
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:
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.
We know from high-quality long-term research that weight loss is not sustainable, and often predicts weight gain instead of weight loss. The National Eating Disorders Association reports that 35% of “normal dieters” progress to pathological dieting and that 20-25% of those individuals develop eating disorders. 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. These highlights being a culmination of the shiny, happy, bright, and wonderful moments in different peoples’ lives. It can be tempting and easy to fall into that comparison trap. Comparing yourself, your relationship (or lack thereof), your friendships, your belongings, your grades, your job, your recovery, and the list could go on and on. 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)
Adult PHP and IOP Program (pdf)
Adolescent PHP and IOP Program (pdf)
Emotional Overeating Program (pdf)
Signs and Symptoms of Eating Disorders (pdf)
Current In-Network Insurance Information (pdf)