Take the Video Tour – Sanford West Behavioral Health Campus
Sanford West Behavioral Health Campus, is built on 18 rural acres just outside of Grand Rapids, Michigan. After a year long renovation, Sanford West opened in January 2022, extending and complementing the services at Sanford Behavioral Health. The hallmarks of Sanford are apparent in the new facility: beautifully restored spaces serve as a first […]
Avoiding Clinician Burnout With Self-Care
When I was a newly graduated counselor, over thirty years ago, I took my first job in an outpatient alcohol and drug treatment center. I didn’t know about clinician burnout, but I remember my feelings of anxiety upon seeing my first clients. At the time, I wondered, “What treatment modality should I apply?” I […]
Anorexia Nervosa – When Is It Time for Residential Treatment?
Anorexia Nervosa Is the refusal of food/nutrition, along with an obsessional fear of gaining weight or “becoming fat”. This results in a disturbance in the way body image is seen and experienced. In other words, the individual with anorexia not only believes their body is larger than it is, but they also experience it […]
Can Exercise and Healthy Eating Go Too Far?
Today on the podcast we talk to Sanford Behavioral Health’s Gail Hall, LMSW, DCSW, CEDS-S about orthorexia and other eating disorders. Gail, who has been treating eating disorders for over 30 years, says exercise and healthy eating can present a problem when the individual becomes obsessed with eating clean. Also, the compulsion to exercise […]
In-Network with Physicians Health Plan – Eating Disorders Full Continuum
[Grand Rapids, Michigan 06/20/22] – Sanford Behavioral Health provides a full continuum of care for eating disorders. This includes residential, partial hospitalization (PHP), intensive outpatient (IOP) and outpatient services. We are proud to announce we are now in-network with Physicians Health Plan for eating disorder treatment. With this new partnership, Sanford is able to […]
Michigan Excursions – Nature Therapy in the Great Outdoors
I work for Sanford Behavioral Health, and as the marketing director, I notice the organization’s communal language. Words have power and we are in the business of stigma busting, so we are mindful about our words when it comes to addiction, eating disorders, and mental health conditions. A few years ago, when we launched […]
The Rise of Orthorexia – Healthy Eating on Steroids
Orthorexia is a variation of anorexia nervosa which presents as an obsessional desire to eat only “healthy” or “clean” foods and a preoccupation with exercise. Although the initial presentation may be different from traditional anorexia, the core issue – an unhealthy fear of weight gain – is the same. “Adolescents are a nutritionally […]
Filling the Gaps in Eating Disorder Treatment – Limelight Interview
Since March 2020, the National Eating Disorders Association helpline has had a 40% increase in overall call volume. And contrary to popular belief, eating disorders can occur in individuals of all ages, genders, and body types. Because of the prevalence or eating disorders, there is a scarcity of treatment options available. At Sanford Comprehensive […]
Soul Hunger, Eating Disorders and a Historic ED Treatment Center
Residential Eating Disorders Multidisciplinary Team On the Anatomy of Addiction Podcast, I had the opportunity to interview two members of the residential eating disorder team. Dr. Anna Flores and Erin Carrigan, MA, LLPC, LPCC, are both transplants to Michigan. They moved here to help build the residential eating disorder treatment center at Sanford. Sanford […]
Prevalence of Alcohol Use Disorders Before/After Bariatric Surgery
There are times on the road to wellness, when the only thing one can say is, “No fair.” I remember thinking no fair when six months sober, a long dormant eating disorder popped up like the head of a Hydra. Just when I had my alcohol use disorder (AUD) licked, another trial presented itself. And at […]
