Free Support & Treatment Equity Resources
Esperanza is pleased to be a member of The Healers Circle at Project Heal. If you are in need of financial assistance for eating disorder treatment please, contact our Intake Coordinator, Dessimber Daniels at 210.253.9763 for more information.
And to learn more on their mission, strong supportive work and activities at Project Heal click this link: https://www.theprojectheal.org
- The National Alliance for Eating Disorders https://www.allianceforeatingdisorders.com
- FEDUP https://fedupcollective.org
- ANAD https://anad.org/get-help/
- Eating Disorder Foundation https://eatingdisorderfoundation.org
Esperanza Blogs
Blog contribution:
National Recovery Advocate
Anger and Eating Disorder Recovery
One of the most pivotal moments in my eating disorder recovery was recognizing that I needed help to confront and truly feel my emotions—what some recovery spaces refer to as emotional sobriety. My eating disorder, substance use all served a purpose (read more…)
Blog contribution:
Zaira Saurez, RD, LD
Director of Adult Dietary Services
Celebrating Food Traditions Within Recovery
Tamales are not only delicious but also offer a variety of nutritional benefits. This year marks our 2nd Annual tamale-making exposure. Read to learn about the rich traditional history of tamales and we incorporate this exposure into our Recovery by Doing philosophy during the holiday season…(pdf)
Blog contribution:
Eating Disorder Recovery Advocate
Recovery Through the Holidays
The holidays bring up a mix of emotions for me, even years into my eating disorder recovery and sobriety. Time has taught me navigating this season is a practice…(pdf)
Blog contribution:
Eating Disorder Recovery Advocate
Nourishing Love | Supporting Your Loved One Through the Holidays
Let’s be authentic and admit that the Holiday Season can be a stressful time, let alone for someone who is in recovery from an Eating Disorder. Here are some tips from an Eating Disorder Recovery Advocate on how to support your loved one in recovery during the Holidays.…(pdf)
Blog contribution:
Dahlia Stone, RD, LD
Director of Be Free Program
The Weight Stigma Barrier
The Weight Stigma Barrier to Seeking Binge Eating Disorder Treatment: Binge Eating Disorder (BED) is a serious and often misunderstood eating disorder. Weight stigma and discrimination are often barriers to treatment. Read more in this blog by our BED Be Free Program director to learn more. Download full blog content…(pdf)
Blog contribution:
Sarah Nichols, RD, LD, CEDS
Director of Dietary Services
Recovery By Doing Grocery Shopping Guidelines Part 2
In part two of this blog series, we continue to discuss the processes and objectives of the grocery shopping outing.Grocery shopping and meal planning play a vital role in self-care and the Recovery by Doing approach.Read more…(pdf)
Blog contribution:
Sarah Nichols, RD, LD, CEDS
Director of Dietary Services
Recovery By Doing Grocery Shopping Guidelines Part 1
In this two-part blog series, we will discuss the processes and objectives of the grocery shopping outing.Grocery shopping and meal planning play a vital role in self-care and the Recovery by Doing approach.Read more…(pdf)
Blog contribution:
Team Esperanza
Navigating Your College Transition During Eating Disorder Recovery
Transitioning to college can be an exciting time but if you’re in eating disorder recovery, this transition can be challenging. There are ways to navigate this transition while prioritizing your mental health and recovery. Read more…(pdf)
Blog contribution:
Eating Disorder Recovery Advocate
Perfectionism
Letting go of perfectionism in my long-term recovery has been one of the hardest challenges I’ve faced. It’s a sneaky little thing, and by little, I mean big. When I first began recovering from my eating disorder over 14 years ago, I wouldn’t have labeled myself as a perfectionist. Read more…(pdf)
Blog contribution:
Anonymous
Healing Through Acceptance: My Journey with Identity, Shame, and Eating Disorders
Looking back at my recovery, I can easily see that shame, religion, and the lack of affirming care profoundly influenced my struggle with an eating disorder. Growing up as a queer nonbinary person in a religiously dogmatic environment, I was constantly reminded that my true self was something to be ashamed of. This internalized shame became a catalyst for my eating disorder, a misguided attempt to gain control over a life where I felt fundamentally condemned. Read more…(pdf)
Blog contribution:
Madeleine Espy
How Do I know If I Have An Eating Disorder
The information we absorb, especially that which promotes body ideals and eating habits, can influence our thoughts and behaviors, including disordered eating. Eating disorders are known to impair one’s relationship with food, exercise, mealtimes, routine, relationships, academics, career, and overall wellbeing. (pdf)
Blog contribution:
Emily Prentice, MSW
Tips for Clothes Shopping in Eating Disorder Recovery
Recovering from an eating disorder can present many obstacles along the way. For those on the path to recovery, one crucial aspect is accepting their body and feeling at ease in their own skin. This goes hand-in-hand with shopping for clothes and discovering ways to dress that promote positivity and comfort. (pdf)
Blog contribution:
Team Esperanza
Why Family Based Therapy for Eating Disorder Recovery?
Family based therapy (FBT) is the treatment recommended for adolescent eating disorder recovery. Research shows that family involvement in their child’s recovery from an eating disorder increases the success rate. Navigating care for a child who struggles with an eating disorder can be extremely challenging, complicated, and stressful for both the child and the parent this is why FBT is vital to the recovery of an eating disorder patient (pdf)
Blog contribution:
Madeleine Espy – Student
10 Non-weight Loss Resolutions For The New Year
Instead of traditional New Year Resolutions, these are positive commitments to self-care and wellness that Esperanza EDC embraces and encourages to incorporate into our lives. We want to share and inspire you to dip into one or all of these resolutions in the New Year. (pdf)
Blog contribution:
Eating Disorder Recovery Advocate
Support Recovery Throughout the Holidays
Nourishing Love: Supporting Your Loved One Through the Holidays
Let’s be authentic and admit that the Holiday Season can be a stressful time, let alone for someone who is in recovery from an Eating Disorder. Here are some tips from an Eating Disorder Recovery Advocate on how to support your loved one in recovery during the Holidays. (pdf)
Blog contribution:
Anonymous
Esperanza Eating Disorders Center
National Coming Out Day
Embracing My Truth: A Journey to Mental Health and Self-Acceptance
May this International Coming Out Day be a celebration of authenticity, a reminder that, despite the challenges, our true selves deserve to be seen, heard, and embraced. And may we continue to build a world where love knows no boundaries, and acceptance extends to every corner of the rainbow. (pdf)
Blog contribution:
Anonymous
Esperanza Eating Disorders Center
The Road of Recovery: Substance Use & Eating Disorders
Over time, many studies have concluded that people who struggle with eating disorders have also struggled with substance abuse. According to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, 50% of individuals with eating disorders abused alcohol or illicit drugs. While this can be scary or overwhelming to read; there is hope. This blog is a shared story of the road back from substance use that followed the eating disorder recovery. (pdf)
Blog contribution:
Anonymous Adolescent Patient
Esperanza Eating Disorders Center
Connecting Through Nature: How Connecting With Nature Can Help You Connect To Yourself
“Nature is all around us, but we’re not always connected to nature’s healing qualities and power.” By taking care of plants, you learn how important it is to protect your spirit and mind. In order to take care of other living things you need to make sure you take care of yourself first. (pdf)
Blog contribution:
Madeleine Espy
Student Intern
Esperanza Eating Disorders Center
School + Recovery = It’s A No Brainer
Have you ever thought about receiving eating disorder treatment but worry about missing school? You are not alone. Treatment can be very overwhelming and school stress at times only adds to the challenges of recovery. This is why we have Susan Heinemeyer, BS, our education specialist – so you don’t have to do it alone. Missing school to receive eating disorder treatment is a very reasonable concern, but we have you covered at Esperanza. Continue reading to find out how…(pdf)
Blog contribution:
Madeleine Espy
Student Intern
Esperanza Eating Disorders Center
How Real Is Social Media?
Social media has transformed the way we communicate, interact, and live on a day-to-day basis. More than anything, social media promotes comparison and his contributes to the toxicity of social media as it creates false expectations of reality and unattainable beauty standards because no one looks like that in real life. (pdf)
Blog contribution:
Madeleine Espy
Student Intern
Esperanza Eating Disorders Center
Making Peace with Pizza
Is it possible to live a realty where ALL foods are welcome? Our society loves to send messages about which foods are “good” and which are “bad”. “Good” foods are often considered to be “healthy” – vegetables and greens, whereas “bad” foods are considered “unhealthy” – sweets, French fries, and pizza. But since when does food carry morals? (pdf)
Blog contribution:
Anonymous
Happy Pride Week Everyone
This weekend we celebrate pride for all LGBTQ+ people by uplifting the values of love, diversity, and acceptance. It is important to know that when LGBTQ+ people are affirmed and accepted they experience vast improvements in mental health outcomes, including eating disorders. (pdf)
Blog contribution:
Ali Deem, LPC, NCC
Director of Adult Services
Esperanza Eating Disorders Center
Resilience: YOU Are More
We have been raised in a society that glorifies grit and rising to the occasion. A world that often chooses to overlook the pain and suffering and instead focus on the overcoming. Everyone loves a good comeback story. They’re often the top-grossing movies or #1 Bestsellers. Focusing on the overcoming or resilience is comfortable but it is merely a small piece of the story and comes with a cost. (pdf)
Blog contribution:
Noel Ales, DO
Staff Physician
Esperanza Eating Disorders Center
Let Them Eat Cookies
To lure my teenage brothers and me to her house, my grandma kept a cookie jar filled with our favorite cookies. We stopped in after school and told her our secret dreams over Oreos and Vienna Fingers. Later we brought our own children and let them feast on sugary delights as she treasured her final moments with great grandchildren. Today, that jar sits on my counter reminding me of all the love shared over its contents. (pdf)
Blog contribution:
Sarah Snavely, RD, LD
Director of Dietary Services
Esperanza Eating Disorders Center
Navigating Summer Body Pressure
With warmer weather around the corner, it is not uncommon for concerns about body, clothing, photos, and comments from others to be on our minds. These fears and attempts to change our bodies are not specific to any one gender or age group. With the negative risks associated with intentional weight loss, what do we do instead when the pressure to change our bodies is high? (pdf)
Blog contribution:
Ali Deem, LPC, NCC
Director of Adult Programs
Esperanza Eating Disorders Center
The Comparison Game
Over the past few months, we have scrolled various social media platforms and witnessed the notorious “year in reviews.” People sharing their highlights from 2021. It can be tempting and easy to fall into that comparison trap. This increase in comparison can significantly impact our mental health.(pdf)
Blog contribution:
Tiffanie Barta
Intern Clinical Mental Health Counselor
Esperanza Eating Disorders Center
Self-Care Is The Oxygen Mask
“You must put your oxygen mask on first before you can put it on anyone else.” Without self-care I am a shell of the person I once was, exhausted and overwhelmed. Learning to practice self-care has become a very important part of my life. What is self-care? (pdf)
Article contribution:
Tiffanie Barta
Intern Clinical Mental Health Counselor
Esperanza Eating Disorders Center
Body Neutrality vs Body Positivity
“What others think of you doesn’t matter because it doesn’t change you. What you believe of yourself matters because it defines you.” -Anonymous. Body image is an increasingly hot topic in the United States. Based on research 70+ percent of women and 40+ percent of men are unhappy with their bodies. (pdf)
Blog contribution:
Olinka Tristan, MA, LPC
Program Director, Emotional Overeating Program
Esperanza Eating Disorders Center
Movement Without Shame
Care and Appreciation Can Make a Difference For many of us “working out” can be something that only brings to the surface feelings of shame. Many people who have struggled with an eating disorder have a hate-hate relationship with any type of exercise. (pdf)
Holiday celebrations provide many opportunities for Recovery by Doing with patients at
Esperanza Eating Disorders Center
“Celebrations are supposed to be lovful occasions. All too often that is not the case for
eating disorder patients, says Susan Mengden, PhD, CEO and Clinical Director of
Esperanza EDC.
Cick the link to see more about the pre-holidav feast and hear the mantra used betore meals in both english and spanish
https://youtu.be/ibmaMEwYmlo
“Recovery by Doing”
Pre-Thanksgiving Luncheon & Celebration with Mealtime Mindfulness Mantra
Watch the recent KABB Fox News 29 interview of Dr. Mengden and EDFSTX National Eating Disorder Recovery Advocate, Eric Dorsa.
Fox’s Camilla Rambaldi’s SA Strong segment shared Mengden’s expertise and Dorsa’s voice on the impact the pandemic has had on mental health and brought an increased awareness of eating disorders that are occurring in our community and around the nation.
SA STRONG
Treatment center raising eating disorders awareness
https://foxsanantonio.com/news/local/sa-strong-treatment-center-raising-eating-disorders-awareness
Esperanza is pleased to be a Partner of the Eating Disorder Foundation of South Texas. Visit their website for more information on their mission https://edfstx.org
CARING FOR OUR PATIENTS DURING COVID-19 AND BEYOND
CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION (pdf)
The following links to Esperanza EDC brochures are provided for print or to share electronically for those wanting to know more about our programs.
Esperanza Eating Disorders Center Brochure (pdf) | Spanish Information Sheet (pdf)
Adult Programs (pdf)
Adolescent Programs (pdf) | Spanish Adolescent Programs (pdf)
Be Free Program (pdf)
Signs and Symptoms of Eating Disorders (pdf)
Current In-Network Insurance Information (pdf)