Backcountry Wellness for Eating Disorders

Backcountry Wellness gave my daughter her life back. My family tried other facilities, but BCW made the difference, the entire staff was absolutely amazing. The team at BCW will always be family as they left such a positive impression on my daughter. They are simply the BEST.

Backcountry Wellness has been an absolute blessing for our family. When our daughter was struggling with her eating disorder, we felt lost, overwhelmed, and at times hopeless. From the moment we connected with BCW, everything changed. The staff and team they’ve built are EXCEPTIONAL, caring, professional, and deeply committed to their work. The program is incredibly well thought out, with the right balance of structure, compassion, and expertise. They not only supported our daughter but also guided us as a family through one of the hardest times of our lives. The difference this program made is priceless. I can wholeheartedly recommend BCW to any family in need.

Hello! To anyone planning on admitting here, I would like to give you my true, honest thoughts about this facility as a client who has experienced their Residential, PHP and IOP programs. I understand how treatment is something that is incredibly difficult to start and should not be treated lightly, due to the complex and vulnerable nature of eating disorders. It is crucial to note, my intention in this review is not to sugar coat it by all means, I would just like to give information and advice that I wish I would've known before being admitted. Like everything in one's life, nothing is perfect, however, from the bottom of my heart, this is a phenomenal treatment center compared to the many others out there. On the positive side, unlike many ED treatment centers, Backcountry Wellness takes both a very family-based and individualized approach towards recovery. They do not utilize the usual one-size-fits all approach and instead base important decisions and actions off the individual's personal strengths, weaknesses and abilities which is something that is incredibly notable and valuable in the process of recovery due to the fact that once again, eating disorders often have co-occurring issues (AKA comorbidities) such as anxiety, depression and other things. In general, most time spent at Backcountry Wellness is spent on different forms of group therapy, including but not limited to: ACT, DBT, CBT and other topics that address struggles that one with an eating disorder may experience. BCW makes therapy enjoyable by not only offering fun forms of therapy such as yoga, baking and art therapy, but also allowing individuals to connect with peers by openly discussing their true thoughts and commonly shared experiences. Additionally, they do meals/snacks exposures. Most, key word MOST staff at Backcountry are incredible at what they do. From my personal experience, almost all of the staff are truly passionate people about what they do. They aren't just working here for the money, they do genuinely care about mental health and the wellbeing of all clients, something that is crucial, especially in the field of healthcare. To all the BCW staff, especially Zana, Joanna, Stella, Taylor, Edilys, Stephanie, Roxanne, Angelica and both Lauren's, thank you so so much. My progress not only with my ED but just mental health in general could not have been achieved without you guys. Thank you for showing up each and everyday and being there for me at both my best, and my worst. They are professional, yet are also people who you can casually strike up a conversation and be yourself around and this applies for both parents and clients. At BCW, each client receives the following: a family therapist, individual therapist, and dietitian. In Res, depending on the client, you get to go on outings (aquarium, arcade etc) once a week, baking once a week and yoga around three times a week which is absolutely amazing. On the contrary, one of the downsides to BCW is that they are understaffed. Depending on if you are in Residential or PHP/IOP, nine times out of ten, there is a significant client to care coach ratio. Clinicians also spend regular time with clients, which is great, however, the fact is that there are around 7-13 clients who are all different age ranges which can sometimes be a little too much for 1 carecoach, since normally the other one is busy with another task and a few clinical staff to effectively manage. Additionally, the overall vibe of the group heavily depended on which staff was there which in my opinion, was very bittersweet. Over all, in my personal experience, Backcountry is a great facility for adolescents seeking support for ED recovery. I am incredibly grateful to have met so many great people, both staff and clients. It simply wouldn't have been possible without them! Community and a sense of belonging is something that is very much needed when in such a vulnerable situation and it has helped me become such a better version of myself:) Even though I am still receiving support here, thank you so much Backcountry.