)- they will push you and encourage you in ways you dont see the gravity of until youve left. I will never forget the bhc’s nurses and clinicians that generously poured into me and showed me my potential apart from living with anorexia. As someone who found their worth (for a decade) IN restriction/ shrinking myself, i can now say, bc of the help from ERC, theres not an ounce of me that desires the Ed’s “security”— it will never allow for true connection and love and growth; the ed only keeps you stuck and scared. Please if you’re struggling, just check in somewhere❤️erc denver saved me multiple times without me even knowing it. Quality people there. Takes a village but so so worth letting people in

ERC- Juniper was a stepping stone in the recovery journey of my daughter. They offered top notch counseling for both my daughter and our family. The resources offered supported us through the long road of recovery well past our time at ERC. Although ERC was not a one stop shop for what my daughter needed to recover, I still give them credit for saving her life. This marathon is long and takes alot of stops along the path. Thank you ERC!

My daughter was age 15 when her eating disorder emerged rapidly after a trauma. We were guided by our children's hospital to make the trip to Denver and it was totally worth it! She received excellent, compassionate care and I was educated as a parent during PHP how to work with her when we returned home. Two years later, her recovery has endured and we have been able to head off relapse. I am very thankful to the team for the comprehensive care and the way she was treated.

ERC saved my life, I was 14 when I was admitted and I was so scared and I had no hope in life. I am now A young adult, I graduated high school early, and I have became a cosmetologist. Through my whole journey in life and recovery, I have kept ERC in my heart. I can’t believe it’s been four years since I was there and without them, I wouldn’t be here. Thank you ERC, you guys have saved and changed my life🩷.

ERC was absolutely necessary for our daughter. It was very hard for her to be there, but we really had no choice. The staff that we met were all well-intentioned and helpful. We were happy with the primary therapist and dietician. I do wish our daughter had had more 1 on 1 therapy; there is lots of emphasis on groups which I think became quite old and redundant. Many of them seemed not to apply well to our daughter as well.

ERC saved our son! When we were at our lowest point and feeling hopeless, we found ERC for our 14 year old son. We found the residential care to be exceptional. They cared for my son and continued to challenge the ED until he was weight restored. We found the communication, education, and support for the parents throughout his stay to be support to be top notch and just the right amount. His care team worked together and were on the same page to move him forward in recovery. We are so grateful to have found ERC and worked their great staff.

I think that there should be more focus on the parent/child relationship and learning together. Not each doing the process separately.

My daughter (age 15) spent 6 weeks in IP/RES at ERC after 8 weeks at another treatment center. She then stepped down to PHP at ERC for 4.5 weeks. She was moving in a good direction although then hit a roadblock. We didn't leave ERC in the place we would like to have been in, but they did a wonderful job while we were there. If IP/RES was indicated again, we would return to ERC. The team was very good, supportive, and communicative. I appreciated the communication with families and the family support and education opportunities they offer. They offer more opportunities for visiting your child than other treatment centers. They educational support and coordination was good. No one wants to have to send their child to a higher level of care, but ERC in Denver was a good place.

How do you write that the experience was positive? It was the worst time of our life. I would not wish this on anyone however, our daughter did get help and she did regain her healthy body. We are still working on the healthy mind and I wish there would have been more emphasis on hitting that element of why she was there but I do believe in your process. Everyone we worked with was very kind and supportive.

ERC is very knowledgeable, professional and offers individualized treatment.

ERC staff was supportive and attentive in my recovery. I thought the support groups were helpful, and I felt supported by my individual care team as well.

A helpful experience that put me back on track.

In 2019 participated in ERC in Denver, which helped change my life. The staff were very caring and kind and also were able to hold you accountable. The community that I built while I was there help me to feel more like myself and to be able to come home feeling a little more whole as well as a whole lot more nourished. in the PHP program in Denver, I was able to learn a lot about myself and new skills to help me cope with life challenges and eating disorder intrusive thoughts. When I needed residential care this past year I was really hopeful to come to this center but I was unable to wait the waiting period of two weeks, which led me to Maryland ERC. My experience, in Denver was completely different than my experience in Maryland this past year. I highly recommend Denver and I highly do not recommend Maryland.

The therapists, psychiatrists, Mileu staff, dieticians, kitchen staff, and custodial staff are all excellent, helpful, and friendly. The therapists, psychiatrists, dietician, and staff really listen to you and want to know what is going on with you every step of the way. They don’t just treat your eating disorder, they treat you from a whole mind and body approach. They treat your illness and co-morbidities. I love my treatment team and know they were there to help me get back to living a full and happy life. I have only positive things to say about them. I’m extremely grateful for them and would not be in the positive position I am right now without them.

The people at ERC helped me a lot with my relationship with and body and helped decrease my self-loathing immeasurably. Which I'm forever grateful for doing this program and for my peers and the staff.

They have the most caring staff that really want to help you to get well. The program is amazing.

The best treatment center I’ve ever been to.

The staff were knowledgeable and caring. I never felt judged. Group dinners were not super comfortable (pretty awkward most of the time), but it was nice to get to know the rest of the group by names and converse. I also appreciated the “real talk” group sessions with Deb. Need more of that. It’s phenomenal.

We brought our early teen daughter to ERC with an eating disorder. She had stopped eating much, counting calories, trying to hide food. She told us she could fix things herself, but we knew she couldn’t. The team at ERC started her in a program made up of individual and group therapy, school, and classes designed to make her realize her problem and look at herself and her thinking in a different way. It was tough. She hated having to go and begged us to stop. But her thinking changed and she became healthy again. The team at ERC also helped us, with sessions and support groups. The step down program helped everyone return to a normal life. Today our daughter is strong and healthy. We are so grateful to ERC for helping us to bring her back.

Staff members were wonderful and compassionate! Felt like I was truly heard in my struggles. I would say the catering company used should not be what we are fed as some of the food was either frozen or overcooked and never really had enough flavor to get a taste (haha) of the real world outside of treatment. I have tons of great resources that’s will hopefully help me when things get tough.

Everyone is nice and treated my daughter nice. She liked Jacie, Polina and Dr Taylor.

I felt the staff and ERC was caring, professional, and highly qualified. My daughter was at the height of her eating disorder at the time, and although it took several months after she left here to be entirely in recovery mode, appreciated how they worked with us and adopted their program to my daughter's needs. The "field trips" during the week and the visitor policies were a cut above similar places she was treated at. These people are not simply "doing their jobs," but seem to have a passion for helping the people in their program.

ERC gave my daughter her life back. She was 11 and treatment at home wasn’t working. As difficult as it was admitting her into residential as the youngest age they admit, finding ERC was like taking a deep breath. I knew she was finally in the right place. She went through residential, PHP and iop. Her treatment team was excellent and tailored her treatment to meet her specific needs. It was a long and very painful road, but she has her life back and is so healthy! I am so grateful to ERC and specifically to her team.

After two years receiving outpatient care and spending four weeks in a PHP, my husband and I made the decision to take our daughter to the ERC at Northbrook. My daughter was just twelve when she was diagnosed with anorexia, and initially, her father and I were hesitant to take her out of our home state for residential care. Looking back now, we wish that we had taken her to the ERC sooner. The entire staff was excellent, and my daughter made incredible progress toward recovery in just five weeks. We especially appreciated all the support that her team provided us with weekly virtual meetings and educational resources. Today my daughter says that she could not have recovered from her eating disorder had she not gone to the ERC for treatment. I am so grateful for the outstanding care and support that our entire family received there.

The staff were knowledgable and compassionate. Our state did not have treatment with a multidisciplinary team as an option. It was challenging to have our 12 year old daughter in residential, but we all learned the skills and strategies to fight this deadly illness. The staff supported us through a very dark time. The ERC program/staff saved our daughters life.

The atmosphere and culture at ERC was exactly what our 14-year-old son needed to begin making a lasting difference in his recovery. Being with peers in close age range was key and so well done at ERC. He connected with the staff well and felt heard and supported. My husband and I felt heard and supported as well. They guidance and support that the ERC provided to us as first-time parents dealing with an eating disorder was excellent. We are so grateful! We had to travel 3 hours to visit, so having a hotel next door was awesome, too. We highly recommend this program and location.

To anyone reading this. . . You already know how devastating it is to have your child experience this. My 12 year old daughter stayed for more than 60 days at the residential program Hunt Valley.. Never had stayed with anyone other than family. ERC helped my family through some of the darkest times We've experienced. Today my daughter is healthy and successful. I want to send a message of hope to anyone reading this or needing help. It was a long road to ERC and a long road after but things can get better.

Extremely collaborative with outpatient treatment team. Kept me up-to-date on care with direct doctor to doctor phone calls. Provided a comprehensive treatment team that included a physician with true expertise in the medical management of eating disorders.

If I could go back in time and embrace (as much as I could at the time) my time at ERC, I would. Looking back, the workers were friendly, informative, and most importantly, safe to be around. It felt safe once I entered the building. I appreciated being around women, all ages, who were in the midst of struggles like myself. We built each other up. The workers would help us reinforce the Plan Ahead strategy, as well as the other parts of the day into our evening routine, to better prepare us for life outside of the facility. The vulnerability, bravery, courage and inclusiveness was warm and honest. Trust the process. Trust this path you are on. There are better days ahead. ERC will help rebuild the foundation while completely accepting you for where you are at, who you are, and when you are having a really hard time, they are there -- and will have you practice whatever you are learning. I miss it! It is so worth it. You are so worth it!

When I started at ERC's IOP program I was completely lost and steeped in self imposed disapproval. I started with a robust substance dependency and aggressive restriction based disordered eating. I transitioned into their PHP program when I needed a bit more support and I'm so grateful that I did. I learned more about nutrition than I ever had before. I gained innumerable coping skills and I started on the long path to self acceptance and self love. From it's reception to billing to therapists to dietitians, this place cares deeply. Thank you all for helping me regain my life.

People are really great

We were very hesitant to send our daughter away to an eating recovery center. But when she ended up in the hospital we knew we had nowhere else to turn. We had exhausted all of our energy trying to heal her on our own. Let me say... and she will agree... it was the best decision we ever made. She is healthy mentally and physically. We are healthy mentally. We continue with a maintenance program which helps when there may be triggers happening. All of the tools ERC has given us has helped us to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It's a hard journey yet you will get to the other side.

ERC in Plano and The Woodlands were great! Professional, caring and focus on helping my daughter recover from anorexia. As my daughter's caregiver, ERC provided the classes and tools I needed to learn to help my daughter, who had been hijacked by this disease. My daughter was in Plano RES twice, and under the care of Dr. Wooten, he was fantastic! The classes he provided helped me tremendously.

The best of the best! Thank you to the team at ERC Plano for providing kind, compassionate care and tailoring the treatment plan to work for co-occurring conditions. We are grateful for the welcoming, positive, “can do” outlook and the willingness to accept people with complex conditions. The thoughtful, creative approaches and “out-of-the-box” thinking to help improve motivation and understand the patient as an individual, are invaluable. Truly an art form that requires patience, creativity, and persistence. Thank you for the “Recovery Roadmap” discussion forums for parents to help gain more knowledge, build skills and community, and practical advice. Learning about EFFT was invaluable! Access to eating disorder experts with over 25 years of experience was an important factor. We are grateful for the significant progress made and for the ongoing support! Thank you for your dedication, for trying new approaches, and for never giving up! With gratitude, Lesia J.

Throughout my time at ERC’S I learned more about myself then I every thought possible. I learned that I NEED internal motivation to recover! So now I am choosing this for MYSELF! and will forever be grateful for ERC! With love and good vibes former P Allyson.L

We went to ERC desperate, confused, hopeless, and alone during the darkest time we've ever known as parents. Our 16 year old daughter's anorexia and depression left us afraid for her life. Her team at ERC turned all that around. She is now medically and psychologically stable and we are all ready to continue recovery and do life again. Recovery is a slow process and we left there with the knowledge and tools we needed to support her through that. I would absolutely recommend ERC to any family facing eating disorder challenges. You are not alone, and they know this disease inside and out.

The Dallas/Plano Center saved my young teenage daughters. They are both doing great now. We were so scared before we went to the ERC residential program. We tried everything the doctors in the regular hospital told us to do and nothing worked. In hindsight, my daughters wish we had gone to ERC sooner.

From my first day and my husband ushering me gently inside because I was nervous to my last day, procrastinating leaving, I am exceptionally grateful for ERC and their staff. Every member of staff I encountered cared me for me than I cared about myself both physically and mentally. Other patients journeys were inspiring to witness and helped boost my recovery journey. Highly highly recommend.

Her time here was effective! She was recommended to ERC Plano after trying FBT based therapy at home and it not working. She made lots of friends and became friendly with staff members. The MCs and BHTs were really helpful and supportive to her during her time. Her team was amazing. They had weekly checkins with me and weekly or daily checkins with her. She felt safe with her team which I and her believe helped make recovering easier. She has reported to me that ERC is a good place to treat eating disorders if the child or adult actually has some motivation to get better. It will help with each transition and going through the program.

Don’t get scared by the reviews, ERC was incredible in my experience. I met great friends and worked with competent and kind staff who really helped me from residential all the way to IOP. This program is life saving, and it fosters great support groups with peers going through similar struggles.

I loved working with the therapists and dietician's at the ERC. They were professional, knowledgeable and kind. I couldn’t be more thankful to be in recovery.

The program at ERC in Plano was phenomenal. Our family traveled from the other side of the country hoping to get help for our extremely sick child and it was worth every mile driven. Staff was caring and compassionate, parent education restored my confidence in being able to effectively support my child through recovery , and finally, the caregiver support group allowed me to connect to other families and learn from their experiences. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this program to anyone with a loved one battling an ED. They literally saved my child.

I think about my time at ERC every day. I am so proud of myself that I made the choice to go into recovery and I’m so glad I chose ERC. I am thankful to my care team and to all the other folks I met, they were awesome and they saved my life.

Eating Recovery Center in The Woodlands was definitely a game changer for my granddaughter. She completed residential treatment at another facility and immediately entered ERC's PHP and IOP programs, where she continued her recovery. The staff is amazing and truly had our granddaughter's best interest at heart. They keep the family apprised of their loved one's progress and include family members during the entire process. I would highly recommend ERC in The Woodlands.

With my whole heart I highly recommend ERC. They changed my son and my families lives. As a parent it was a very scary and overwhelming experience to have a child with an eating disorder, however the support that ERC gives to the patient and the parents makes all the difference in the world.

ERC literally helped save my life. The inpatient and residential unit at ERC Denver helped me with behavior interruption at a time I couldn't do it on my own. The staff were all friendly and non judgemental. The meals were typical and predictable, ask for an egg crate topper for your bed, the rooms were basic like dorm rooms and the group room had comfortable chairs. Individual therapy was helpful. The nursing staff was amazing and helped with tube feeds in a way that helped me feel less ashamed.

Really great communication and follow through throughout the process. That communication does become a little clunky when a patient enrolled in ERC requires medical stabilization that keeps this rating from being 5*s. Overall through one of the more efficient programs to collaborate with.

My time at ERC helped me discover a number of deep-seated issues and how toxic masculinity poisoned my self-perception, even as a man, and begin to heal. I was very anxious at first about being the only guy in the room and not only were there other men there, everyone in my group and the staff were very welcoming. It was a real eye-opener seeing how common certain themes were, like not feeling good enough. My only regret is that I didn't make the hard decision to face my fears sooner, since the COVID-19 pandemic made in-person groups infeasible.

I felt incredibly comfortable here. All the staff were fantastic and so empathetic. I felt listened to and supported the whole time. Getting help isn’t easy and you’re bound to have days that are harder than others, but it’s worth it!

This was by far the best treatment center I've been to, and actually worked

A great program for seeking to start or maintain recovery. The weeks vary on the participants attending but the structure is helpful, classes informative and repetition good to build patterns

We observed our 9-year-old daughter begin to battle her anxiety as a slow upward slope. It started as worrying about almost every aspect of her world and then crept down into her fears of choking while eating. This led to her no longer eating, or at best, taking fish-flake-sized bites of food to ensure she would live and not die. Before finding the Eating Recovery Center, both my husband and I were spinning out of control on all of the different angles we were taking to get her to intake calories. Once we were admitted to the outpatient program. The Eating Recovery Center took the time and care to tend to our daughter and educate us as her support. We learned so much from this program, and we are so excited to share that we are all thriving, and our daughter has been happily eating for the last 18 months. The Eating Recovery Center truly changed our world for the best!

I’m so grateful for ERC and the team. As someone who struggled with an eating disorder for so long, with this program I have taken the stepping stone towards recovery. I have completed my goals of healing my relationship with food, getting rid of food noise, and overall establishing a better and trusting relationship with myself. I would recommend this to anyone struggling with an eating disorder, you are worth heading towards a path to recovery.

After COVID hit, I, like many people, found myself relapsing into my eating disorder, feeling isolated and in a downward spiral as if there was no hope, so I reached out to ERC for help. The clinicians and support staff for the California Virtual IOP were supportive and non-judgmental. They were professional yet warm in their approach to treating my disorder. They provided me with different tools I can now use to stay healthy after completing the program. These tools are helpful and empowering, equipping me to face my struggles as they come. If you think you need help but are not ready or able to pursue in-person treatment, I hope you will give this program a chance to help you end the secrets that fuel your eating disorder and live life again.

I count myself very luckily to have been recommended to ERC and was welcomed with open arms. I had no idea how to recover from ED or how to help myself until I learned the necessary tools and coping mechanisms from ERC. Everyone is so kind and helpful, they really help me turn my life around for the better.

The ED recovery program content is well prepared and timed appropriately. However, the real stars are the therapists and nutritionists supporting it. Their expertise, compassion, and clear guidance are what opens mental doors and encourages to try new ways of looking at and responding to the world around us. For me, this was a life-changing experience and I wish all other courage and strength to start their own recovery journey.

Virtual IOP was life changing for me. I have two experiences with it (2018, 2020) and both helped me overcome the eating disorders I’d struggled with for 13 years. The tools I learned helped me overcome unhealthy behaviors and develop healthy behaviors. I was in graduate school at the time and VIOP allowed me to continue my studies while getting the help I needed. I think being virtual and outpatient really helped me practice tools in real-life settings, making it a more successful transition once I stepped down. Shoutout to the therapists and dietitians, they know their stuff and care about the patients <3

Felt like I had a community I could rely on for solace, advice, and empathy even though I was in outpatient throughout my recovery.

We were so lucky that my daughter was enrolled in the group therapy for eating disorder soon after we submitted her application. Her nutritionist is so professional and kind and patient. She decided to change and she made it during the group therapy. It is the treatment here that cures her. I learned lots from the virtual meeting for parents also, such as how to fight the disorder with her together. My family really appreciate the contribution here for her recovery.

I got treatment when I could no longer hide from how bad my eating affected all of my relationships. The team did well helping encourage building healthy community around me for support. I have much better relationships with my family, though some are still apprehensive but I do understand.

This program completely changed my life, and I now have a healthy relationship with food that I’ve always desired having. All these changes didn’t go without work as I had to show up to class, be open and honest with myself and team also stick to the care plan and building my plates and meals throughout the day. I learned how to hold myself accountable for what I want. This treatment program will give you the tools, organization and freedom to implement what works in your life. i’m proud to say that I made the changes that I see today by working hard and implementing the knowledge treatment has given me.

I would have never expected to make this much growth in just a few months. I genuinely feel like I have my life back. I am more present with my friends and family, I don’t waste as much time obsessing over food, and I actually have energy. I cannot thank ERC and my support team enough.

The ERC program was more helpful than I could have realized in the beginning. I really feel like I'm closer to recovery and I'm keeping all of the skills, tools and progress I made.

ERC completely saved me. The people are incredible. They are so dedicated to you and make sure that each individual person gets what they need. Not only that, but they also make it fun. There is lots of space for laughs and socializing. I am SO grateful for ERC and 100% recommend.

I was very hesitant to try ed treatment…again. I had already been and didn’t have a good experience. I decided when it was time for me to get a higher level of care again, that I would research to make sure I was getting the best care. ERC was such a good fit for me. It’s always hard to see the good with ed treatment because you’re relinquishing control and stripped down to nothing. But hindsight is incredibly important in these situations. My first ed treatment wasn’t with ERC, and that’s truly my only regret. I felt so supported throughout my time with ERC. I started at the residential level and went to PHP and then VIOP. I loved being able to keep my same team from Res to PHP. It was so helpful because the transition is hard enough. The living spaces were nice and well kept. The staff was knowledgeable and everyone seemed to want to help. I can’t thank ERC Plano enough!

This program and group of exceptional people pulled me out of grief I wasnt even fully aware I was in. It is intensive and requires a lot of time but it is very much worth every moment. I learned a lot of new information and the basics were also repeated and a good reminder of healthy habits.

This program changed my life for the better. Truly. Showed me a way I didn’t see and gave me the support I needed to start my healing journey. Thank you so much to everyone. You will never know how much you all helped me.

My whole life I had been viewing the world through a pinhole, so confused on why I was the way I was and why I struggled in the ways I did. After ERC it’s like the entire world opened up. I’m not one to leave reviews but this place genuinely helped me save myself, and I’m so grateful for that. I would not be where I am today without the amazing treatment I received at ERC. It’s intense, it’s so difficult to show up, but if I had to do it again I absolutely would. This place is worth it and so are you.

Everyone was so knowledgeable and helpful. They gave me the confidence to move in the right direction

A wonderful program that meets you where you’re at and is so very, welcoming, supportive and knowledgeable.

I was able to receive helpful and supportive treatment virtually. It helped me break free of the binge cycle I was experiencing and begin healing my relationship with food and my body. I did not know what to expect when entering treatment and was pleasantly surprised with the tight-knit virtual community I was a part of.

It was exactly what we needed. Our team made the transition home after PHP structured and manageable- taking a lot of anxiety out of the step down in care. Expectations were clearly set and the care was compassionate and highly professional. In fact, It was a substantially better experience that our time at PHP with a different provider. The care we received through ERC was a blessing during a very difficult and uncertain time in our lives.