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Eating Disorder Treatment for North Reading, MA

Every clinician at Harborside brings an extensive background in treating eating disorders and the conditions that tend to travel with them, anxiety, depression, trauma, obsessive patterns. That depth matters because eating disorders are rarely just about food, and care that only addresses eating habits tends to miss what is actually driving them. For families in North Reading juggling commuter schedules, school pickups, and a full workday, we built our appointments around video sessions that fit into an evening or a lunch break instead of adding another drive to Boston or beyond.

If you are reading this because you are worried about your own eating, or about a partner, a teenager, or an aging parent, you probably want to know how this actually works before you pick up the phone. That is what the rest of this page covers.

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Eating Disorder Treatment for people in North Reading, MA

Harborside is based in Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts, and delivers care to patients across the state by video. For North Reading residents, that means no travel and no waiting room, just a private, secure video visit from home, a car during a break, or anywhere with a stable internet connection and a laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

  • Initial appointment: a longer session where a prescriber or therapist gathers history, discusses eating patterns, mood, physical health, and any past treatment, and starts to build a plan.
  • Follow-up visits: shorter, regularly scheduled sessions. Medication follow-ups with a psychiatric nurse practitioner typically run 20 to 30 minutes; therapy sessions are usually 45 to 50 minutes.
  • Frequency: this depends on the person. Some patients are seen weekly for therapy and monthly for medication management, others less often once things are stable.
  • Prescriptions: when medication is part of the plan, prescriptions are sent electronically to a pharmacy of your choosing in North Reading or nearby. Massachusetts permits this practice to prescribe controlled medications, including stimulants, when clinically appropriate, following state and federal requirements.

The format is the same whether you are calling from a house near Ipswich River or an apartment closer to Route 28. What matters is a private space and a reliable connection.

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How telehealth care actually works

Eating disorders show up in a lot of different forms, and they rarely arrive alone. We work with patients dealing with restrictive eating, binge eating, compensatory behaviors like purging or over-exercising, and the anxious, perfectionistic, or trauma-related thinking that often sits underneath those patterns. We also address the conditions that commonly overlap with eating disorders, including anxiety, depressive disorders, obsessive-compulsive patterns, and body image concerns that affect people across a wide age range, from adolescents to adults.

Because these conditions are layered, care usually means looking at the whole clinical picture rather than treating a symptom in isolation.

What we treat

The first visit is mostly conversation. Expect questions about eating history, physical health, mood, sleep, family history, and what has or has not helped before. If medication is being considered, the prescriber will walk through options, potential benefits, and side effects. If therapy is the starting point, the therapist will talk through approach and frequency. Nothing is decided in that first hour that cannot be revisited. The goal of that first appointment is an accurate picture and a workable plan, not a fixed diagnosis delivered on the spot.

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 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 eating disorders and related comorbidities. Full bios and credentials for each clinician are on the team page.

Therapy and eating disorder-focused clinical work are delivered by the 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 a useful option for patients who find talk-based approaches alone don’t fully capture their experience with food and body image.

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 just want to ask a few questions first, you can reach out through the website to set up an initial appointment. There is no requirement to have a diagnosis already, or to know whether you need medication, therapy, or both. That is part of what the first appointment is for. Care is available to North Reading residents the same way it is across Massachusetts, by secure video, without a drive to an office.

Getting started

If you are in immediate danger, call 911. For mental health crisis support, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. 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. If you have concerns about your health or the health of someone you care about, please consult a qualified clinician.

For general information on eating disorders, symptoms, and treatment approaches, see the National Institute of Mental Health’s overview [CITATION: NIMH eating disorders page, a federal public health source for general education on eating disorder symptoms and treatment].

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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