Recovery is about more than food and body. It’s about reconnecting with yourself, restoring a sense of safety, and building trust in your life again.
For clients ages 14+, support is available through Partial Hospitalization (PHP) and Intensive Outpatient (IOP) programs in Santa Cruz and San Francisco, along with virtual options across California.
Eating Disorder Treatment
Levels of Care
Eating Disorder Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP)
(14+ | In-person, Virtual, or Hybrid)
Our IOP offers meaningful support and accountability while allowing space for school, work, or family life. Clients typically attend programming three to seven days a week for 3+ hours per day. This level of care is well-suited for those stepping down from a higher level of care or needing more than weekly therapy to make meaningful progress in recovery. The program includes individual therapy, group therapy, nutrition counseling, family therapy, and meal support.
Eating Disorder Intensive Day Program (PHP)
(14+ | In-Person or Hybrid)
PHP is our most intensive level of outpatient care, offering a supportive, healing environment five to seven days a week for 5+ hours per day. This level is ideal for individuals who need stabilization with a high degree of structure and support but do not require 24-hour inpatient care. The program includes individual therapy, group therapy, nutrition counseling, family therapy, meal support, and psychiatry.
Food Philosophy
We embrace an “All Foods Fit” philosophy rooted in evidence-based practices and a Health at Every Size® (HAES®) framework. This approach helps create space for a relationship with eating that feels more flexible, trusting, and sustainable, rather than driven by rigid food rules or moral judgments. Through education, support, and food exposure, recovery can include rebuilding trust in the body and finding greater peace with food.
Programming
Our programs go beyond trauma-informed: we specialize in deep, compassionate, and sustainable changes for people with a constellation of related mental health needs. We honor your lived experience and blend evidence-based treatment with heart-centered care.
Your Treatment Team
Care at Lotus is collaborative, personalized, and grounded in relationship. Each client works closely with a primary therapist and dietitian, and PHP clients also meet with a psychiatrist. Treatment is supported by a multidisciplinary team that may include therapists, dietitians, psychiatrists, recovery counselors, clinical leadership, and support staff.
Groups
Each day includes a range of groups designed to support recovery through connection, education, self-expression, and skill-building. Groups may focus on process, coping skills, nutrition, psychoeducation, or expressive arts, and incorporate approaches like CBT, DBT, ACT, IFS, mindfulness, therapeutic art, and gentle movement.
Friends & Family Group
A weekly telehealth group is available for friends and family. Because healing often happens in relationship, this group helps loved ones better understand the recovery process and learn ways to offer meaningful support. Friends and family sessions are also available.
Nutrition Experiential
Nutrition experiential groups offer real-life opportunities to build confidence, flexibility, and trust around food. These experiences may include cooking together on site, restaurant outings, takeout meals, themed meals, and potlucks, all with support from staff along the way.
Sample Schedule (ED IOP & PHP)
What people are saying
"The staff at Lotus are really caring & feel like real people. My therapist had her own eating disorder & recovered from it. She immediately got me, and I started to feel hope. I learned so much about myself that, for so long, I didn’t understand.”
— Former Client