 The Center for Discovery's Eating Disorder Programs are the first comprehensive residential treatment programs in California dedicated solely to the treatment of adolescent eating disorders.
The individualized and intensive treatment experience, under twenty-four hour supervision, is particularly effective in identifying and addressing the destructive behaviors and underlying emotional issues of the disordered eating. Residential treatment minimizes the institutional nature of traditional psychiatric hospitals, yet offers exceptional outcomes at a fraction of the cost.
Even without the added burden of struggling with an eating disorder, the teenage years are a precarious time, full of confusion, self-doubt and the search for an identity, further compounded by dramatic physiological changes in the body. The developmental struggles of adolescence are vastly different than the struggles in adulthood. For these reasons, we believe it is essential to treat adolescents in an environment separate from adults where they may receive the specialized attention they need.
Search for an Identity In the case of eating disorders, role confusion often manifests itself in what Erikson called a 'moratorium' in which the adolescent withdraws from adult responsibilities. If the adolescent successfully worked through earlier conflicts of childhood such as trusting others and believing in themselves, this moratorium may simply pass. In the case of eating disorders where the earlier conflicts may not have been worked through, the moratorium stage may keep the adolescent stuck in childhood. Having an illness such as an eating disorder is a way to extend childhood and to ensure that the child may remain dependent on the parents without having to face the challenges of adult responsibilities.
Individuation
Peers
Idealism Adolescence is surely a time of great change. The individual is neither a child nor an adult and the transition to adulthood may be a difficult one even with the utmost in love, support and guidance a parent can give. At the Center for Discovery, we believe that adolescents with eating disorders will benefit the most in a treatment center where their treatment is specialized to both their disorder and their developmental stage. Our goal is not only for the adolescent to start their recovery from the eating disorder but also to give them the skills and support they will need in becoming a young adult.
 Although it is true that the majority of those diagnosed with eating disorders are girls and women, boys and men also struggle with anorexia, bulimia and compulsive overeating. It is estimated that males make up 5-10% of the total population diagnosed with anorexia or bulimia although it appears that just as many males as females struggle with compulsive overeating or binge eating disorder.
Research done in the area of males and eating disorders, Males and Eating Disorders (1990), revealed the following:
Here at the Center for Discovery, we provide a safe and accepting atmosphere for young males struggling with anorexia, bulimia and compulsive overeating. Our trained professionals address the underlying issues that affect everyone with eating disorders while also being able to attend to the needs specific to being a young man.
"Remember, eating disorders have only one kind of victim: people; they afflict males and females alike."
The Center for Discovery offers a comprehensive treatment approach within a multidisciplinary treatment team.
 It is difficult to define "What is a normal family".
Families vary tremendously. In some families everything looks okay on the surface. In others the picture is overtly chaotic, with substance abuse, family discord, legal issues, or family violence obvious to the onlooker. However, in families in which there is an eating-disordered child, there is a common thread; the existing rules and roles that bind the family together are not accommodating the shifting needs of the individual members. The Center for Discovery values the importance of a family systems approach to treating adolescent eating disorders. Our treatment plan includes weekly family therapy and multifamily group sessions. For out-of-town families we accommodate a family week or an individualized family schedule to make the child's transition to home successful and not a shock to the family. In working with the family system, healthy rules and roles can be identified, communication and conflict resolution facilitated, and support and guidance provided to all. This can allow both the family and child to create new and more satisfying ways of operating in the relationship. Source: Surviving an Eating Disorder: Strategies for Family and Friends. Siegel, Brisman, & Weinshel.
 Rachel Liger, MS, RD is the Center for Discovery's Nutritional Director and she has developed the nutrition protocol for the center.
As clients become familiar with their menu requirements, they shift to a menu plan that requires less planning ahead of time and is more representative of what they will be doing when they are ready to leave the facility. Clients will begin to learn the principals behind listening to their bodies needs and eating intuitively. In order to practice intuitive eating, clients are asked to participate in "gentle eating dinners." This is where they learn how to eat slowly and concentrate on the changes their bodies feel as they satisfy them with food. Additionally, clients participate in a weekly therapeutic dining out at local restaurants of their choosing. Some clients, who are therapeutically ready, get the opportunity to plan a theme night and cook for themselves and their peers. Dietitians teach weekly nutrition education groups and supervise a practical hands-on nutrition group that is also offered every week. Dietitians meet with the clients weekly to monitor and negotiate necessary changes to meet their nutritional needs. An individualized approach to nutrition therapy is used for all clients. Adequate nutrition is assessed by a return to a normal menstrual cycle, correction of orthostatic hypotension, correction of abnormal nutritionally relevant laboratory data, weight maintenance within a healthy range for adolescents, and pulse rates within normal limits.
  12-Step group times for clients assigned will be specific to facility allocation and vary in time.
 The phase system at Discovery is designed to reflect resident's progress in their recovery, allowing for increased independence and self-responsibility. Each resident begins treatment at the assessment phase, with greater supervision as they identify their treatment objectives and orient themselves to the program. As residents learn new coping skills and show increased capacity for healthy self-regulation, they advance through the phase system, which endorses natural and logical consequences and not a reward/punishment system. Residents experience greater independence and freedom as they approach the final phase at Discovery, which assists them with their transition to home life. The resident and treatment team commit to a specific contract for each phase. Contracts are individualized to fit the specific needs of each resident and utilize the strengths that he/she has. There are, however, common assignments specific to each phase.
 Many people are familiar with the diagnoses of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, as these are thought of as the most common eating disorders. While the incidence of anorexia and bulimia is staggering among adolescence, perhaps an even more commonly occurring eating disorder (and most frequently undiagnosed) is compulsive eating (also known as compulsive overeating, binge-eating disorder).
For many parents and the sufferers themselves, the solution for those compulsive eaters that are overweight or obese seems to be trying a myriad of diets (including diet camps), most of which fail. The reason why diets do not work for many people is because they have an addiction to food. As is the case with all eating disorders, the eating disordered behaviors themselves are symptoms- and represent the person's attempt to cope with underlying issues such as depression. Thus a diet is attempting to simply fix the symptom. For many compulsive eaters, until they address the emotional reasons they are using food, their bingeing or constant eating will continue in a vicious cycle of eating, guilt and depression. Although we may be reluctant as a society to believe that a person can be addicted to food, we at the Center for Discovery believe one can be addicted to food. This addiction is only compounded by the fact that unlike a drug or alcohol addiction, you have to eat. Thus, a person with an eating disorder has to learn to manage an out of control behavior instead of completely abstaining from a substance. Here at the Center for Discovery, we believe that many adolescents suffer from compulsive eating/binge eating disorder and that they are dealing with emotional and family issues as well as medical complications in every way as serious as those related to anorexia and bulimia.
 Eating disorders are complex disorders. The eating disorder symptoms themselves are just that - symptoms! The person with an eating disorder uses food in order to control certain feelings such as sadness, anger, etc and to cope with a sense of feeling out of control. The manipulation of food, whether it be by restriction, bingeing or purging is a self-soothing mechanism used to deal with inner emotional turmoil. Thus, although the symptoms are usually similar, the underlying issues are never the same, although research has shown some other disorders to be highly correlated to eating disorders.
There has been increasing publicity about self-injury (or self-mutilation)in the last few years. Although this is not a disorder listed in the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (IV), this behavior, in which the individual may cut, scratch or hurt themselves in some way, is commonly seen in adolescents with eating disorders. The intent of the teen is not always to cause mortal harm but often times hurting themselves may offer some kind of relief or release emotionally. Self-Injury may also be highly correlated with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Anxiety Disorders are also commonly seen in eating disordered adolescents. These disorders include Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder which is perhaps the most common anxiety disorder seen in eating disordered adolescents. OCD is characterized by recurrent obsessions (persistent ideas, thoughts, impulses) and compulsions (repetitive behaviors or thoughts) such as checking and counting done in order to reduce anxiety or distress. Other anxiety disorders sometimes seen in eating disordered adolescents are Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder in which the adolescent experiences excessive worrying and concern. Adolescents with eating disorders may also suffer from disruptive behavior problems as well. These problems may range from school truancy to running away to violent outbursts and acting out. Oppositional Defiant Disorder may be the most common behavioral disorder associated with eating disorders, possibly more so with bulimia, although the correlation may not necessarily be considered strong. Adolescents with ODD display negativistic, hostile and defiant behavior. They may blame others for their own mistakes, argue with adults frequently, and deliberately annoy others. Conduct Disorder, in which the child consistently violates the rights of others and social norms, may also be seen in eating disorders but the correlation may be weak. Approximately one third of those with bulimia also have a substance abuse or dependence problem. Individuals with bulimia may begin using stimulants as an appetite suppressant but alcohol and other substance abuse is also common. (American Psychiatric Association: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition. Washington, DC, American Psychiatric Association, 1994)
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The Center offers a professional, structured environment with the comfort and nurturing of a serene home-style setting.
Here at the Center for Discovery, we believe that just as eating disorders require specialized treatment, so do adolescents.
Here at the Center for Discovery, we believe that females and males with eating disorders are more similar than they are different. There is a common misconception that eating disorders are a woman's disease and that the etiology and/or symptoms are vastly different. These misconceptions result in boys and men having difficulty finding treatment centers that accept them. This is not to say that there are no differences.
It is important to understand every family has both functional and dysfunctional components. No one knows for certain what aspects of family life contribute to the development of an eating disorder. What is understood is that once a family member develops an eating disorder, all family stressors and difficulties are exacerbated and all members are affected.
The approach includes a brief period of observation followed by a negotiated menu plan. Next, the client is transitioned on to a menu plan to meet their individual needs based on the American Dietetic Association's Exchange List System. Any client who has severe malnutrition, as determined by the physician, will skip the observation stage and progress directly to the healthy, balanced menu plan.
Compulsive eating can be described as periods of impulsive gorging or continuous eating, usually done secretively. This bingeing is similar to that of bulimia although there is no compensatory purging. However, the person may engage in sporadic fasting or dieting. Thus, a compulsive eater may be anywhere from normal weight to severely morbidly obese. A compulsive eater usually suffers from the same shame, guilt, depression, low self-esteem and other associated symptoms as those with anorexia and bulimia. However, depression and isolation may be compounded for an adolescent who is overweight or obese due to the ridicule from peers and others.
Most adolescents with eating disorders also suffer from a depression and this is perhaps the most common diagnosis with the eating disorder. Depression is usually viewed as the underlying issue the teen may be using the eating disorder to cope with. Although adolescence is a time of great physiological and developmental change and is notorious for it's mood swings, not all episodes of depression can be chalked up to typical teen 'blues'. For some adolescents, their depression is severe and chronic and unlike adults, they may have fewer emotional and physical resources to help them cope with these periods. In addition, research has shown a strong genetic component to depression and many teens with depression have family members who also suffer. In addition, pre-existing depression is often exacerbated by the physiological effects of starvation and purging and may be somewhat alleviated when weight and overall health status is restored.