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Slow down - to speed up again

Our Virtual Intensive Outpatient Program (VIOP) for athletes provides personalized treatment, whether you are stepping down from a previous residential or partial hospital program, stepping up from regular outpatient therapy, or seeking a stand-alone treatment.

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What is Virtual Intensive Outpatient (VIOP) Treatment?

wherein all groups and other sessions are attended on live video (note that clients who live close to one of our 3 locations may choose to attend individual and/or family sessions in person).

An IOP is a structured, non-residential psychological treatment program which addresses disorders through a combination of group-based psychotherapy, individual psychotherapy, family counseling and educational groups. A VIOP is the virtual/online version of an in-person IOP,

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Who is appropriate for our Athlete VIOP Program?

High-level competitors or performers who struggle with disordered eating and who are free of safety issues (active self-harm, suicidal ideation or severely low body weight).

Our Intensive Outpatient Program Offerings
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ACT Group

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy emphasizes acceptance and mindfulness for dealing with unpleasant thoughts, feelings or memories. It also encourages increased commitment to behaviors that uphold the client’s core values.

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CBT/ERP Group

Exposure with Response Prevention is a type of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy that encourages you to face your fears and let obsessive thoughts occur without 'putting them right' or 'neutralizing' them with compulsions or avoidance behaviors.

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Process Group

A time for athletes to discuss pressures of high-level sport, loss of identity if taking a break from sport due to their life being impacted by an eating disorder, thin ideals specific to their sport, and performance anxiety.

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Dinner & Live/Imaginal Exposures

Types of exposures include in-vivo, electronic (using Amelia Care Virtual Reality Technology), imaginal and interoceptive.

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Dinner & Body Image Didactic

Clients learn to practice body neutrality and improve their relationship with exercise/movement.

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Dinner and Nutriton Didactic

Clients learn about nutrition myths and identify distortions surrounding food intake.

Athlete Schedule
Athlete VIOP Schedule
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FAQ
  • Who is appropriate for VIOP?
    Individuals whose primary problem is an anxiety disorder (Generalized Anxiety, Panic, Social Phobia, OCD, BDD, PTSD or school refusal) or eating disorder (Anorexia, Bulimia, Binge Eating Disorder, ARFID, or Other Specified Eating Disorder), and who are free of safety issues (active self-harm, suicidal ideation, severely low body weight or abnormal labs/vitals).
  • How does VIOP work?
    The client VIOP commitment is a total of 9-12 possible hours of programming (depending upon the program), including groups, individual and family/support-person therapy. In the case of an eating disorder diagnosis, there will be 1 session each week of Medical Nutrition Therapy with one of our Registered Dietitians (RD's). Clients sign on to our HIPAA-compliant video portal for 2-3 hour blocks (depending upon the program) each week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays using links emailed from our system. The individual and family therapy sessions are scheduled outside of these blocks, as are Caregiver Webinars and any sessions required for an eating disorder diagnosis (including sessions with RD's and the Caregiver Nutrition Group). Clients share first names only during groups and thereby create a safe, confidential space to recover. We are able to serve individuals all over CA due to our virtual programming, however, those who live near one of our three office locations have the option of attending 1 weekly individual and 1 weekly family therapy session in person (all groups and RD sessions are virtual).
  • How long will treatment last?
    The average length of stay in VIOP is 8-12 weeks. This period may be longer for patients with multiple presenting problems.
  • How are caregivers involved?
    We believe that Caregivers can become important agents of change in the lives of our clients. We are committed to educating caregivers about how to best support loved ones with anxiety-based disorders. Caregiver programming is included in the cost of VIOP and involves 1 weekly family therapy session and 1 weekly Caregiver Support Webinar offered by the Clinical Director Dr. Andrea Kulberg. If the client has an eating disorder, additional sessions may be required for clients and Caregivers including 1 weekly session with a Registered Dietitian and 1 weekly Caregiver Nutrition Group.
  • How will I pay?
    At present, we are contracted with Kaiser for VIOP and are in the process of establishing contracts with additional insurance companies. However, we are often able to establish single-case agreements with insurance on a case by case basis. Please inquire at (805) 705-0614 to discuss payment prior to admission.
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