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Eating Disorder Treatment for Arlington, MA

Eating Disorder Treatment for people in Arlington

Every clinician at Harborside has an extensive background in treating eating disorders and the conditions that tend to travel with them, which means the person on your screen already understands how anxiety, mood, trauma, or body image concerns can be tangled up with eating patterns. That depth matters, because eating disorders are rarely a single, isolated problem to solve.

In Arlington, a lot of our patients are commuter families squeezing appointments between a workday in Boston or Cambridge and school pickup, or adults living in the town’s older triple-deckers and postwar side streets who want a private, practical way to get care without rearranging their whole week. If you’re the kind of person who wants to know exactly how a first session works before you commit to it, the next section covers that directly.

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Eating Disorder Treatment for people in Arlington, MA

How telehealth care actually works

Harborside is based at 411 Main St in Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts, and delivers care to patients across the state by secure video. For Arlington residents, that means no drive to the Cape and no waiting room. You’ll need a smartphone, tablet, or computer with a camera and a private space to talk.

A typical initial appointment runs longer than a follow-up, since your clinician needs time to understand your history, current symptoms, and any past treatment. Follow-up appointments are shorter and scheduled at an interval that fits your situation, often every few weeks for therapy or on a longer cycle for medication management once things are stable. If medication is part of your plan, prescriptions are sent electronically to a pharmacy near you in Arlington, so you’re not driving anywhere to pick anything up. Everything from scheduling to secure messaging happens through the same online system, which keeps the logistics simple even when your week isn’t.

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How telehealth care actually works

What we treat

We work with the full range of ways eating disorders show up: restrictive eating, binge eating, purging behaviors, over-exercise tied to food or body image, and the more diffuse but still serious patterns that don’t fit neatly into a single diagnosis. We also treat the conditions that frequently sit alongside disordered eating, including anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and trauma-related difficulties, because addressing eating alone without looking at what else is going on rarely reflects how these conditions actually present.

Treatment is not one-size-fits-all. Some patients need therapy alone. Others benefit from a combination of therapy and medication management. Your clinician will talk with you about what fits your specific circumstances, including whether your needs are better served by a higher level of care than telehealth can offer.

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What we treat

What the first appointment involves

Your first appointment is a conversation, not a test. Your clinician will ask about your eating patterns, your health history, what’s been tried before, and what else is going on in your life, including sleep, mood, stress, and relationships. If you’re pursuing medication management, expect questions about past medications, any medical conditions, and family history. If you’re starting with therapy, expect a broader conversation about what brought you in and what you’re hoping care will address.

By the end of that first session, you and your clinician should have a shared sense of what a reasonable next step looks like, whether that’s a recurring therapy schedule, a medication trial, or both together.

What the first appointment involves

Who our clinicians are

Medication management and functional psychiatry at Harborside are performed by psychiatric nurse practitioners: Rachel Egan, RN PMHNP-BC, who is also Harborside’s clinical director, Emily Pardue, RN PMHNP-BC, and Kirstin Ritchie, RN PMHNP-BC. Each is qualified to evaluate, diagnose, and prescribe for mental health conditions, including the medication needs that can accompany eating disorders. Full bios and credentials for each of them are on our team page.

Therapy and eating disorder work are delivered by our licensed therapy team: Hannah Legesse, LICSW, Tori Mahoney, LMHC, Jacquelyn Duford, LCMHC ATR, and Lexie Carchedi, LCSW. Jacquelyn is also a registered art therapist, which gives patients an additional route into this work when talk therapy alone isn’t the whole answer. Together, this team brings therapy, medication management, and art therapy under one roof for patients working through eating disorders and the conditions connected to them.

Who our clinicians are

What it costs

Harborside is a private-pay practice and does not bill insurance directly for appointments. Current fees for an initial appointment and for follow-up appointments are listed on our pricing page, and any questions about cost can be answered before you book anything.

What it costs

Getting started

If you’re in Arlington and thinking about reaching out, you don’t need to have it all figured out first. A short call or message is enough to talk through what’s going on, ask about scheduling, and decide whether Harborside is a good fit for what you need. Appointments are held by video, so once you’re set up, getting started is mostly a matter of finding a time that works around your day.

Getting started

If you need help right now

If you are in immediate danger, call 911. For mental health crisis support, call or text 988. Harborside does not provide emergency or after-hours care.

This page is educational and does not constitute medical advice. It does not create a provider-patient relationship. For guidance on eating disorders from a national clinical body, see the [CITATION: National Institute of Mental Health or National Eating Disorders Association overview page on eating disorders].

Reviewed by Hannah Legesse, LICSW. Last reviewed: {LAST_REVIEWED}.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Does Harborside treat eating disorders that haven't been formally diagnosed?

Yes. Many clients start therapy for a difficult relationship with food or body image before, or without, a formal diagnosis.

Yes, when a client is already working with one. Coordination is discussed during intake and ongoing treatment.

No. Eating disorder therapy at Harborside is talk therapy. Medical monitoring, lab work, and meal planning are handled by outside providers and coordinated with as needed.

Clients who want medication management can be connected with one of Harborside’s psychiatric nurse practitioners.

No. Outpatient therapy isn’t appropriate for every situation. If a higher level of care is needed, your therapist will discuss that directly rather than continuing with weekly sessions alone.

Currently, eating disorder treatment at Harborside is available to clients located in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

If you need help right now

If you are in immediate danger, call 911. For mental health crisis support, call or text 988. Harborside Psychiatrics does not provide emergency or after-hours care.

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