At Lotus, we believe eating disorders and mental health treatment are most effective when people feel seen, affirmed, and safe to show up as themselves. Gender-affirming care is mental health care, and so is eating disorder recovery.

Our team, space, and care reflect the communities we serve. As Kayla Smith, Clinical Director, shares:

“We’re located right in the heart of a community [The Castro] that deeply values 2SLGBTQIA+ visibility, expression, and belonging. Our surroundings shape us; we’re constantly learning from and inspired by the communities we’re part of.”

We’re committed to ongoing training, education, and dialogue so our eating disorder treatment remains affirming, trauma-responsive, and culturally grounded.

And because we’re a small, community-rooted eating disorder treatment center, every treatment plan is individualized. We support goals that reflect a client’s full experience, whether that’s increasing communication and support with family or community, reflecting on entwinements of the eating disorder with other identities, exploring how an eating disorder may have masked suffering of other kinds, or healing from the ways stigma and systemic oppression live in the body.

The Lotus Collaborative provides 2SLGBTQIA+ affirming eating disorder treatment in Santa Cruz and San Francisco, with virtual programs, including mood/trauma IOP, available throughout California.

If you or someone you love is looking for inclusive, affirming eating disorder care in California with staff and leadership in the queer and trans communities, we’re here.