The Body Image Therapy Center to Launch New Eating Disorders Treatment Program in Baltimore City
BALTIMORE, Md. (PRWEB) June 05, 2018 -- The Body Image Therapy Center (TBITC) announced it will open an eating disorders treatment program in the Station North Arts District in Baltimore City in July 2018. In response to the growing need in Baltimore City for accessible, comprehensive treatment for eating disorders and associated mental health concerns, the new location will feature three levels of care, including a Partial Hospital Program (PHP), Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP), and standard outpatient services. The Body Image Therapy Center specializes in the treatment of eating disorders across the spectrum including anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, compulsive exercise, and muscle dysmorphia.
Located at 1734 Maryland Avenue, Suite 200, TBITC’s Baltimore location will be its fourth program. Additional locations are Columbia, MD; Washington, DC; and Alexandria, VA. The Baltimore programs include mental health, nutrition, medical, and psychiatric care for those with eating disorders and related mental health concerns such as anxiety, mood disorders, trauma, and substance abuse.
“As a fourth generation Baltimore City native, I’ve always wanted to bring this kind of treatment to my hometown,” said Andrew Walen, LCSW-C, LICSW, CEDS, founder and executive director of The Body Image Therapy Center. “Eating disorders are the deadliest mental illness out there, and we need more treatment options accessible to those who live and work in the city. We also need more programs like ours that have multiple levels of care so individuals have that continuity of treatment needed for full recovery and relapse prevention.”
TBITC has a particular interest in working with underserved populations such as those in the LGBTQ community, males, and higher weight individuals. “I suffered for 20 years with an eating disorder because nobody thought to ask me the right questions simply because I was a male,” Walen shared. “Thankfully, males are coming forward more frequently now, but so are others from previously ignored populations such as African Americans, Hispanics, religious communities, individuals who are living in larger bodies but suffer all the mental and physical anguish of an eating disorder, and those in the gay and transgender communities. By paying attention to their unique needs and language about eating disorders, we create an environment where they feel accepted and treated with dignity.”
According to the National Eating Disorders Association, approximately 30 million Americans are dealing with some form of an eating disorder. Moreover, eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness.
About The Body Image Therapy Center and Andrew Walen: The Body Image Therapy Center is part of Refresh Mental Health, which owns mental health, eating disorder, and substance abuse programs across the country. Mr. Walen founded The Body Image Therapy Center in 2008 and is the executive director. He is also the executive director for The Better Brain Center in Alexandria, VA, and the Center for Eating Disorders Management in Bedford, NH. He is a psychotherapist, author, speaker, and advocate in the eating disorders field, with particular expertise in males with eating disorders.
Mr. Walen currently serves as President of the board of directors for the National Association for Males with Eating Disorders (NAMED), and is a past founding board member of the Binge Eating Disorder Association (BEDA). He has appeared on The Today Show, was featured in The New York Times, USA Today, Men’s Health, and many other national and local media outlets as an expert in the field of eating disorders and body image. In addition, he has authored numerous articles and presented workshops at national and international eating disorder conferences. His book “Man Up to Eating Disorders”, a memoir and self-help book directed at males with eating disorders, was published May 2014 and was featured in the Gurze Catalog.
Mr. Walen is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Social Work in Nashville. He also is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music, and is a published singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist who continues to write and perform in the metro Baltimore area. He is a 1991 graduate of Baltimore City College High School.
To learn more about The Body Image Therapy Center and its wide range of services, please contact Elizabeth Mitchell, Operations Director, at 877-674-2843 or visit http://www.thebodyimagecenter.com.
Dina Wasmer, Incite Creative, http://www.incitecreativeinc.com/, 4103669479 x101, [email protected]
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