INTENSIVE OUTPATIENT PROGRAM (PAI)

The Intensive Outpatient Program (PAI for its name in Spanish) is a comprehensive treatment program for adolescents and young adults with eating disorders and other associated conditions, which includes the family in the therapeutic process. It is designed for people presenting the following conditions:

Patients continuing treatment after hospitalization.
Patients that are not facing life-threatening conditions who require an intensive and multimodal approach.
Patients with eating disorders symptoms resistant to outpatient treatments.

OBJECTIVES

To restore healthy eating habits.
To achieve and maintain a healthy weight.
To recover the loss of nutrients, vitamins and minerals.
To provide therapeutic tools for the identification and regulation of emotions.
To restructure distorted beliefs and attitudes regarding food, weight and body image.
To diagnose and provide treatment for other associated medical and psychiatric disorders.
To train family members and caregivers in supportive strategies and skills.
To prevent relapses.

ASSESSMENT AND TREATMENT PROCESS

DIAGNOSTIC ASSESSMENT

The diagnostic assessment is done by the therapeutic team and consists of four appointments of 1 hour each.

THERAPEUTIC GROUPS

Therapeutic groups are proposed as a complementary tool to individual psychotherapy. They seek to profit from the therapeutic properties of being in the presence of other people facing similar difficulties. Each group offers patients the possibility of having different experiences (“this is not just about my own issues, it’s about those of others as well”). These groups are always directed by a therapist from the program.

PAI COMPONENTS

The program operates Monday through Friday in three sessions: Morning Session (7:30am – 12:30) – Afternoon Session (12:30pm – 5:30pm) – Extended Session (7:30am – 5:30pm). It integrates different types of individual and group psychotherapy, therapeutic lunches and snacks, and activities designed to facilitate patients’ exposure to food and other daily situations.

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