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Symptoms
Eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, are frequently seen among adolescents (male and female). Symptoms that represent an eating disorder or subsyndromal eating disturbance include:
- Sudden or significant weight loss
- Experiencing lighter, more irregular periods or skipping menstrual periods
- Failure to maintain recommended weight
- Dizziness or passing out
- Purple hands and feet
- Hair loss
- Cold intolerance
- Self-imposed food restriction (in variety and volume)
- Preoccupation with weight or shape
- Binging behaviors
- Obsessive focus on food, nutrition or exercise
- Avoidance of eating in the presence of others
- Eating or food rituals
- Persistent negative comments about weight or body
- Avoidance of certain classes of foods (fats, carbohydrates)
- Eating the same food over and over
- Social isolation
Outpatient Program
Our Division of Adolescent Medicine provides outpatient treatment to children and adolescents up to 21 years of age.
A comprehensive outpatient treatment team evaluates the patient, identifies his or her specific needs, develops a treatment plan and coordinates care. We work to help identify necessary disciplines and involve other providers in the care process. Our full-service interdisciplinary treatment team includes:
- Adolescent medicine physicians
- Child psychiatrists
- Child psychologist
- Registered dietitians
- Mental health therapists
Partial Hospitalization Program
The partial hospitalization program is a comprehensive outpatient treatment option for adolescents ages 12 to 17. Partial hospitalization can assist adolescents in transitioning from an inpatient stay to a daily routine within their home environment and can also be considered as a treatment alternative to inpatient hospitalization.
Treatment Components
- Individual therapy
- Group therapy
- Family therapy
- Educational services
- Psychiatric consultation
- Recreation
Collaboration with the physicians, therapists and school personnel is a priority.
The program provides two hours of classroom time each day with a certified, hospital-employed teacher. Our teacher will work with your child's school to coordinate assignments and other concerns regarding school. Parents will be asked to sign a release of information to allow coordination with patients school.
Treatment Team
Your treatment team is made up of the following:
- Psychiatrists (MD)
- Registered nurses (RN)
- Licensed Independent Social Workers (LISW)
- Mental health specialists (MHS)
- Teacher
Acute Inpatient Program
Our symptom specific inpatient treatment program offers 24-hour specialized psychiatric and nutritional care for adolescents between the ages of 12 to 17. The treatment team works with each patient to address specific symptoms, and more important, to resolve deeper issues enabling recovery and improved mental and physical wellness.
Our eating disorders treatment team includes:
- Board-certified psychiatrists
- Registered dietitians
- Mental health therapists (trained in family-based treatment)
Because eating disorders are a form of mental illness, patients admitted to the inpatient unit live and receive therapy side by side with patients facing other mental illnesses.
Psychiatric consultations for adolescents are available to inpatient and partial hospitalization patients through the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in collaboration with the Harold C. Schott Eating Disorders Treatment Team.
Financial Information
Most major insurance programs cover treatment services offered at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. We are an Ohio Medicaid provider, with limited availability for non-Ohio Medicaid.
Financial service representatives at Cincinnati Children’s are available to answer questions and assist families in obtaining insurance authorization or applying for financial aid programs. For questions about financial services, call 513-636-4427, option 9.
Make a Referral
For outpatient referrals or questions about the Cincinnati Children’s Eating Disorders Program, contact:
Anita Wilson
Phone: 513-636-9657
Email: anita.wilson@cchmc.org
Normal business hours, Monday through Friday
For immediate or acute care, contact the Psychiatric Intake Response Center (PIRC), open 24 hours, seven days a week:
PIRC
Phone: 513-636-4124
Email: psychiatryresponse@cchmc.org
Location
Outpatient
The Cincinnati Children’s adolescent medicine and psychiatry teams offer outpatient treatment services for eating disorders at:
Partial Hospitalization and Inpatient Care
The Cincinnati Children’s Eating Disorders Program offers partial hospitalization and inpatient care at Lindner Center of HOPE, 4075 Old Western Row Road, Mason, OH 45040.
Get directions.
