It is estimated that more than 75,000 adolescents (10 to 17 years old) in Washington are struggling with food and body image -- more than 70 percent of them female. Many of these teens should be treated for an eating disorder, experts say

This month Seattle welcomed one more treatment option for teens struggling with serious food issues. 

The Emily Program, which provides personalized treatment for eating disorders, was founded in Minnesota's 1993 by psychologist Dirk Miller, Ph.D., L.P. Miller launched the program after starting the first hospital-based eating disorders treatment program at South Bend General Hospital in Indiana, working with the University of Minnesota’s intensive bulimia program. The program currently has seven locations in Minnesota.  Dr. Miller named The Emily Program after his sister Emily who recovered from an eating disorder. 

The new Seattle location will work with clients on an outpatient basis -- a unique marker of program since it's inception in Minnesota. 

“We didn’t start as an inpatient program and develop outpatient services to support that model.” he says. “The reason is pretty simple: most change occurs as an outpatient. We live our lives as ‘outpatients’. Ultimately we must apply what’s learned to a life of recovery that we live outside the treatment program.”

The Seattle program is located 1700 Westlake Ave. N. where services include individual therapy, group therapy, family-based therapy, intensive outpatient program, nutritional evaluation and counseling, and eating disorders education for professionals and communities.

To learn more about the program, call 206-283-2220 or visit www.emilyprogram.com.

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