SunCloud Health’s eating disorder treatment in Northbrook, Illinois delivers medical, nutritional, and therapeutic care that helps teens and adults regain a peaceful relationship with food, body, and life.
At SunCloud Health, you’ll find an evidence-based program led by nationally recognized psychiatrist Dr. Kim Dennis, MD, CEDS, offering a seamless path from Intensive Outpatient (IOP) and Partial Hospitalization (PHP) to on-site residential healing – all on one Northbrook campus.
Keep reading to see how an integrated, trauma-informed approach can help you (or your loved one) move from daily struggle to sustainable recovery.
Our Expertise Speaks for Itself
SunCloud Health’s transdiagnostic, integrated care model treats eating disorders, substance use, mood disorders, and trauma together – never in silos – so every root cause gets addressed at the same time.
The Northbrook campus is home to the nation’s first residential center devoted to co-occurring eating disorders and addictions, giving patients truly specialized care.
Board-certified psychiatrists oversee each level of care, and our programs carry the Joint Commission Gold Seal of Approval for quality and safety.
Within the first two months of care, most SunCloud patients record a 7-point drop on the PHQ-9 depression scale and meaningful relief on the GAD-7 anxiety scale. Those numbers are powered by a multidisciplinary team trained in DBT, CPT, Motivational Interviewing, and nutrition science—experts who treat you as a whole person, not a diagnosis.
Imagine Your Life After Recovery
Picture waking up free from calorie math, able to meet friends for brunch without spiraling into guilt, and feeling strong enough to enjoy the Northbrook Trails instead of obsessing over the next workout.
Our alumni often describe a return to self: balanced meals without fear, deeper relationships, and energy to pursue careers or college dreams.
This transformation starts the moment you step into our comfortable, homelike residence and continues through outpatient support that fits your real life.
5 Key Takeaways at a Glance
- All-in-one Continuum – IOP, PHP, and on-site residential care mean you never switch providers mid-journey.
- Integrated Dual-Diagnosis Focus – Simultaneous treatment for eating disorders, addiction, mood disorders, and trauma.
- Data-Driven Outcomes – Measurable symptom drops on PHQ-9 & GAD-7 prove our approach works.
- Family Support by Consent – Loved ones can join groups only with patient approval, ensuring comfort and privacy.
- Northbrook Convenience – A peaceful suburban campus minutes from the Edens Expressway, serving the entire Chicagoland area.
Whether you need flexible daytime therapy or 24/7 residential care, every path begins with the same compassionate phone call.
From Struggle to Strength: Northbrook Success Stories
“I spoke with Melissa for a 90-minute intake on a Saturday. She guided me to the exact support I needed – no pressure, just ethics and empathy.”
“Dr. Kim’s honesty and lived experience helped me see that recovery isn’t linear, and that’s okay. I finally address the trauma beneath my eating disorder.”
“SunCloud treated my food restriction, substance use, and self-injury together – now I know they were always connected.”
Their journeys show what’s possible – and yours can start today.
What Is an Eating Disorder?
Eating disorders are serious mental and medical illnesses marked by life-threatening disturbances in eating behaviors, body image, and emotional health.
Common signs include rigid food rules, ritualized eating, dramatic weight shifts, and social withdrawal – behaviors the National Eating Disorders Association warns can escalate quickly without help.
Left untreated, conditions such as anorexia, bulimia, binge-eating disorder, ARFID, and co-occurring substance use hold some of the highest mortality rates in psychiatry.
Now that you know what’s at stake, let’s explore the proven path to healing in Northbrook.
Proven, Integrated Approach to Eating Disorder Treatment in Northbrook, Illinois
SunCloud Health uses a transdiagnostic, integrated care model that treats eating disorders, addictions, mood disorders, and trauma together – because they often feed one another.
Evidence-based therapies (DBT, Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Processing Therapy) are layered with medical oversight from board-certified psychiatrists and registered dietitians for a whole-person plan.
The result? More than 80 % of patients see a 7-point drop in PHQ-9 depression scores and steady GAD-7 anxiety relief within eight weeks.
Because data matters – but compassion matters more – our team builds safety and trust first, then measures progress every step of the way.
How the Process Works
- Confidential Discovery Call – Speak with an admissions clinician to discuss symptoms, goals, and insurance.
- Comprehensive Intake & Assessment – We evaluate medical, psychiatric, nutritional, and social needs in one appointment.
- Level-of-Care Match – Based on severity, we recommend IOP, PHP, or on-site residential eating disorder treatment on our Northbrook campus.
- Personalized Care Plan – Your therapist, dietitian, and physician co-create goals tied to meaningful daily life outcomes.
- Continuous Evaluation & Step-Down – As milestones are met, you transition smoothly to lower levels of care or alumni support – without losing your clinical team.
Each stage keeps you moving forward while honoring your pace – let’s look at what that feels like day to day
What to Expect in Our Northbrook Eating Disorder Programs
Expect a structured yet flexible schedule: group DBT skills, individual therapy, meal support, expressive arts, mindfulness, and optional fitness or yoga classes. Family participation is invited only with your consent, ensuring you stay in charge of who joins your journey.
Whether you’re in PHP, IOP, or residential care, evenings include reflective journaling, peer process groups, and time to rest in our comfortable homelike residence. With the daily picture in mind, meet the experts guiding you.
Meet the Caring Experts Behind Your Care
Our Northbrook team includes trauma-informed therapists, board-certified psychiatrists, dietitians, nurses, and milieu mentors – all cross-trained to treat eating disorders alongside co-occurring conditions.
Each clinician practices ongoing outcome measurement, ensuring treatments evolve with your progress. To learn more about individual credentials, visit our SunCloud Health team page.
Joint Commission accreditation and continuous professional development mean you’re in skilled, safe hands.
Begin Your Healing Journey - Call Today
The sooner you start eating disorder treatment in Northbrook, Illinois, the sooner you reclaim peace with food, body, and life. Speak to our compassionate team at (866) 729-1012 or reach out through our secure contact form.
Every call is confidential, and your first step could be the one that changes everything.
Where Compassion Meets Innovation: Why Our Northbrook Program Stands Out
At SunCloud Health, our transdiagnostic, integrated care model treats eating disorders, substance use, mood disorders, and trauma in one cohesive plan – avoiding the “siloed” approach common elsewhere.
The Northbrook campus houses the first U.S. residential program dedicated to co-occurring eating disorders and addictions, giving you unmatched specialty expertise on one site.
Guided daily by Dr. Kim Dennis, MD, CEDS, our physician-led team combines medical oversight with therapies like DBT and Motivational Interviewing, producing clinically significant drops in PHQ-9 depression scores within eight weeks.
We also offer interventional psychiatry options such as TMS for treatment-resistant depression – available right inside our residential unit.
Evening virtual IOP, age-inclusive tracks (from teens to elders), and an alumni network that meets monthly ensure support lasts long after discharge.
Therapies That Heal the Whole Person
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) gives you concrete emotion-regulation and distress-tolerance skills that keep urges at bay when anxiety spikes around food, weigh-ins, or body image. For co-occurring self-injury or mood swings, DBT’s mindfulness and interpersonal modules lower the emotional “temperature” so you can choose nourishing behaviors instead of harmful ones.
- Motivational Interviewing (MI) uncovers the part of you that truly wants recovery, then strengthens that voice until it outweighs eating-disorder and substance-use impulses. By resolving ambivalence, MI boosts engagement in meal plans, therapy homework, and relapse-prevention goals.
- Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) breaks the link between trauma memories and disordered eating by challenging self-blame and rigid core beliefs (“I don’t deserve to eat,” “I have to stay in control”). As trauma symptoms ease, compulsive behaviors around food and substances lose their power.
- Experiential Peer Process Groups create live, corrective social experiences that typical talk therapy can’t replicate. Practicing vulnerability at the table – or discussing body image in real time – rewires isolation patterns, builds shame resilience, and reinforces healthier relationship templates for depression or anxiety.
- Nutrition Rehabilitation & Meal Support guided by registered dietitians restores metabolic balance while dismantling food fears. Real-time coaching during meals teaches portioning, mindful chewing, and hunger/fullness cues – skills that transfer directly to life after residential, PHP, or IOP.
- Mind-Body Skill Work (yoga, mindfulness, art therapy) reconnects you with bodily signals blunted by starvation, bingeing, or substance use. These practices down-regulate the nervous system, reduce compulsive urges, and provide nonverbal outlets for trauma-held tension.
Together, these evidence-based and experiential approaches address the biological, psychological, and relational drivers of eating disorders and co-occurring conditions, giving you a full toolkit to practice – daily – in a supportive community.
Levels of Care - All Under One Roof
SunCloud Health offers a true continuum for eating-disorder recovery, letting adults and teens start at the intensity they need and step down without switching providers. Our 24/7 residential setting anchors the system, while daytime PHP and flexible IOP tracks – both on-site and virtual – sustain progress as independence grows.
Level of Care | Age Group | Schedule & Structure | Ideal For | Core Eating-Disorder Supports |
Residential Treatment | Adults | 24/7 medically supervised care in a homelike residence | Moderate-to-severe eating disorders with medical or substance-use complications | Daily psychiatry, dietitian-led meal support, and trauma-integrated groups |
Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) | Adults | Monday–Friday, full-day sessions (about 6 hours) at our Northbrook campus | patients who no longer need overnight monitoring but still require intensive structure | Supported lunches, skills labs, family sessions by consent, relapse-prevention planning |
Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) | Adults | 3–5 days per week, ~3 hours per visit across our Chicagoland sites | Those ready to balance work, school, or caregiving with focused treatment blocks | DBT skills groups, individual therapy, nutrition check-ins, body-image processing |
Virtual Evening IOP | Adults | Live, online groups 3 hours nightly, five evenings a week | Professionals or students who need after-hours support from home | Same curriculum as in-person IOP, plus tele-meal coaching and peer connection |
Adolescent PHP | Ages 13–17 | Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–3:30 p.m.; academic coordination included | Teens requiring full-day care yet able to sleep at home | School-integrated meal support, parent coaching (with teen consent), skills for emotion regulation and social stress |
Adolescent IOP | Ages 13–17 | Three to five days weekly; after-school (4–7 p.m.) and daytime (9 a.m.–noon or noon–3 p.m.) tracks | Teens who need structured help but can maintain regular classes and family life | Group CBT/DBT, nutrition education, peer process groups, academic liaison services |
All levels share the same trauma-informed staff, evidence-based therapies, and outcome tracking, so progress data and relationships travel with you as you heal.
Whichever doorway you enter – residential, PHP, or IOP – our seamless hand-offs keep momentum strong and relapse risk low as you reclaim life beyond the table.
Insurance - Opening Doors to Recovery
SunCloud Health is in-network with most major commercial plans, including Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, Cigna, and UnitedHealthcare.
If your carrier isn’t listed, our financial coordinators pursue single-case agreements or other solutions so cost isn’t a barrier.
Credentials & Accreditations
- Joint Commission Gold Seal of Approval for behavioral health care confirms compliance with the highest national safety standards.
- Outcome monitoring uses validated tools like PHQ-9 and GAD-7, documented in our 2024 Treatment Impact Report.
- Our medical leadership and innovative programs have been featured on 60 Minutes+ and other national outlets, underscoring clinical excellence.
With these safeguards in place, you can focus fully on recovery.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know whether I need residential, PHP, or IOP eating disorder care?
A detailed intake with our clinicians weighs symptom severity, medical stability, and support at home. Moderate-to-severe cases – especially those with substance use or medical complications – benefit from 24/7 residential treatment at our Northbrook facility, while PHP (5 days × 6 hours) and IOP (3–5 days × 3 hours) suit those who can practice recovery skills at home but still need daily guidance.
Will my insurance cover treatment?
Yes. SunCloud Health is in-network with most major plans, including Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, Cigna, and UnitedHealthcare. Our admissions team verifies benefits and can pursue single-case agreements when needed.
Can my family participate?
Family sessions are offered only with your consent, so you decide who’s involved and when.
What if I also struggle with addiction or mood disorders?
Our transdiagnostic model treats eating disorders, substance use, mood disorders, and trauma together – never in isolation – so nothing slips through the cracks.
How long does treatment last?
Length varies; many residential stays run several weeks, while PHP/IOP step-downs extend over months. Your plan is adjusted weekly based on progress and insurance coverage.
Do you accept adolescents?
Yes. We run age-specific PHP and IOP tracks for teens (13–17) alongside our adult programs, with evening virtual IOP for busy students.
Is treatment confidential?
Absolutely. SunCloud follows HIPAA privacy rules and discloses information only with written permission or when legally required.
How serious are eating disorders, really?
Anorexia carries the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric illness, and suicide risk is elevated across all eating disorders – prompt, specialized care is lifesaving.
How We Measure Success: Simple Numbers, Real-World Impact
We track progress with the same care we give every meal plan and therapy session. Using nationally validated tools at admission and discharge, we see clear, consistent gains across eating disorders and their most common companions – depression, anxiety, trauma, and substance use.
Outcome Tool | What It Measures | Average at Admission | Average at Discharge | Why It Matters |
EDE-Q (Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire) | Restrictive, binge, and purge behaviors | 3.4 (clinically significant) | 2.6 (below clinical cut-off) | Symptom scores fell 24%, showing safer eating patterns and reduced body-shape distress. |
PHQ-9 | Depressive symptoms | 15.3 (moderate–severe) | 8.6 (mild) | A 7-point drop moves most patients out of the high-risk zone for depression-linked relapse. |
STAI-S / STAI-T | State & trait anxiety | 2.4 / 2.8 (clinical) | 1.9 / 2.1 (sub-clinical) | Calmer bodies and minds mean fewer urges to use food or substances for relief. |
PCL-5 | PTSD symptom load | 52.6 | 38.9 | A 26% reduction indicates tangible relief from trauma triggers that often fuel eating disorders. |
AUDIT-SR | Alcohol-use risk | 12.8 (hazardous) | 9.6 (lower risk) | Cutting alcohol risk curbs a major relapse driver for dual-diagnosis patients. |
What Patients Tell Us
- 92% felt emotionally safe and respected throughout care.
- 89% said treatment goals reflected their priorities, not just the clinic’s.
- 94% would recommend SunCloud to someone they love.
Those three percentages come from our internal Patient Satisfaction Survey, which was completed by 1,544 former and current patients between August 2023 and April 2025. The results are summarized on our outcomes page under the heading “SunCloud Health’s Patient Satisfaction Survey,” where a chart (and downloadable PDF) highlights these key findings.
Bottom Line
By the time our patients step down or graduate, restrictive thoughts have loosened, mood is brighter, anxiety is quieter, trauma triggers are dulled, and substance cravings are lower – proof that integrated care changes every layer of health, not just the number on a scale.
Because behind every data point stands a person reclaiming their future, and those futures – not the figures – are the truest measure of our success.
Finding Us: Maps & Directions
Residential Campus
1535 Lake Cook Rd., Suites 300 & 500, Northbrook, IL 60062
Outpatient / Assessment Center
40 Skokie Blvd., Suite 200, Northbrook, IL 60062
From downtown Chicago, take I-94 W (Edens Expressway) north for ~25 miles, exit at Lake-Cook Rd., and you’ll reach our tree-lined campus in about 35 minutes – free parking on-site and ride-share drop-off at the main entrance.
Metra riders can hop the Milwaukee District North Line to Northbrook Station; we’re a 6-minute cab ride east.
Your Next Step Starts Now
Eating disorder treatment in Northbrook, Illinois is more than a program – it’s a doorway back to mornings without food fear, dinners filled with laughter, and a life driven by purpose instead of numbers.
If you can picture that freedom, you’re already on the path. Call us at (866) 729-1012 or reach out through our secure contact form and let our team turn today’s hope into tomorrow’s reality.
