Eating Disorder IOP in Tempe, Arizona
Specialized, evidence-based intensive outpatient care for anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, and ARFID. A full multidisciplinary team of licensed therapists, registered dietitians, and board-certified psychiatric providers in Tempe (15 minutes from Scottsdale) and virtually throughout Arizona.
A Specialized Eating Disorder Program
Real recovery, with a team that treats eating disorders every day
Deciding to get real help for an eating disorder, especially when part of you still isn’t sure you deserve it, takes extraordinary courage. The Eating Disorder IOP at Synergy Mental Health & Wellness Integrated (SMHWI) is built for adults experiencing anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, ARFID, or other eating disorders who need structured clinical support beyond weekly therapy, without stepping away from work, school, or home.
Our Tempe program sits 15 minutes from central Scottsdale and serves patients throughout the East Valley and Phoenix metro, with virtual access available to anyone in Arizona. Whether you’re stepping down from residential care, trying IOP for the first time, or returning after a relapse, you’ll be met by a coordinated team of clinicians who understand eating disorder recovery as its own distinct work, not an add-on to general mental health care.
Each patient receives an individualized treatment plan built around their diagnosis, medical status, and recovery goals. Our team integrates evidence-based modalities (CBT-E, DBT skills, nutritional rehabilitation, body-image work, and medical monitoring) so care is both clinically precise and genuinely compassionate.
Begin Your Path Forward
Request your confidential Eating Disorder IOP intake
HIPAA-compliant and completely confidential. Responses within one business day. No obligation. Most major insurance accepted, benefits verified before treatment begins.
Who This IOP Is For
Is this level of eating disorder care the right fit?
Our Eating Disorder IOP sits in the clinically important middle between weekly outpatient therapy and residential or hospital care. You get the structure, frequency, and multidisciplinary team of a higher level of care while continuing to live at home and keep the pieces of your life that are working.
Our clinicians recommend IOP for adults who are medically stable but experiencing significant impairment from an eating disorder and who need more intensive, coordinated support than weekly therapy and a separate dietitian can provide. It’s also a common step-down after inpatient, residential, or PHP care.
If you’re not sure whether IOP is the right level of care, our admissions team will listen, conduct a confidential assessment, and recommend what actually fits (including a higher level of care if that’s what the clinical picture calls for).
You’re managing anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, ARFID, or another eating disorder that’s significantly affecting your daily life
Weekly therapy and nutrition work alone haven’t been enough, or your symptoms have gotten worse
You’re stepping down from inpatient, residential, or PHP care and need continued structured eating disorder support
You’re medically stable enough to live at home but need more support than once-weekly therapy to interrupt eating disorder behaviors
You want to maintain your work, school, or family responsibilities while receiving coordinated eating disorder care
Not sure if IOP is the right level of care?
Our team can help you find out.
Schedule & Location
Eating Disorder IOP in Tempe, with virtual access throughout Arizona
Our specialized eating disorder IOP meets three days a week for a 4-hour session block, slightly longer than our general IOP to incorporate nutritional counseling and supported meal practice.
TempeArizona · Near ASU
9:00 AM – 1:00 PMOur morning block lets patients maintain employment, attend school, or hold family responsibilities in the afternoon. Each 4-hour session includes group therapy, individual check-ins, dietitian time, and supported meal components.
Convenient from across the East Valley
Our Tempe clinic is approximately 15 minutes from central Scottsdale and easily accessible from Phoenix, Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, and Glendale via Loop 202 or Scottsdale Road. Free parking is on-site.
If an in-person commute isn’t workable, our virtual eating disorder IOP delivers the same schedule, the same specialized clinicians, and the same evidence-based protocols through secure, HIPAA-compliant video to patients anywhere in Arizona.
Sessions run Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Virtual IOP follows the same schedule statewide. Call to confirm availability and begin a confidential intake.
Program Structure
The three pillars of each Eating Disorder IOP session
Every session integrates three clinical pillars addressing emotional regulation, insight and body image, and the nutritional relationship. Together they form the foundation of eating disorder recovery.
- The ability to recognize the emotions, thoughts, and situations that trigger your eating disorder behaviors
- Practical skills for managing distress without turning to restriction, bingeing, or purging
- A stronger connection between how you feel in your body and what your eating disorder is communicating
- Mapping the urge-to-behavior cycle
- Nervous system regulation before meals
- A deeper understanding of how your beliefs about your body, food, and self-worth connect to your eating disorder
- Tools to start challenging the distorted thinking that maintains restriction, bingeing, or purging
- Space to process the underlying experiences (trauma, perfectionism, control) that drive disordered eating
- The difference between how your body looks and how you experience it
- Separating self-worth from body size
- A more flexible, less fearful relationship with food (eating without rigid rules, restriction, or guilt)
- Practical nutritional knowledge from registered dietitians that supports your recovery goals
- A personalized plan for sustaining recovery from your eating disorder after IOP ends
- Supported meal practice with a dietitian in the room
- Building your relapse-prevention plan
Monthly Treatment Calendar
4-week rotating Eating Disorder IOP schedule
Every session integrates all three pillars. The grid below shows how the emphasis within each pillar rotates week to week, so patients cover the full arc of eating disorder recovery over a four-week cycle.
Eating Disorders We Treat
Specialized care across the eating disorder spectrum
Our Eating Disorder IOP provides focused treatment for a range of feeding and eating disorders. Each patient receives an individualized plan developed by clinicians who work with eating disorder recovery every day.
Anorexia Nervosa
Specialized treatment for restrictive eating patterns, distorted body image, and fear of weight gain. Our approach integrates nutritional rehabilitation, CBT-E, and collaborative medical monitoring to support safe, sustainable recovery.
Bulimia Nervosa
Evidence-based care for binge-purge cycles using CBT-E, nutritional counseling, DBT skills, and relapse prevention. We treat the behaviors and the shame and secrecy that keep them in place.
Binge Eating Disorder
Structured treatment for recurrent binge episodes addressing the emotional triggers, shame cycles, and behavioral patterns that maintain disordered eating. CBT, DBT skills, and dietitian-guided nutritional support.
ARFID
Specialized support for avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder, with individualized exposure-based food work, nutritional rehabilitation, and treatment of the sensory, fear, or interest-based patterns driving the restriction.
OSFED & Atypical Presentations
Many patients don’t fit cleanly into one diagnosis. We treat other specified feeding and eating disorders (OSFED), subthreshold presentations, and atypical anorexia with the same clinical rigor as named diagnoses.
Co-Occurring Conditions
Eating disorders rarely show up alone. Our team integrates care for the anxiety, depression, OCD, PTSD, and trauma that commonly travel with disordered eating, so the whole clinical picture is addressed at once.
Our Approach
How we treat eating disorders
Our Tempe Eating Disorder IOP uses an integrated, evidence-based framework addressing the psychological, nutritional, and medical dimensions of recovery. Every modality is supported by clinical research and delivered by licensed specialists.
CBT-E
Enhanced cognitive behavioral therapy, the leading evidence-based approach for adult eating disorders across diagnoses. Addresses the thinking patterns and behaviors that maintain anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder.
Nutritional Counseling
Registered dietitians work with each patient to normalize eating patterns, address food fears, challenge food rules, and develop sustainable, recovery-focused nutrition plans. Supported meal practice is built into the session block.
DBT Skills
Dialectical behavior therapy skills for emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and managing urges related to disordered eating. Especially effective for binge eating disorder and bulimia.
Group Therapy
Process groups and psychoeducational sessions with peers in eating disorder recovery, co-led by licensed clinicians. Reduces isolation and builds genuine connection around shared experience.
Individual Therapy
One-on-one sessions with a licensed eating disorder therapist to address personal treatment goals, body image distortions, and the underlying emotional factors driving disordered eating.
Medical & Psychiatric Coordination
Collaboration with your primary care, specialists, and board-certified psychiatric providers to monitor health markers and manage any co-occurring conditions throughout IOP, essential for safe eating disorder recovery at this level of care.
Admissions & Intake
How to start Eating Disorder IOP at SMHWI
Our admissions process is designed to be supportive and straightforward. From your first call to your first session, our team handles insurance verification, clinical assessment, and scheduling so you can focus on recovery.
The Eating Disorder IOP enrollment process
Most patients begin treatment within days of initial contact. Here’s what to expect.
Initial contact
Same dayCall our Tempe admissions team or submit the online form. We gather basic information and answer your initial questions about the program.
Insurance verification
Within 24 hoursWe verify your coverage for eating disorder IOP, including benefits, deductibles, and any out-of-pocket costs, before treatment begins.
Clinical assessment
1–2 daysA licensed clinician conducts a confidential evaluation to assess eating disorder presentation, medical stability, and the appropriate level of care.
Begin treatment
Within daysStart attending Eating Disorder IOP sessions at our Tempe location or via our virtual program. Your individualized treatment plan is ready from day one.
Your first week in Eating Disorder IOP
The first week focuses on getting oriented and building your treatment foundation. You won’t be expected to share more than you’re ready to.
Connect with your eating disorder therapist, dietitian, and group members. Review confidentiality, expectations, and your individualized treatment plan.
Your registered dietitian conducts a comprehensive nutritional assessment to understand your current eating patterns and develop your recovery nutrition plan.
Begin attending eating-disorder-specific group therapy and individual therapy sessions as part of your structured treatment schedule.
If clinically indicated, we coordinate with your medical providers to monitor health markers and ensure your eating disorder treatment is medically supported throughout IOP.
IOP Programs
All IOP programs at SMHWI
Explore our full suite of intensive outpatient programs across Arizona and Texas. In-person and virtual options are available for all programs.
Insurance
In-network with most major insurance plans
Each location’s admissions team verifies your plan and quotes your out-of-pocket cost before your first visit. Federal parity laws require most plans to cover IOP on par with other medical care.
Frequently Asked Questions
Eating Disorder IOP, answered
Our Eating Disorder IOP treats anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, ARFID (avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder), and other specified feeding and eating disorders (OSFED). Treatment is individualized based on a thorough clinical assessment at our Tempe clinic.
Our Eating Disorder IOP typically runs 8 to 16 weeks, with sessions three days per week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM). Duration varies based on individual progress, symptom severity, and clinical recommendations, and your plan is reviewed regularly with your treatment team.
IOP is designed for individuals who are medically stable but need more intensive treatment than standard outpatient therapy. If you’re uncertain about your medical status, our clinical team assesses this during intake and can recommend PHP or a higher level of care if needed.
Yes. Supported meal components are integrated into the 4-hour session block when clinically appropriate. Our registered dietitians work with each patient to incorporate meal practice, nutritional education, and food exposure work into their treatment plan.
Published research supports the effectiveness of virtual IOP for eating disorder treatment when the program uses the same evidence-based protocols as in-person care. Our online program uses the same specialized clinicians, dietitians, and structured format, delivered through secure, HIPAA-compliant video throughout Arizona.
Most major insurance plans cover eating disorder IOP when medically necessary. The federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act requires insurance to cover eating disorders on equal terms with other medical conditions. Our team verifies your benefits before treatment begins. Call (623) 288-3656 for a free insurance check.
Our specialized Eating Disorder IOP is located at SMHWI Tempe, 1492 S Mill Ave, Suite 206 & 214, Tempe, AZ 85281. Free parking is on-site. We also offer virtual eating disorder IOP throughout Arizona for patients who prefer remote access or live outside the Phoenix metro.
Yes. Our Tempe Eating Disorder IOP is approximately 15 minutes from central Scottsdale and serves patients throughout the East Valley, including Scottsdale, Phoenix, Mesa, Chandler, and Gilbert. Free parking is available at the Tempe clinic, and virtual IOP is also available throughout Arizona for patients who prefer remote care.
Call (623) 288-3656 or submit the online form. Our admissions team verifies your insurance, conducts a confidential clinical assessment, and schedules your first session. Most patients begin within days of initial contact.
Explore Related Programs
More ways SMHWI can help
Eating disorder recovery often sits alongside other mental health needs. Explore related SMHWI programs that may pair well with Eating Disorder IOP or offer a better match if IOP isn’t the right fit right now.
Medically reviewed
Reviewed by Roland Segal, MD
Double board-certified psychiatrist and member of the Arizona Psychiatric Society. Clinical oversight for SMHWI Intensive Outpatient Programs across Arizona, including the specialized Eating Disorder IOP in Tempe.
Recovery is possible, and you don’t have to do it alone
Our specialized eating disorder team can answer your questions, verify your insurance, and schedule your confidential assessment, often within the same week.
In a crisis
Get help right now
SMHWI is an outpatient practice and cannot respond to emergencies. If you or someone you know is in danger or thinking about suicide, use these free, confidential resources, available 24/7.
- Call 911Life-threatening emergency, or someone at immediate risk of harm.
- Call or text 988Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, 24/7. Chat at 988lifeline.org/chat.
- Dial 988, then press 1Veterans Crisis Line, or text 838255.
- Text HOME to 741741Crisis Text Line, free 24/7 support with a trained counselor.
