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Eating Disorder Treatment for Merrimack, NH

Every clinician at Harborside has an extensive background in treating eating disorders and the conditions that tend to travel alongside them, anxiety, depression, trauma, body image concerns that don’t resolve on their own. That depth means a Merrimack client gets care that treats the whole picture, not just a symptom in isolation. It matters, because eating disorders are rarely one thing by themselves.

Merrimack sits in the middle of the state’s population center, the stretch running from Nashua and Merrimack out through Windham and Londonderry. A lot of households here work across the border in Massachusetts and are used to a routine that crosses the state line daily, for work, for school, for family. New Hampshire’s lack of a state income tax has also drawn professional families to towns like Merrimack, people who keep demanding schedules and expect care that fits around them rather than the other way around. Video appointments are built for exactly that kind of life.

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Eating Disorder Treatment for people in Merrimack, NH

Harborside is based at 411 Main St in Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts, and delivers care by video to patients across New Hampshire. You do not travel to an office. You need a private space, a stable internet connection, and a phone, tablet, or computer with a camera. That is the full technical requirement.

A first appointment runs longer than a follow-up, giving the clinician time to understand your history and current concerns in detail. Follow-up sessions are shorter and scheduled at an interval your clinician sets based on your needs, sometimes weekly, sometimes further apart as things stabilize. If medication is part of your care, prescriptions are sent electronically to the pharmacy of your choice in Merrimack or anywhere nearby, so pickup works the same way it would with any local prescriber.

Therapy sessions happen the same way, on video, at a consistent day and time your therapist works out with you. Nothing about the format changes what gets discussed. It changes where you are sitting when you discuss it.

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How telehealth care actually works

This service addresses eating disorders across a range of presentations: restrictive eating patterns, binge eating, cycles of restriction and overeating, preoccupation with food or body image that interferes with daily life, and eating disorders that developed alongside or after another condition. Many people who come to Harborside for eating disorder care are also managing anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive patterns, or the aftermath of trauma, and treatment is built to address those together rather than treating the eating disorder as a stand-alone issue. Some clients are early in recognizing a pattern as a problem. Others have been managing one for years and want a different kind of support. Both are appropriate reasons to reach out.

What we treat

The first appointment is a conversation, not a test. Your clinician will ask about your eating patterns, your health history, how things have changed over time, and what has or has not helped before. You will talk about how the eating disorder shows up in daily life, in your relationships, at work, in how you think about food and your body. From there, your clinician outlines what ongoing care could look like, whether that means regular therapy, medication management, or both, and you decide together how to move forward. There is no obligation to commit to anything beyond that first conversation.

What the first appointment involves

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. Full bios and credentials for each of them are on the team page.

Therapy and eating disorder work are delivered by the licensed therapy team: Hannah Legesse, LICSW, Tori Mahoney, LMHC, Jacquelyn Duford, LCMHC ATR, a registered art therapist, and Lexie Carchedi, LCSW. Between medication management and therapy, Merrimack clients have access to a coordinated team built specifically around eating disorders and the conditions that often accompany them.

Who our clinicians are

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

What it costs

If you are ready to schedule, or you want to ask a question first, reach out to Harborside and someone will walk you through the next step. There is no requirement to have a diagnosis already or to know exactly what kind of care you need before you call. That is part of what the first appointment is for.

Getting started

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 guidance on eating disorder warning signs and general health information, see the [CITATION: National Institute of Mental Health overview of eating disorders, a government health source appropriate for a clinical education page].

Reviewed by Jacquelyn Duford, LCMHC ATR. 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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