Center for Discovery Fairfax

Center for Discovery’s Fairfax location is a residential and partial hospitalization treatment facility for adolescents between the ages of 10 and 18 who are struggling with eating disorders. The residential program provides a structured week with established wake up times, bedtimes, chores, and mealtimes to promote a sense of responsibility and to provide a regular daily routine. Psychotherapy is provided in many approaches such as CBT, DBT, EMDR, nutrition education, positive coping mechanisms, relapse prevention, and life skills. On average, patients participate in five to six hours of individual, group, and family therapy per day as well as structured and monitored mealtimes and group social events. Yoga therapy is also offered twice a week.

The Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) is a step below residential treatment and above outpatient care. It includes individual, family, and group counseling, medication management, nutritional counseling, and meal supervision. PHP meets five or six days a week but allows patients to go home each night. This allows clients to receive much of the same structure as residential care during the day, while also getting the opportunity to practice new skills in their own environment. Patients will eat and be provided meals/snacks at the facility, as well as some meals/snacks at home, which allows them to practice and implement the skills they learn. Center for Discovery also provides free online eating disorder support groups for patients in PHP.

The Center for Discovery follows the Health at Every Size (HAES) philosophy, which is a non-diet approach that focuses on behaviors that support individual health, including explicit body acceptance. HAES encourages everyone to be healthy regardless of body shape, size, or weight. The main tenants of HAES include weight inclusivity, health enhancement, respectful care, eating for well-being, and life-enhancing movement.