Eating Disorder IOP in Tempe, Arizona
Structured, in-person intensive outpatient care for adults 18 and older living with anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, or ARFID. A multidisciplinary team of licensed therapists, registered dietitians, and board-certified psychiatric providers at our Tempe clinic, 15 minutes from Scottsdale.
A Specialized Eating Disorder Program
Real recovery, with a team focused on eating disorder care
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 18 and older 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 clinic sits 15 minutes from central Scottsdale and provides eating disorder therapy in Tempe for adults throughout the East Valley and greater Phoenix area. The program is offered in person only, because supported meals and other experiential components of treatment work best together in the room. 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 experienced in eating disorder recovery.
Each patient receives an individualized treatment plan built around their diagnosis, medical status, and recovery goals. Our therapeutic approach draws primarily on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Radically Open Dialectical Behavior Therapy (RO-DBT), and polyvagal-informed nervous system work, alongside registered dietitian support grounded in intuitive eating and a Health at Every Size (HAES) framework.
Within the IOP, we offer dedicated tracks for anorexia outpatient treatment, binge eating disorder treatment, and ARFID treatment for adults, each with condition-specific groups and dietitian work.
Begin Your Path Forward
Request your confidential Eating Disorder IOP intake
Complete the confidential form and our admissions team takes it from there. No obligation, and most major insurance plans are accepted.
- 1Submit the confidential form
Share some basic information about you and what you’re looking for help with.
- 2We reach out within one business day
Our admissions team answers your questions and verifies your insurance benefits before treatment begins.
- 3Confidential assessment, then your first session
A licensed clinician confirms the right level of care. Most patients begin within days of reaching out.
HIPAA-compliant and confidential. Information you submit is handled according to our Notice of Privacy Practices and Privacy Policy.
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
You’re 18 or older and able to attend in person at our Tempe clinic three mornings a week
Not sure if IOP is the right level of care?
Our team can help you find out.
Schedule & Location
Eating Disorder IOP schedule at our Tempe clinic
Our Eating Disorder IOP meets in person 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.
This program is offered in person only. Supported meals, body-based regulation practice, and other experiential parts of treatment depend on being together in the room, so sessions are not offered by video.
Sessions run Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM at our Tempe clinic. The program is open to adults 18 and older and is offered in person only. Start your confidential intake to confirm availability.
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 loosen the grip of the rigid 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 intuitive eating skills from registered dietitians who practice from a Health at Every Size (HAES) framework
- 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
Program Curriculum
A structured 12-week Eating Disorder IOP curriculum
Our Eating Disorder IOP follows a 12-week curriculum rather than a short rotating cycle. Sessions are sequenced across the full twelve weeks, so skills introduced early are practiced, deepened, and carried into daily life as treatment progresses.
Every session integrates all three pillars, while the curriculum itself moves forward week by week. Our team is happy to walk you through the full curriculum and how it fits your recovery goals.
Start your confidential intakeSequenced across 12 weeks, with each phase building on the skills from the one before
All three pillars integrated into every session
Experiential, in-person work, including supported meals and nervous system regulation practice
Delivered at our Tempe clinic on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings
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 experienced in eating disorder recovery.
Anorexia Nervosa
Specialized treatment for restrictive eating patterns, distorted body image, and fear of weight gain. Our approach integrates ACT, RO-DBT, nutritional rehabilitation, and collaborative medical monitoring to support safe, sustainable recovery. Learn about anorexia outpatient treatment
Bulimia Nervosa
Care for binge-purge cycles using ACT, RO-DBT skills, nutritional counseling, 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, with ACT, polyvagal-informed regulation, and dietitian-guided intuitive eating support. Explore binge eating disorder treatment
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. See ARFID treatment for adults
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 framework addressing the psychological, nutritional, and medical dimensions of recovery. Our primary therapeutic modalities are ACT, RO-DBT, and polyvagal-informed care, delivered by licensed clinicians alongside registered dietitians and psychiatric providers.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
ACT helps you make room for difficult thoughts, urges, and body-image distress without letting them dictate your choices, and reconnect with the values that matter to you beyond the eating disorder.
RO-DBT
Radically Open Dialectical Behavior Therapy targets the rigidity, perfectionism, emotional over-control, and social disconnection that often keep eating disorders in place, building flexibility, openness, and connection with others.
Polyvagal-Informed Care
Drawing on polyvagal theory, we help you recognize your nervous system states (safety, fight-or-flight, and shutdown) and practice regulation skills that make meals, body-image work, and hard conversations feel more manageable.
Nutritional Counseling
Registered dietitians help each patient normalize eating patterns, address food fears, and challenge food rules, with a focus on building intuitive eating skills from a Health at Every Size (HAES) framework. Supported meal practice is built into the session block.
Group & Individual Therapy
Clinician-led process and skills groups with peers in recovery reduce isolation and build connection, alongside one-on-one sessions with a licensed therapist to address personal treatment goals, body image, and the 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.
Ready to talk with our team about the Eating Disorder IOP?
Admissions follows up within one business day.
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 daySubmit the confidential intake form on this page. 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 in person at our Tempe clinic. 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 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 SMHWI’s intensive outpatient programs across Arizona and Texas. Our Eating Disorder IOP, including its anorexia, binge eating disorder, and ARFID tracks, is offered in person only at our Tempe clinic for adults 18 and older. Virtual options apply only to the programs labeled virtual below.
Insurance
In-network with most major insurance plans
Our 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 is open to adults 18 and older who are medically stable enough for outpatient care and able to attend in person at our Tempe clinic. Our admissions team confirms fit during a confidential clinical assessment.
Our Eating Disorder IOP follows a structured 12-week curriculum, with sessions three days per week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM). Your plan and progress are reviewed regularly with your treatment team, and length of stay is guided by individual progress and clinical recommendations.
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.
Our primary therapeutic modalities are Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Radically Open Dialectical Behavior Therapy (RO-DBT), and polyvagal-informed nervous system work. Registered dietitians support intuitive eating skills from a Health at Every Size (HAES) framework, and we coordinate with medical and psychiatric providers as 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.
No. Our Eating Disorder IOP is offered in person only at our Tempe clinic, because supported meals and other experiential components of the program depend on being together in the room. If in-person attendance isn’t possible, our admissions team can talk through other options with you after you submit the intake form.
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. Start your confidential intake for a free insurance check.
Our Eating Disorder IOP is located at SMHWI Tempe, 1492 S Mill Ave, Suite 206 & 214, Tempe, AZ 85281. Free parking is on-site, and we serve adults seeking eating disorder treatment across Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, Chandler, and Gilbert.
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.
Submit the confidential intake form on this page. Our admissions team verifies your insurance, conducts a confidential clinical assessment, and schedules your first session. Most patients begin within days of initial contact.
Still have questions? Start your confidential intake and our admissions team will answer them directly.
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 Eating Disorder IOP in Tempe.
Recovery is possible, and you don’t have to do it alone
Our 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.
