Monte Nido & Affiliates Research Supports Integrating Treatment of Trauma into Residential Eating Disorder Programs

Research study shows lasting results when trauma and eating disorders are treated simultaneously using evidence-based methods

MIAMI, April 12, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Monte Nido & Affiliates, one of the leading eating disorder therapy providers in the country, recently published groundbreaking research showing the effectiveness of integrating trauma treatment with evidenced-based eating disorder treatments in residential programs. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common co-occurring condition in eating disorder patients, occurring in nearly half of adults admitted to residential eating disorder treatment programs.

"We are here to support clients in their recovery journey. Treatment is a collaborative process that involves clients, families, providers, and our team. Within this system of care, we have developed effective, evidenced-based interventions, that support recovery," said Cassie McLean, Chief Executive Officer of Monte Nido & Affiliates. "Clients who engage in residential treatment at Monte Nido & Affiliates get well and stay well. Our post-discharge outcomes data show that we are not only treating clients' mental health illnesses, but we're also providing them with the tools and coping skills to self-manage symptoms and maintain recovery."

Monte Nido & Affiliates is the first to integrate evidence-based trauma treatment concurrently with eating disorder treatment at higher levels of care. Additionally, the organization is the only eating disorder platform to measure and publish long-term outcomes showing that clients' improvements last. Monte Nido & Affiliates' latest research study, "Eating Disorder Patients With and Without PTSD Treated in Residential Care: Discharge And 6-month Follow-up Results," was published in the Journal of Eating Disorders. This five-year comprehensive and statistically significant study is peer-reviewed and approved by an Institutional Review Board.

"The conventional thinking in the eating disorder field has been that it's best to refrain from trauma work while in intensive treatment settings. However, this research tells us that concurrent treatments can be delivered during the same treatment course," said Molly Perlman, MD, MPH, CEDS, Chief Medical Officer of Monte Nido & Affiliates. "The research is the culmination of many years of work and will undoubtedly help further our field's understanding that trauma can and should be treated at higher levels of care."

PTSD in clients with eating disorders is associated with a higher severity of symptoms and worse outcomes. Using an integrated clinical approach based on principles of cognitive processing therapy (CPT) and other evidence-based treatments, the research study evaluated outcomes at discharge and six months following discharge in over 600 clients with and without PTSD. Key findings include:

• Trauma symptoms: 81% of patients with PTSD at admission had significant reductions in trauma symptom scores from admission to discharge and 73% from admission to follow-up six months later
• Eating disorder symptoms: 90% of all clients had significant improvements in eating disorder symptoms at discharge [based on Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire (EDEQ) global score] and 81% at follow-up six months later
• Depression: 88% of all clients had reductions in scores assessing depression from admission to discharge and 73% from admission to follow-up six months later
• Anxiety: 75% of all clients had reductions in anxiety symptom scores from admission to discharge and 71% from admission to follow-up six months later

The study was based on data generated from adults treated at 10 Monte Nido & Affiliates residential treatment programs across the United States over three years. For more information about this comprehensive research study, please visit: https://montenidoaffiliates.com/outcomes/trauma/

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