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Eating Disorder Treatment for Amherst, NH

Every clinician at Harborside brings an extensive background in treating eating disorders and the conditions that tend to travel alongside them, from anxiety to mood concerns to trauma histories. That depth matters because eating disorders are rarely one thing on their own, and a team that already understands the overlap is better equipped to sort through it with you. Amherst sits in the state’s population centre, close enough to Nashua and Merrimack to feel their pull and to Windham and Londonderry to share their commuter rhythm. Many Amherst households cross the Massachusetts line for work most days and think nothing of it, and plenty moved here in part because New Hampshire has no state income tax. Care that follows that same cross-border logic, delivered by video wherever you are, tends to fit how people here already live.

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Eating Disorder Treatment for people in Amherst, NH

If you’re reading this, someone in your household may be struggling with food, body image, or eating patterns that have started to interfere with daily life. That could look like restriction, bingeing, purging, over-exercising, or a preoccupation with weight and control that has quietly taken over. It’s common in Amherst for these concerns to hide behind busy, high-achieving lives, competitive youth sports schedules, or the pressure of a long commute and a demanding job. None of that makes the concern less real or less worth addressing carefully.

Harborside’s clinicians work with adults and, depending on the clinician, adolescents, to look at eating concerns as part of a fuller picture, not an isolated symptom. That approach is built into how the team was assembled, and it’s why the practice can speak to the anxiety, depression, or trauma history that so often accompanies disordered eating rather than treating it as a separate problem.

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How telehealth care actually works

Harborside is based at 411 Main St in Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts, and delivers care to patients across New Hampshire by video. You don’t travel to an office. You need a private space, a stable internet connection, and a phone, tablet, or computer with a camera. Sessions typically run 45 to 60 minutes for an initial evaluation and somewhat shorter for follow-ups, though your clinician will confirm exact timing with you.

Appointment frequency depends on what’s being addressed. Some patients are seen weekly for therapy, others every few weeks for medication follow-up, and many do both on staggered schedules. If medication is part of your care plan, prescriptions are sent electronically to a pharmacy of your choosing near Amherst, so you pick up locally without needing to visit Yarmouth Port in person. Everything else, including intake paperwork and scheduling, happens online before your first appointment.

What we treat

This service addresses eating disorders across a range of presentations, including restrictive eating patterns, binge eating, purging behaviors, and body image distress that drives disordered relationships with food. It also addresses the conditions that frequently sit alongside these patterns, such as anxiety, low mood, obsessive thinking, and difficulty regulating emotion. Care is not limited to a single diagnosis. The goal of an evaluation is to understand the full pattern of what’s happening for you, not to sort you into one narrow category and stop looking.

What the first appointment involves

Your first appointment is a conversation, not a checklist. A clinician will ask about your eating patterns, your health history, your mood, and how things are affecting your daily life, school, work, or relationships. If you’re a parent seeking care for a teenager, you’ll usually be part of that first conversation alongside your child. From there, the clinician talks through what ongoing care could look like, whether that’s therapy, medication management, or a combination, and answers your questions about pacing and what to expect from the next few appointments.

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, along with Emily Pardue, RN PMHNP-BC, and Kirstin Ritchie, RN PMHNP-BC. Each is qualified to evaluate, diagnose, and prescribe for mental health conditions, and full bios and credentials for each of them are available on the team page.

Therapy and eating disorder work are delivered by Harborside’s 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 can be particularly useful for patients who find it hard to put eating and body image concerns into words. Together, this team’s collective background in eating disorders and related conditions is what shapes the care an Amherst patient receives, whether the focus is therapy, medication support, or both at once.

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 visits are listed on the pricing page, and any questions you have about cost can be answered before you book anything.

Getting started

Reaching out starts with a short conversation about what’s going on and which clinician on the team makes the most sense for you or your family member. From there, scheduling the first appointment happens online, and you’ll receive intake materials to complete beforehand so the first session can focus on you rather than paperwork. You can review the full eating disorder treatment service page or the New Hampshire telehealth and Southern NH region pages for more on how care is organized across the state.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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

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 is not medical advice. It does not create a provider-patient relationship. For general information on eating disorders, see the National Institute of Mental Health [CITATION: NIMH eating disorders overview page, for general public health information on eating disorder symptoms and prevalence].

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

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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