Evolve provides Outpatient Behavioral Health Counseling and Medical Nutrition Therapy for Eating Dis
Evolve provides treatment to both Males and Females ages 12 and older with a primary diagnosis of Anorexia, Bulimia, Binge
Eating Disorder, Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, and Disordered Eating (emotional eating). Secondary disorders of PTSD, Depression, Anxiety, and OCD are also treated. Outpatient Behavioral Health Counseling:
Participants are offered integrated counseling treatment by masters level or PhD level counselors who are experienced with
treating eating disorders and licensed by the State of Wisconsin. Extensive evaluation and psychiatric assessments are performed. Outpatient counseling is offered 1-2 times per week using evidence based treatment modalities such as but not limited to: DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy), ACT ( Acceptance Compassion Therapy), CBT (Cognitive Behavior Therapy), FBT ( Family Based Therapy/Maudsely), EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing), Brainspotting. Nutritional Counseling/Medical Nutrition Therapy:
These individual sessions will be offered throughout the week at a variety of flexible times. You can expect your first session to be 75-90 minutes and all sessions following to be around 30-60 minutes. The aim of nutrition counseling is to educate you, decrease and ultimately replace disordered and unhealthy eating patterns with organized lifestyle changes that are manageable and healthy. There are no cookie-cutter handouts, standard meal plans, or ordinary goals at Evolve. We pride ourselves on making your nutrition counselling services tailored to your lifestyle and unique to your needs. Here at Evolve we want the impossible to become I’m(possible)! Please note you do not have to have an eating disorder or disordered eating to walk through the doors of Evolve. Our practitioners specialize in the treatment of eating disorders but see a variety of clients for a variety of reasons
other than eating disorders. Please contact us directly with your specific needs and questions and we will be happy to help you directly or refer you to someone who can.
06/27/2023
😉 If you have a child or teen in your life, consider these tips for helping them build understanding
and resiliency. They’re great for parents, teachers, babysitters and other trusted adults.
Recipe Alert! 🧑🍳 Greek Turkey & Rice Skillet recommended by one of our team members, Sam Zachow!
👉 Ingredients:
1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.13)
2 cloves garlic, minced ($0.16)
19 oz. Ground turkey, 97% lean ($4.59)
1 tsp dried oregano ($0.10)
1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
Freshly cracked pepper ($0.03)
1 cup long grain white rice, uncooked ($0.66)
1/4 lb frozen cut leaf spinach ($0.42)
1/3 cup sun dried tomato halves (about 7 pcs), sliced ($1.00)
1/2 cup kalamata olives, sliced ($1.08)
1.5 cups chicken broth* ($0.21)
handful fresh parsley ($0.25)
1 fresh lemon ($0.75)
1 oz feta ($0.56)
👉 Instructions:
Add the olive oil and garlic to a large deep skillet and sauté over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, or until the garlic is fragrant. Add the ground turkey, oregano, salt, and pepper to the skillet. Continue to sauté until the turkey is cooked through (about 5 minutes).
While the turkey is cooking, slice the olives and sun dried tomatoes. Once the turkey is cooked through, add the rice, frozen spinach (no need to thaw first), olives, and sun dried tomatoes to the skillet.
Add the chicken broth and stir until everything is very well combined. Place a lid on the skillet, turn the heat up to medium high, and allow it to come up to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low or medium low, and allow it to gently simmer for 15 minutes. Use the lowest level of heat that maintains a steady simmer in the skillet.
After 15 minutes, give the skillet a brief stir, replace the lid quickly, turn off the heat, and allow it to sit for an additional 10 minutes.
While the skillet is resting, zest half of the lemon and slice it into wedges. Roughly chop the parsley. Give the skillet a final fluff and stir, then top with lemon zest, parsley, and crumbled feta. Serve with lemon wedges to squeeze over top.
🧡 Pro Tip: You can easily omit the turkey to make this dish vegetarian!
06/20/2023
The Role of Family in Eating Disorder Recovery 🧡
Clinically Reviewed by: Amarra Bricco MSE, NCC, LPC, CCTP
👉 Every eating disorder treatment plan, like every person attending treatment, is different. However, there are universal benefits to having family and/or support persons involved in treatment. Having a loved one with an eating disorder is hard! An active role in their loved ones treatment provides the caregiver with support while making the home environment most encouraging to recovery.
👉 A study published in the Journal of Eating Disorders assessed the problems eating disorder patients were wanting to address with their families and caregivers. The most frequent responses were eating disorder specific assistance, communication, emotional support, understanding and validation, future support, and managing expectations. Interestingly, caregivers reported similar needs.
👉 Family involvement in treatment can help to create a warm environment and effective communication style where each member of the family can feel supported. In treatment, the family will be given skills to function as a unit and address any barriers to change, problem solve, and enjoy stress-free time together.
The Role of Family Relationships in Eating Disorders in Adolescents: A Narrative Review – Behavioral Sciences Journal – Micheala Erriu, Silvia Cimino, and Lucy Cerniglia – Accessed 6-7-23 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7226005/
Working with families of adults affected by eating disorders: uptake, key themes, and participant experiences of family involvement in outpatient treatment-as-usual – Journal of Eating Disorders – Carmel Fleming – Accessed 6-7-23 https://jeatdisord.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40337-022-00611-z
What you can do to help your child with an eating disorder ❤️
Generally, eating disorders involve self-critical, negative thoughts and feelings about body weight and food, and eating habits that disrupt normal body function and daily activities.
👉 You can play a powerful role in your child's development of healthy attitudes about food and nutrition. Your own body image can influence your kids. If you constantly say 'I'm fat,' complain about exercise, and practice 'yo-yo' dieting, your kids might feel that a distorted body image is normal and acceptable.
👉 At a time of great societal concern about obesity, it can be tricky for parents to talk with their kids about their eating habits. It's best to emphasize health, rather than weight. Make sure your kids know you love them for who they are, not how they look.
👉 It's OK too to appreciate attractiveness in celebrities — if your kids (and you!) feel fine about how they look. But, getting the message across to that your kids are great as they are and that their bodies are healthy and strong is a wonderful gift that parents can give.
👉 Try to avoid power struggles regarding food too — if your teen wants to 'go vegetarian,' be supportive even if you're an avid meat-eater. Teens frequently go through trendy eating periods, so try to set good limits, encourage healthy eating, and avoid fighting over food issues. Kids can catch on pretty quickly if their parents panic over one skipped meal. So try to gain perspective and talk to your kids about what's going on if they don't want to eat with the family.
Eating disorders present plenty of challenges on their own. Further complicating recovery are co-occurring disorders; other mental health conditions that exist along with the eating disorder. These conditions may exist prior to the eating disorder, start along with the eating disorder, or begin because of the psychological distress of eating disorder.
👇 Let’s look at some common examples.
🔎 Anxiety
Anxiety is the most common co-occurring disorder, perhaps due to overlapping risk factors: rigid beliefs and behaviors, and perfectionist tendencies. Anxiety can present mentally, such as overwhelming nervousness or irritability, or physically, such as difficulty concentrating and GI issues.
🔎 Mood Disorders
Eating disorder co-occurrence is high with bipolar disorder and depression. Often the eating disorder is developed as a coping mechanism for symptoms of the mood disorder but can also occur due to malnourishment and side effects of the eating disorder.
🔎 OCD
Symptoms of OCD and eating disorders are similar: rigidity, meticulousness, perfectionism, difficulty coping with changes to daily life. Additionally, intrusive thoughts often followed by ritualistic behaviors (compulsions) can occur. As such, eating disorders can become a manifestation of these thoughts and compulsions.
👉 Over 10% of the population are affected by eating disorders – the 2nd deadliest mental illness. The good news is that recovery is possible with early detection and proper treatment.
What Families Should Remember About Teens with Eating Disorders 🌱
👉 If your teen has an eating disorder, you may be feeling scared, helpless, or even guilty, wondering what you could have done differently.
👉 It’s important to remember that families are not to blame but can be a critical source of recovery support, even for a fiercely independent teen. Your teen may be mature in many ways, but they are still your child. And as much as they and their eating disorder may want to push you away, your teen needs you more than ever. Through supporting the hard work of recovery, you are literally saving their life and giving them the foundation they need not only to survive but to thrive. The recovery process is challenging for the whole family, but it’s so worth it.
Sources:
Ward ZJ, et al. Estimation of Eating Disorders Prevalence by Age and Associations With Mortality in a Simulated Nationally Representative US Cohort. JAMA Netw Open. 2019 Oct 2;2(10):e1912925.
Asch DA, et al. Trends in US Patients Receiving Care for Eating Disorders and Other Common Behavioral Health Conditions Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic. JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(11):e2134913.
Klump KL. Puberty as a critical risk period for eating disorders: a review of human and animal studies. Horm Behav. 2013 Jul;64(2):399-410.
Eisenberg D, et al. Eating disorder symptoms among college students: prevalence, persistence, correlates, and treatment-seeking. J Am Coll Health. 2011;59(8):700-7.
05/15/2023
Challenges in Treating Teens with Eating Disorders🔎
👉 From schoolwork and extracurriculars to college applications and social pressure, the teen years are stacked with challenges even without the addition of an eating disorder.
👉 Even though family-based treatment (FBT) is the evidence-based treatment for eating disorders in adolescents, parents may feel uncertain about having such an active role in their teen’s recovery. Because independence is such a central part of the teen years, parents may feel uncomfortable making the shift to FBT, which requires that family members temporarily make all food decisions and supervise meals. The crucial thing to remember here is that in order for your teen to develop true autonomy and resume their healthy development, they must first become independent from their eating disorder.
Sources:
Ward ZJ, et al. Estimation of Eating Disorders Prevalence by Age and Associations With Mortality in a Simulated Nationally Representative US Cohort. JAMA Netw Open. 2019 Oct 2;2(10):e1912925.
Asch DA, et al. Trends in US Patients Receiving Care for Eating Disorders and Other Common Behavioral Health Conditions Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic. JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(11):e2134913.
Klump KL. Puberty as a critical risk period for eating disorders: a review of human and animal studies. Horm Behav. 2013 Jul;64(2):399-410.
Eisenberg D, et al. Eating disorder symptoms among college students: prevalence, persistence, correlates, and treatment-seeking. J Am Coll Health. 2011;59(8):700-7.
05/09/2023
Signs of Eating Disorders in Teens🔎
👉 Family members, teachers, and coaches often mistake eating disorder symptoms for “normal” teen moodiness or self-consciousness.
👉 In addition, if a teen declares they’re adopting a new way of eating, parents can explain it away as them simply going through a phase. Well-meaning adults and peers might even praise and encourage these attempts to “eat healthier.” However, suddenly cutting out entire food groups (like meat, dairy, gluten, or processed foods, for instance) can be an early warning sign of an eating disorder.
Sources:
Ward ZJ, et al. Estimation of Eating Disorders Prevalence by Age and Associations With Mortality in a Simulated Nationally Representative US Cohort. JAMA Netw Open. 2019 Oct 2;2(10):e1912925.
Asch DA, et al. Trends in US Patients Receiving Care for Eating Disorders and Other Common Behavioral Health Conditions Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic. JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(11):e2134913.
Klump KL. Puberty as a critical risk period for eating disorders: a review of human and animal studies. Horm Behav. 2013 Jul;64(2):399-410.
Eisenberg D, et al. Eating disorder symptoms among college students: prevalence, persistence, correlates, and treatment-seeking. J Am Coll Health. 2011;59(8):700-7.
05/08/2023
Causes of Eating Disorders in Teens🔎
👉 Eating disorders often develop out of a “perfect storm” of contributing factors, such as genetic vulnerability combined with environmental, social, or cultural factors.
👉 The teenage years in particular present a host of factors that can fan the flames of an eating disorder, helping to explain the high rates of eating disorders in teens. For one, hormonal changes during puberty may play a role in the development of eating disorders, particularly for girls. Social media is at the center of many teens’ lives, and research has shown that these platforms may aggravate existing body image concerns or disordered eating.
Sources:
Ward ZJ, et al. Estimation of Eating Disorders Prevalence by Age and Associations With Mortality in a Simulated Nationally Representative US Cohort. JAMA Netw Open. 2019 Oct 2;2(10):e1912925.
Asch DA, et al. Trends in US Patients Receiving Care for Eating Disorders and Other Common Behavioral Health Conditions Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic. JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(11):e2134913.
Klump KL. Puberty as a critical risk period for eating disorders: a review of human and animal studies. Horm Behav. 2013 Jul;64(2):399-410.
Eisenberg D, et al. Eating disorder symptoms among college students: prevalence, persistence, correlates, and treatment-seeking. J Am Coll Health. 2011;59(8):700-7.
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Evolve was founded by Brenda Velissaris MSE LPC NCC CEDS-S in 2013 in response to a lack of eating disorder treatment services in the Fox Valley area. Since 2013 this clinic has Evolved from 2 providers to 12 and have helped hundred of people recover from their eating disorder.
Evolve provides eating disorder treatment to individuals ages 12 and older with a primary diagnosis of Anorexia, Bulimia, Binge Eating Disorder, Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, Disordered Eating (emotional eating) and Body Dysmorphic Disorder. Secondary disorders of PTSD, Depression, Anxiety, and OCD are also treated by trained professionals.
Outpatient Behavioral Health Counseling:
Participants are offered integrated counseling treatment by masters level or PhD level counselors who are experienced with treating eating disorders and licensed by the State of Wisconsin. Extensive evaluation and psychiatric assessments are performed. Outpatient counseling is offered 1-2 times per week using evidence based treatment modalities such as but not limited to: DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy), ACT ( Acceptance Compassion Therapy), CBT (Cognitive Behavior Therapy), FBT ( Family Based Therapy/Maudsely), EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing), Brainspotting and Exposure Response Therapy.
Nutritional Counseling/Medical Nutrition Therapy:
These individual sessions will be offered throughout the week at a variety of flexible times. You can expect your first session to be 75-90 minutes and all sessions following to be around 30-60 minutes. The aim of nutrition counseling is to educate you, decrease and ultimately replace disordered and unhealthy eating patterns with organized lifestyle changes that are manageable and healthy.
There are no cookie-cutter handouts, standard meal plans, or ordinary goals at Evolve. We pride ourselves on making your nutrition counseling services tailored to your lifestyle and unique to your needs.
We follow a Health at Every Size (HAES) philosophy and treat a wide variety of nutritional/dietary needs.
Intensive Outpatient Programming (IOP)
We offer adult and adolescent intensive programming for those needing more than one hour of counseling or nutrition counseling per week. IOP is often used to prevent the need for residential or inpatient care or can be used as a step down from a higher level of care; to offer necessary support as you integrate back into everyday living. Our IOP programs are offered 3-4 days per week 3 hours per day. Our unique programs have assisted people in achieving and maintaining their recovery goals.
Culinary Arts and and Meal Support Groups
Evolve offers meal support group 1-2 days per week for those who need accountability at meal time, exposure experience with eating around other people, and camaraderie while working towards recovery
Culinary skills group is a group focused on “playing with food”. Facilitated by a licensed dietitian group members prepare, cook and eat a meal, which strengthens a persons confidence in the kitchen, exposes them to feared foods and food environments, provides exposure opportunities, assists with leaning how to work through anxieties around food, provides support and accountability.
