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Finding the Right 12-Step Meeting for Eating Disorders

Looking for the Right 12-Step Meeting for Eating Disorders?

SunCloud Health can help. We understand the challenges that come with finding the right support group for you, and provide insights on how 12-step programs for eating disorders and co-occurring addiction can be an integral part of your recovery.

12-step programs are built on the principles of hope, honesty, and faith (in whatever way faith works for you), teaching participants what it’s like to be open and honest, and let go of secrets. More, they offer a community. At SunCloud Health, we pride ourselves on being that community of support, and whether you’re ready to participate in a program or are unsure if 12 Steps are right for you, we are here for you.

How to Find the Right 12-Step Eating Disorder Recovery Meeting

A large part of our work involves coaching individuals on what to expect when they are searching for and participating in a 12-step program. This includes how to identify a healthy meeting, the role of a sponsor versus a doctor or nutritionist, and the differences between programs based on the mental health condition, including food addiction, anorexia, bulimia, and co-occurring disorders. In fact, it’s not uncommon for those suffering from an eating disorder to also develop an alcohol or drug addiction, and so finding the right group to support one’s individual needs is of the utmost importance. 

Hear more from Kim Dennis, MD, CEDS, MD, Medical Director, CEO and Co-founder at SunCloud Health below, as she describes using 12-step recovery when treating eating disorders and substance use disorders as well as a summary of how to find the right meeting.[center]

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How to Fully Engage in 12-Step Programming for Eating Disorders

Being fully in recovery means active participation in 12-step programming. Not simply going to the same group every week, but engaging in the lessons and utilizing each step as a guide that transforms the mind, body, and spirit. Programming may include group therapy meetings, counseling, discussions around eating habits and long-term treatment plans, recovery support groups, help creating a healthy food plan, and even Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) in order to become whole. 

We recognize that some people are comfortable with DBT but not 12-Step programs, or vice versa. We show how the two work together and how a step, principle, or DBT skill can all work toward or make recovery possible. 

Learn more about how to fully engage in 12-step programming in the video below, led by Shale Marks, LCSW, CADC, Therapist at SunCloud Health. [center]

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If you are struggling with food addiction or obsession, overeating, unhealthy eating behaviors or a restrictive diet, a difficult recovery process, addictions, or other symptoms of eating disorders, please contact us to learn more about 12 step programs and how SunCloud Health’s recovery programs can help you.

-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.