The Newbridge Intensive Treatment Programme
Intensive anorexia and bulimia treatment
Our intensive treatment programme for eating disorders offers an effective and empowering alternative to traditional models of care.
Like the approach used in nationally renowned centres such as the Maudsley, treatment is concentrated within an eight week period. For young people whose outpatient treatment has failed, or those embarking on treatment for the first time, this offers an alternative to traditional inpatient programmes.
Patients in standard recovery programmes can spend as much as six to nine months within inpatient care. Such a long period of separation from home and community is very challenging for the young person and their family.
"Our intensive treatment programme creates a new and effective partnership between local services and the inpatient unit and at the same time, empowers families."
Equally, this traditional model can create barriers between local services and the specialist inpatient provider.
Our new intensive treatment programme involves a more integrated, equal partnership between local and inpatient services. With family work and involvement at the heart of the programme, it also empowers families and avoids a long disconnection from home and community.
What does the Newbridge intensive treatment programme involve?
Young people normally stay at Newbridge House on a residential basis, with treatment taking place Monday to Friday inclusive.
The young person’s family will normally be invited to attend family involvement sessions at Newbridge House for the first two weekends in treatment. Thereafter, we encourage young people to return home at weekends and support families with this process. Young people living near to Newbridge House may be offered the opportunity to take part in the intensive treatment programme on a day care basis, attending sessions during the day but returning home in the evening.
The core of the programme is family work and involvement, supported meal times and participation in a wide programme of groups. Every young person is allocated a key worker, an experienced specialist in eating disorders, who will be a consistent source of support and responsible for liaising with parents and all professionals.
"It can be very disempowering for parents if their child has a long period of inpatient treatment. The cornerstone of the intensive programme is providing parents with the skills and knowledge to assist the recovery process."
Newbridge House
Working in our purpose built occupational health kitchen, we will help families build practical skills for managing meal times and difficult issues. Supported meal times are at the heart of the programme, with the goal of all young people accepting and eating three meals a day. Our specialist eating disorder dietitian and occupational health therapist work closely with each individual and help with specific challenges, such as purchasing food or eating out. Weight gain is a defined goal, but specific requirements will vary for each individual. All young people will attend our school during treatment.
Newbridge House is renowned for its broad and effective group programme. Young people within intensive treatment will take part in groups, although participation will be individually based. For example, most individuals would not join the body image group until the latter stages of their treatment.
Who can be treated on the intensive programme?
Our outreach nurse consultant will travel to the young person’s home area to carry out the assessment in partnership with local clinicians.
Local clinicians and Newbridge House will jointly agree goals which can be achieved within the intensive treatment period. These goals will be individually based, reflecting the severity of the young person’s eating disorder and relevant psychological and medical issues.
There are no set restrictions upon eligibility for intensive treatment. Young people with a low BMI, naso-gastric feeding and those under Mental Health act orders may be offered intensive care programme.
All patients who are medically compromised must enter a two week stabilisation process prior to starting intensive treatment, if appropriate for them.
"We recognise it is not possible to fully treat anorexia in eight weeks. But working with clearly defined, individually-based goals, we can assist local services in the process of recovery."
For every patient, it will be clearly agreed what Newbridge can do within intensive treatment and the role of local services thereafter. Goals will include weight gain, rise in BMI, normalisation of eating and stabilisation. Goals will vary for every individual and will be agreed during the assessment process.
We continue to run our established and well respected standard recover programme. This allows an additional degree of flexibility for patients.
During the stabilisation process, if it is judged that intensive treatment is not appropriate for the individual, there is the option of joining our standard longer term recovery programme. The standard recovery programme is also available for those who enter intensive treatment but find it is not effective for them.
How do we liaise and communicate with local NHS community mental health services?
The intensive treatment programme is based on a wholly new and innovative partnership between local services and the inpatient unit.
"We do not seek to ‘take over’ from local services. We seek to agree a defined role for Newbridge House to assist local services in a way which meets the distinct needs of the patient and recognises the strengths of local services."
Our outreach nurse consultant will carry out the initial assessment within the patient’s home area. If there is existing work with a therapist, we are happy for this to continue during inpatient treatment. Depending upon distance between Newbridge and local services, we can provide therapy rooms to support this continued work.
We welcome local clinician involvement in reviews which take place in at week one and week seven of intensive treatment programme. We also provide updates for local services on a weekly basis. Depending upon provision of local services, we can offer continued services if needed, for example sessions with a family therapist, dietitian or psychologist.
Our outreach worker will visit the young person after discharge and will continue to provide a link between Newbridge House and local services.