How we are doing things differently

  • We are the first and only fully comprehensive treatment provider of eating disorders from residential right through to virtual outpatient support in New Zealand.

  • We are accessible to all New Zealanders at any stage of their eating disorder.

  • Our methods are based on empirically proven best practice, mimicking successful eating disorder treatment programs in the United States.

  • We know an eating disorder is about more than just the food. We help you process the many layers that go into your recovery.

  • We aim to equip you with the life skills necessary in order to recover.

  • We educate and support your whanau and friends.

  • We provide staff who have extensive experience working in word class eating disorder treatment centers in America.

  • We employ staff whom are fully Recovered from their own eating disorders to provide role modeling and hope. They are ‘living proof’ that the unimaginable can be realized.

  • For people in financial hardship we may be able to help offset the cost of our program with our Charitable Trust.

  • We believe that being fully Recovered is possible. For everyone..

  • We address the challenges of affordable world class care by providing effective treatment within New Zealand.

  • Eating disorders don’t take holidays, neither do we. We operate 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

  • We support you in transitioning back home.

  • Our entire program is delivered from a single location.

  • We offer virtual support for New Zealanders - completely eliminating the barrier of accessibility.

Our treatment will be like what Kelly, a New Zealander from Southland, travelled to America for.

This is her story. 

"When I went over to America I had no idea what the next few months were going to hold, but all I knew was that this felt like my final hope as I could not see my life going on any longer as it was...  
The first thing that really surprised me when I arrived at treatment was the house. I had imagined a very sterile, hospital-like environment. This could not have been further from the reality as I stepped into a gorgeous house that felt like a home filled with energy and life. 

Something that I found incredible about my stay at treatment was how well I slept and now looking back I understand why. We would wake up and tackle our demons all day long, eating and talking until we were back in bed and getting ready to do it all again the next day. We were surrounded by support 24/7 and were constantly being challenged and encouraged and supported.  I knew that if I was ever going to recover then this was the place it was going to start. I had never been surrounded by such a large group of people who all believed in me and that I was going to recover.  

There was also something very special about the other clients that I spent my stay with. I felt so comfortable around them as they shared their most darkest secrets and sat with me in support while I shared mine. As clients we supported each other through so much, even going out on organised meal outings on our own. We would help one another when one of us was struggling and keep each other accountable for our completion when we reported back to our team.  There was never any talk amongst us of comparing how we were when we were our most sick or what we were going to do to relapse when we got out. Instead we would talk about what we wanted to do with our new lives and all of the possibilities that awaited us. In my previous experience of treatment in NZ it was not uncommon and was kinda cool to talk about your ED and how good it was, however, I found that at treatment that was a sure quick way to spend your treatment riding solo.  

To be honest I don’t think I truly realised the progress that I had made until I was actually back home trying to get my life back. It was like a switch had gone off and before I knew it, six months had passed and not once had I tried to relapse. There have obviously been so many hard days since my return to NZ, even today, more than one year since my return, however, for the first time, I have not relapsed for over a year and I don’t even dream of going back anymore. Treatment in America taught me how to deal with my world without my ED to numb it for me, they taught me how to tell those around me when I have had a hard day and when life is getting me down, they showed me that life without my ED does not even compare to life with it and they gave me a safe space filled with nothing but compassion and support to allow me to face my demons so they no longer haunt me. 

Before I went to treatment in America I felt broken and alone. Today, I know who I am, that I am loved and that I am good enough as I am. I am eternally grateful for my American family, they gave me back my life and they gave me back to my family."