At The Lotus Collaborative, we know that recovery is about more than food and body. It’s about rebuilding connection, safety, and self-trust.
Our team offers deeply personalized, trauma-informed care for individuals age 14+ who are navigating eating disorders and related challenges. Our programs go beyond symptom reduction, honor your lived experience, and blend evidence-based treatment with heart-centered care.
With in-person programs in Santa Cruz and San Francisco, and virtual options across California, we offer Partial Hospitalization (PHP) and Intensive Outpatient (IOP) programs.
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. 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)
Our PHP is the most intensive level of outpatient care, offering a supportive, healing environment five to seven days a week. This level is ideal for individuals who benefit from 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 emphasizes that all foods have a place in a balanced and nourishing relationship with eating. Clients are taught to reject moral labeling of foods as “good” or “bad” and instead focus on neutrality, flexibility, and trust in the body’s internal cues.
Exposure to all types of foods is intentionally incorporated to reduce fear and increase confidence. Any food-related beliefs that perpetuate diet culture or disordered thinking are gently challenged through education and compassionate support.
Ultimately, our goal is to empower clients to rediscover trust in their bodies and cultivate a peaceful relationship with food that supports long-term recovery.
Programming
Your Treatment Team
Each client is assigned a primary therapist and dietitian to work with while a client at Lotus, and PHP clients are also assigned a psychiatrist. Every client’s care benefits from a collaborative multidisciplinary treatment team consisting of the following roles: clinical directors, assistant clinical directors, psychiatrists, dietitians, therapists, recovery counselors, and administrative/support staff.
Groups
We offer a diverse range of groups each day, including skills groups, process groups, psychoeducation groups, nutrition-focused groups, and expressive arts groups. All groups are led by TLC staff and are designed to support recovery through meaningful connection, skill-building, self-expression, and education. Clients can expect a blend of approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), mindfulness, therapeutic art, and gentle movement..
⇢ Family and Friends Group: Friends and Family Group occurs virtually on Thursdays from 5:15pm to 6:00pm. Friend and family involvement in the recovery process has been demonstrated as one of the most effective components of treatment especially for long-term recovery success, so the focus of the group is to educate folks on supporting the eating disorder recovery process.
Nutrition Experiential
TLC offers opportunities for Nutrition Experiential Group to provide real life exposure opportunities to build resiliency around food and the food-environment. The program staff will support clients in navigating these opportunities to promote understanding of how to fuel themselves in and out of TLC. The group exposures rotate between: cooking together on site, restaurant outings, restaurant take-out, themed meals, and potlucks.
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