Provider Partners: When to Refer an Eating Disorder Patient
Thank you for considering Thrive Wellness as a trusted partner in providing your patient with a higher level of care for eating disorder treatment. We genuinely value our clinical community and believe that together we can empower those in our care to reach recovery, reclaim their lives, and achieve optimal health.
Our admissions process is thoughtfully designed with this in mind and therefore is a collaborative engagement between referring providers, the Thrive team, patients, and their loved one(s). We recognize that your insight and involvement are invaluable in paving a successful path to healing. Information exchange and comprehensive assessment are essential elements of the admissions process, which help paint a panoramic picture of the patient’s experience and curate individualized treatment plans for whole-person healing and lasting recovery.
HOW TO MAKE A REFERRAL
Contact us at 775.525.8103 | Or, click here to access our Admission Form.
WHEN TO MAKE A REFERRAL
If a patient of yours is experiencing or exhibiting any of the following symptoms, we encourage you to reach out to Thrive Wellness to explore our higher level of care programs.
Common Symptoms of Anorexia Nervosa
- Weight at or below 85% of ideal for age, height, and build
- A significant or dramatic decrease in the standard growth chart curve for weight, height, and build
- Obsessive or excessive exercise
- Sudden or intense preoccupation in “healthy” or restrictive eating, dieting, vegetarianism, veganism
- Fatigue, cold intolerance, dizziness, and/or hair loss or thinning
- Abnormal or absent menses
- Bradycardia and/or orthostasis
- Cycles of binging and purging while remaining underweight
*Important note: Patients with anorexia nervosa will often present with normal vitals and labs.
Common Symptoms of Bulimia Nervosa
- Binging and/or purging more than once per week
- Engaging in compensatory behaviors to prevent weight gain, which can include self-induced vomiting, fasting, chewing and spitting of food, exercise, use of diet pills, abuse of laxatives or diuretics, and misuse of insulin
- Low normal to abnormal labs, which can include electrolyte abnormalities
- Bradycardia and/or orthostasis
*Important note: Patients with bulimia nervosa often deny physical symptoms and are of average or above-average weight.
Common Symptoms of Binge Eating Disorder (BED)
BED is characterized by binging at least once a week for three months in combination with feelings of distress and lack of control, as well as three or more of the following behaviors:
- Eating large quantities of food, even if not hungry
- Eating more rapidly than usual
- Feeling uncomfortably full after eating
- Eating secretively due to feelings of embarrassment
- Experiencing shame, disgust, or guilt after or between binges
Additional Concerns to Consider
- The patient is not progressing as anticipated despite outpatient therapy
- The individual requires supervision, structure, and support to gain weight or discontinue eating disorder behaviors
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT WHEN PARTNERING WITH THRIVE
At Thrive, we aim to form and foster an impactful alliance with professional partners throughout a patient’s journey to healing. From first contact until an individual reaches recovery, we encourage continuous communication and collaboration to promote the patient’s progress and nurture entire well-being.
At Thrive, our multidisciplinary team of eating disorder experts includes therapists, dietitians, psychiatrists, occupational therapists, mindful movement specialists, and more. We work hand-in-hand to provide integrated, evidence-based care with compassion and respect for each and every individual. Along the way, our team will provide you with education and expertise to support the patient’s recovery from all angles, and upon completion of the program, we will consult you to feel confident and capable of caring for them into the future.
A Place to Grow
For more information about Thrive Wellness, please reach out. We’ll connect you with the care you need.
