News and Events

For many people, mealtimes are not always about the food. Maybe you’re talking with a family member or a date, maybe you’re absorbed in an episode of your favorite TV show, or maybe you’re just scarfing something down at your desk at work.

Family-based therapy for eating disorders is one of the most productive forms of treatment for adolescents, particularly those with anorexia nervosa, as well as various forms of bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder and extremely picky eating.

College kids may be bringing home with them something more surprising than a tattoo. They may be homeward bound with an eating disorder that could have started earlier in high school, but resurfaced or worsened in college or one that never existed until they set foot on campus.

During an open house at the new 6,000-square-foot clinic, Rebekah Bardwell Doweyko, assistant vice president of clinical operations, explained in an interview with News 8, WTNH, that the biggest barrier to recovery from an eating disorder is access to specialized care.

About 86% of individuals with eating disorders develop them before age 20, Walden’s Director of Adolescent Services Renee Nelson told NECN during an interview.

With cases of eating disorders on a continuous rise since 1950, there is a growing need for treatment, both for adolescents and adults. Last week, Walden opened the first dedicated eating-disorders clinic in southeastern Connecticut at 157 Goose Lane.

A new program from Walden Behavioral Care for athletes with eating disorders is featured on WHDH-TV

Walden consultant named 2016 Outstanding Dietetics Educator by the Nutrition and Dietetic Educators and Preceptors (NDEP) Council.

“I’ll be blunt yet honest: eating disorders are life-threatening. They have the highest mortality rate of all psychiatric illnesses” said Walden’s president and CEO Stuart Koman. “Unfortunately, the general public – and even many in the healthcare community – grossly undervalues the devastating gravity and prevalence of eating disorders”.

Paula Quatromoni of Medfield, senior consultant to Waltham-based Walden Behavioral Care’s nutrition department, has been named a 2016 Outstanding Dietetics Educator by the Nutrition and Dietetic Educators and Preceptors (NDEP) Council.

Twice a week, yoga teacher Amy Lawson drives through the gates of Walden Behavioral Care clinic for disordered eating 
in South Windsor, Connecticut, clears the tables and chairs from a conference room, and leads small classes of recovering patients through a gentle hour-long practice. With rare exception, all of her students—female or male, young or old, and from different ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds—are moody, withdrawn, and showing classic signs of stress and anxiety.

Waltham’s Walden Behavioral Care is offering what it says is Massachusetts’ first eating disorder program for athletes.

In April, Walden Behavioral Care will open a second location in Connecticut to treat people – adolescents and adults – who suffer from an eating disorder. The 2-story, 6000 square foot clinic will be located in Guilford on Goose Lane.

“I think what’s still lacking is a full understanding of eating disorders and the emotional struggles that go along with the illness. I think we have a lot to learn as a culture about that, but I do think the awareness that it’s a mental illness that’s treatable, and worth treating, is on the rise.”

On Tuesday, Nov. 3, Walden visited Clark University to join a discussion with representatives from its Center for Counseling and Personal Growth (CPG), Residential Life and Housing (RLH) regarding eating disorders on campus and within the larger community.

I was disturbed by the vast number of people struggling with eating disorders and the meager number of specialists able and qualified to treat them, so I prepared to enter the field in grad school.

Binge eating and anxiety go together more often than you might think. People with binge eating disorder (BED) experience recurring episodes of binging. People with BED eat large amounts of food and feel a loss of control over eating. People with anxiety disorders experience frequent worries or fear about everyday situations. They may have panic attacks, which are intense and concentrated spells of anxiety.

The cycle of binge eating disorder (BED) can be exhausting. You can go days or even weeks without an episode of binging. Then, out of nowhere, you’re back in the cycle of eating to excess while feeling out of control. Afterward, you are overcome by feelings of guilt, shame, and regret.

If you or a loved one has binge eating disorder (BED), you are probably familiar with the cycle. It may start with restrictive eating, dieting, or not eating for an extended period. This may lead to an episode of overeating. Later, you may feel guilt and shame.

Walden Behavioral Care, LLC, one of the country’s leading hospitals for treating eating disorders, held an open house on Thursday to celebrate the opening of its newest and largest clinic at 69 Hickory Drive, Waltham.

Binge eating disorder (BED) is currently the most common eating disorder in the United States. It affects both men and women, and individuals across all ages, income levels, and races.

College is an exciting and challenging time in a young adult’s life. It’s a big transition for students to move away from home and start making independent decisions. Transitions often bring about stress, and coping can be difficult without the right tools. Some turn to food to ease the pain, so it’s not surprising that binge eating disorder (BED) is a growing problem among college students.

Walden Behavioral Care of Waltham, Mass., announced today that it has become the first hospital for treating eating disorders to use a mobile app for co-managing eating disorder recovery in real time.

“Thirty to 40 percent of people in weight-loss programs at any given time would qualify for the clinical diagnosis of BED.” Given that BED may affect such a potentially high percentage of your clients and students, how can you avoid exacerbating a client’s struggles?

Seven years ago, Walden Behavioral Care LLC opened its first satellite facility in Northampton, Mass.. Walden Behavioral Care provides inpatient, residential, partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient treatment for eating disorders.

Walden Behavioral Care has opened a new 6,000 square-foot clinic for the treatment of eating disorders at 100 University Drive, Amherst.

The National Eating Disorders Association reports that 20 million women and 10 million men in the United States suffer from an eating disorder, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder. In January, the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of Vyvanse (lisdexamfetamine) for individuals diagnosed with binge eating disorder. The drug has been used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder since 2007.

Walden Behavioral Care has moved its Northampton office close to UMass in Amherst. It is the only area clinic specializing in the treatment of eating disorders.

Walden celebrated the opening of its largest clinic last night with an open house, welcoming area residents and healthcare practitioners to its new 6,000-square-foot eating disorders clinic at 100 University Drive, Amherst.

Walden Behavioral Care, a leading clinic for treating eating disorders, will host an open house at its new clinic at 100 University Dr., Amherst, on Thursday, May 21 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Walden Behavioral Care, a private hospital that specializes in the treatment of eating disorders, will relocate its Northampton clinic this spring. The new building, located on University Drive in Amherst, will be approximately 70 percent larger than the current building and will be much closer to the bulk of the Five Colleges, just one mile from the University of Massachusetts campus.

Morbidly obese individuals who had weight loss surgery are seeking treatment for eating disorders years after their procedure, prompting concerns among some experts about the assessment process used to identify surgical candidates.

Eating Disorder Awareness Week, which is Feb. 22 to 28, may bring added attention to eating disorders, but the light it shines on the disease is relatively faint, compared with the attention given to other life-threatening illnesses.

The Peabody location will help broaden access to similar day programs in the North Shore, putting 90 percent of the state within 45 minutes of a Walden clinic.

Treating food addiction is like trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube puzzle. You need to think several steps ahead, anything you do will affect something else, each encounter is different, and the overall experience is complex and challenging.

Google the word “diet” and you’ll get 135 million results. That’s 56 million more than you’ll get if you Goggle “President Obama.”

Millions of people struggle with appetite control and eating disturbances—but food addictions cannot be resolved with willpower alone. Those who suffer from chronic overeating are left on an anguishing rollercoaster ride of difficult emotions, social challenges, and destructive physical consequences.

Dieting doesn’t work, but appetite control does, according to James M. Greenblatt, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Walden Behavioral Care and author of a new book, “Answers to Appetite Control.”

To raise awareness about eating disorders during National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, the University of Massachusetts club Active Minds held a panel discussion about eating disorders and how to beat them on Tuesday night.