SunCloud Health Expands Access to Treatment for Complex Mental Health Conditions, Eating Disorders and Addiction in the Chicago Area

New services include a specialty residential center specifically for people with co-occurring eating disorders and addiction. This service is lacking locally and nationally in the residential treatment space. 

Additionally, SunCloud Health has opened an interventional psychiatry suite offering esketamine (Spravato®) and TMS for treatment-resistant depression.

NORTHBROOK, Ill., Dec. 7, 2022 – SunCloud Health, a premier provider of residential and outpatient care for complex mental health, eating disorders and substance use disorders, is expanding its services to meet the growing need for mental health care in Chicagoland and nationally.  

In January, SunCloud Health will open a new, 20-bed residential treatment center, The Institute for Co-occurring Eating Disorders and Addiction at SunCloud Health, that specializes in treating adults with co-occurring eating disorders and substance use disorders. Up to 50 percent of patients with an eating disorder such as anorexia, bulimia or binge eating disorder, also have a substance use disorder, yet there are no residential treatment centers specifically designed to care for this difficult to treat and high-risk patient population. Our fully integrated program will specialize in helping patients achieve sustainable recovery from both conditions simultaneously. 

“Despite clinical and neurobiological data showing substance use disorders and eating disorders often overlap, there continues to be few intensive treatment options that are specifically focused on serving these individuals or equipped to meet their unique needs,” says Kimberly Dennis, MD, CEDS, CEO and Chief Medical Officer of SunCloud Health. “Our new residential center has the clinical expertise to offer evidence-based, compassionate care that targets the underlying causes of both of these conditions and helps our patients heal.”  

“Addressing all of an individual’s mental health conditions, including the impact of trauma on physical and mental health, co-occurring mood disorders and anxiety disorders, provides patients with the best chances for long-term recovery,” Dr. Dennis adds.  “It’s a tall order, and one we explicitly address head-on at SunCloud Health.”

“Too often, patients with a co-occurring eating disorder and addiction are left to choose between getting either intensive eating disorder treatment or intensive addiction treatment,” Dennis says. “We understand the nuances of caring for patients with multiple, complex conditions, and we treat them in depth in our specialized center.” 

SunCloud Health offers residential, partial hospitalization (PHP), intensive outpatient programs (IOP) and outpatient services for adults, and PHP, IOP and outpatient care for adolescents of all genders in the Chicago area. 

In addition to the new treatment center, other new services at SunCloud Health focus on providing relief for adults with depression that has not responded to traditional antidepressants.

  • SunCloud Health is one of a select number of providers certified to offer esketamine (brand name: Spravato®), a breakthrough therapy for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Esketamine is more potent than ketamine (also known as racemic ketamine), from which it is made. 

Up to one-third of adults with major depressive disorder suffer from TRD, which doesn’t respond well to traditional antidepressants. Spravato is an FDA-approved nasal spray shown in clinical trials to alleviate symptoms of depression and suicidal thoughts in many adults with TRD, sometimes within the first few days of treatment. 

  • SunCloud Health also offers TMS, or transcranial magnetic stimulation, a non-invasive, neuromodulation therapy approved by the FDA to treat depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). TMS sends magnetic pulses through a lightweight headset to stimulate the nerve cells in the brain, which research has shown can relieve major depression and reduce the obsessive thoughts and repetitive behaviors associated with OCD.  

“With over 75 years of combined therapy experience and 100 years of combined personal recovery expertise, our multidisciplinary clinical team is committed to providing the most up-to-date, individualized treatments for each of our patients,” Dr. Dennis says. “We are thrilled to expand our services, enabling us to provide more members of our community with exceptional care that helps them find their unique path to sustainable recovery and enhanced quality of life.”

About SunCloud Health 

SunCloud Health is an integrated, intensive outpatient, partial hospitalization, and residential treatment center with locations in Northbrook, Naperville and Chicago (Lincoln Park). Guided by Dr. Kim Dennis, our team provides highly individualized care, long-term support and disease management, for adults and adolescents of all genders struggling with alcohol and drug addiction, process addictions, eating disorders, mood disorders, trauma (PTSD), and other mental health conditions. Our integrated approach focuses on the unique history and needs of each patient, with an emphasis on helping those who are struggling with more than one (co-occurring) issue. We help our patients work toward sustainable steps, supporting their desire to live free from self-destructive behavior as they embark on a lifelong journey of recovery. For more information about SunCloud Health, please visit: www.suncloudhealth.com.

-Our Research Team-
Timothy D. Brewerton, MD, DLFAPA, FAED, DFAACAP, CEDS-S
Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Dr. Christopher Womack
Medical Director, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Dr. Christopher Womack joins SunCloud as our Medical Director, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Dr. Womack is board certified in Adult as well as Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, attending the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. Adult psychiatry residency and child fellowship training were completed at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

Dr. Womack’s treatment  philosophy hinges on strength based, evidence informed care, where collaboration is central to guiding individualized treatment.  He has experience caring for children and teens from varied backgrounds, appreciating the importance of how identity can inform treatment.

Favorite pastimes are cooking new recipes and exploring Chicago’s rich cultural diversity through its neighborhood and fine dining experiences.

Elizabeth E. Sita, MD
Medical Director of Adult Services

Dr. Elizabeth E. Sita, MD, is a Board Certified psychiatrist specializing in the care of patients with eating disorders. She completed her undergraduate training at the University of Chicago and graduated with Highest Honors. She then earned her medical degree at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and was recognized with the Chairman’s Award for Excellence in Psychiatry. She subsequently completed residency with the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University, where she was elected Chief Resident and received the Resident Psychiatrist Leadership & Service Award.

Upon completing her training, Dr. Sita joined the staff atAscension Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital Hospital, where she served as Assistant Medical Director of the Center for Eating Disorders and Director of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Services before transitioning to lead the new inpatient eating disorder unit as Medical Director of Eating Disorder Services at Ascension Saint Joseph Hospital – Chicago. In these roles, she has cared for a multitude of adolescents and adults struggling with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and other eating disorders as well as severe, cooccurring mood, trauma, personality, and substance use disorders.

Dr. Sita has been recognized throughout her training and practice for a commitment to excellence in patient care and for her ability to engage patients in their most challenging moments. Her passions include the care of treatment-resistant eating and mood disorders as well as questions of medical capacity and end-of-life decision making.

She believes that, first and foremost, human connection is key to mental health and well-being and strives to share this philosophy in each and every patient encounter. She is excited to bring her expertise to SunCloud Health as the Medical Director of Adult Services!

 

VIDEO: Meet Elizabeth E. Sita, MD, Medical Director of Adult Services

 

Lacey Lemke, PsyD
Assistant Vice President of Clinical Services

Dr. Lacey Lemke (she/her) is a licensed clinical health psychologist with specialized expertise in the treatment of eating disorders and the practice of medical and health psychology. She completed her doctoral training in clinical psychology with a Primary Care emphasis at the Adler School of Professional Psychology. Dr. Lemke went on to complete both her predoctoral clinical internship and postdoctoral fellowship through Ascension Health, where she gained advanced training working with individuals experiencing eating disorders and self-injurious behaviors, as well as within pediatric subspecialty settings including endocrinology, neurology, and adolescent medicine.

Dr. Lemke is deeply committed to providing evidence-based, compassionate care and collaborates closely with interdisciplinary teams to ensure comprehensive treatment. Her professional mission is to support patients in achieving their fullest potential by guiding them to the most appropriate level of care and empowering them to make meaningful, sustainable progress toward improved health and well-being.

VIDEO: 2. Meet Lacey Lemke, PsyD.