For over 40 years, Melrose Center has been a place of healing and helping people of all ages develop the tools they need to move toward recovery. Our eating disorder treatment locations span Minnesota’s Twin Cities, and we provide all levels of care, from outpatient to residential – including in-person and virtual care options.

Below are Melrose Center reviews from patients and families who have taken part in our programs and wanted to share their stories.

When Gidgette noticed that her daughter was showing signs of an eating disorder, she turned to Melrose Center for help. After being diagnosed with avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), her daughter started residential treatment at Melrose Center in St. Louis Park. When the time was right, she moved to outpatient care.

“When we went to Melrose to meet, it really hit home that my girl needed to get help. She went for a two-week inpatient at Melrose and it's the best decision I've ever made, even though it was the hardest.”

“They were so good to my daughter. She felt safe there. You can tell they have a compassion and a love for kids like no other.”

“They give you so much parent support. They were so helpful in talking about what it was I needed to do. They were just amazing.”

Now in her early thirties, Emily received treatment for anorexia at Melrose Center between the ages of 15 and 16. Her personalized treatment program included multiple stays in residential care, as well as intensive outpatient and outpatient therapy.

“Melrose – huge, obviously, for my recovery. The people that work there, the structure of everything.”

“A huge, huge deal was that everyone, from dietitians to nurses ate lunch or ate dinner with us. Food isn't even the point on the recovery side. It's we want you to be a whole, healthy person.”

“I'm grateful that Melrose took the time to have my family sit down and talk to different therapists about, ‘Here is what's going on in Emily's heart and Emily's mind right now. And here’s how you as a family member can be supportive in this time.’”

“I think the way that Melrose handled this made a huge difference.”

After a serious panic attack, Corey began evaluating his coping mechanisms for stress, including behaviors around food. At Melrose Center, he was diagnosed with binge eating disorder (sometimes called BED). His personalized treatment program included outpatient therapy and group therapy at Melrose Center.

“Melrose was the first place that I went, and it ended up being the right solution for me. It was the right call, for sure, to do outpatient along with really forming some strong bonds with the people that were in the group therapy.”

“I'm super grateful for the time that I was able to spend there. I do feel strongly about the program and the services that they offer, and the people that work there.”

“I know very well that if there's ever a situation, if there's ever a need, I can reach out to Melrose. It's almost like a cheat code. If things go wildly off course and I'm completely blindsided by life, they're going to give me what I need to get over it.”

Growing up in the world of gymnastics, Hannah was very aware of her body from a very young age. And by the seventh grade, she had eating disorder behaviors. When she was in college, she sought care at Melrose Center. Outpatient treatment allowed her to continue school while getting the help she needed.

“Being in treatment in the first place was the first step of me being aware of what was going on inside me. And the first physical action of what I needed to do next.”

“There was so much, every day, that I had to work through. One really big portion of what helped is going back to the past, going back to how I was raised in my family, how I was raised in the gymnastics world, how they affected my development, and brain development, and emotional, and mental health aspects. Like figuring out, what were the triggers to this eating disorder? And how can we do the best at reversing them?”

Having been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age three, Jessica, by necessity, has always been very aware of what she eats. As she grew up, she developed an eating disorder with type 1 diabetes (sometimes called diabulimia). A native of Boston, she started in a local eating disorder treatment program, but they weren’t able to treat her diabetes along with the eating disorder. After being released from that program, she found her way to Melrose Center which is nationally renowned for treating patients who have both type 1 diabetes and an eating disorder.

“I really appreciated the multidisciplinary approach because the eating disorder didn't develop alone. It was very entwined with the diabetes and with the messages I've been getting all my life. So, those were addressed together.”

“I learned a lot of new skills in how to deal with my emotions and not just numb them. I learned how to be more effective in the ways that I interacted with people. Sometimes when you're people-pleasing, you're not doing what's best for you. So, I learned how to stand up for myself.”

“I am just so happy that I was able to get the help that I needed. At my low points, I just never would have imagined that I could be where I am today.”

Joelle spent time in and out of hospitals for eating disorder symptoms before coming to Melrose Center for treatment. She was diagnosed with other specified feeding or eating disorder (OSFED) and was able to get the help she needed through the residential treatment program at Melrose Center.

“I am so grateful that I went to treatment, even though I was so resistant and so afraid. I would not be the person I am today without it. I would not be able to be a mom. I wouldn't be able to be a nurse. And I have found so many passions that I didn't know I really had because I was so focused on the eating disorder.”

“My judgment was so clouded. The healthier I get and the more and more I work through things, those thoughts become more distant. I found I can do even more things now that I never thought I could do. That's been kind of amazing and I'm so grateful for that.”

Brenda wasn’t looking for help with an eating disorder. Rather she was looking to lose weight with the help of a dietitian or possibly bariatric surgery. The doctor she spoke to recommended she get an initial assessment at Melrose Center. Brenda was diagnosed with binge eating disorder and participated in an outpatient program for her symptoms.

“I don't go to food for comfort now. It's there to nourish me and feed my body.”

“It was a lot of work, but it wasn't scary work. It was learning what emotions were and identifying them, and that was rather eye-opening. I was able to go back into different times and possibly figure out what was going on at that point.”

“It felt good throughout the process of learning those little skills. And I still use them today. Every day.”

Nolan began using eating disorder symptoms beginning in high school. Six years later, when his boyfriend expressed concerns about his eating patterns, Nolan took steps to get the help he needed. Nolan started treatment for anorexia in Melrose Center’s intensive outpatient program and then stepped down to outpatient treatment when the time was right.

“The people working at Melrose are here to help and support you along the way.”

“Once I finally started recovery and was actively participating and confronting all my demons, it was a time when I really felt whole or I was getting a glimpse of it. I was getting a glimpse of color. It wasn't there yet, like technicolor, but I was getting hues.”

“You have to take that leap of faith and get out there and do the work and be honest. I'm so happy with what this life has in store for me. I feel like my life is so whole and just so, so good right now.”

Amy didn’t think she had an eating disorder, but based on her doctor’s urging, she came to Melrose Center for an initial assessment. She was diagnosed with binge eating disorder. Her treatment program included outpatient therapy and group therapy.

“It wasn't until I started working with you that I started to realize there are a lot of people out there who are like me. I thought I was the only one. I just wish people give themselves the chance to find something better because it's so worth it.”

“I still really struggle with that word recovery. I'm a hot mess most days, and I'm fine with that. My life works for me. I feel like I'm managing eating behaviors. And that's good enough for me.”

In her mid-twenties, Jane developed symptoms of other specified feeding or eating disorder (OSFED). When her therapist recommended she seek specialized treatment, she was concerned about how treatment would disrupt her life. Outpatient treatment at Melrose Center allowed her to get the help she needed while continuing with her daily routine.

“I loved that I had this multidisciplinary team, that I could bring big feelings or complicated feelings or experiences to.”

“Having people who are best equipped to work with you through your specific eating disorder and other mental health challenges – I just valued that so much. That motivation. That I like working with these people. That I'm getting somewhere. I'm not there yet, but I'm getting somewhere.”

When Jason’s daughter, Belle, was in eighth grade, she admitted to someone at church that she thought she had an eating disorder. Results from her initial assessment at Melrose Center confirmed that Belle had an eating disorder, and that she needed to start residential treatment right away.

“Belle said that Melrose put together a team to fight the eating disorder. It wasn't just one-on-one. Eating disorder recovery is really, really hard. But when you have a team that's behind you, you got it. You can beat it.”

“She's moved on from it, too. She's got other things to look forward to. She's got a lot of other things in her life. And that's the point – that they can move on.”

“She says it does enter in her mind sometimes. But she has the skills to be able to knock it down.”

Sophia was in treatment at Melrose Center for about four years. As part of her recovery journey, she participated in our residential, intensive outpatient and outpatient treatment programs.

“Between me and my team, we figured out a schedule. I always had a check-in, and that was so beneficial and so helpful to keep me held accountable.”

“Food is now a tool to be well. It is not something to be afraid of. It is not something that has negative connotations in my brain the way it used to.”

“There's going to be some thoughts that pop in. But I don't have to listen to them with the same intensity that I listened to them before. Now I can see that the old narrative is less helpful than this new narrative. Even though that was helpful at the time. This is better.”

While Nancy began using eating disorder behaviors when she was 11 or 12 years old, she didn’t seek treatment at Melrose Center until she was in her mid-sixties. With support from her Melrose Center care team, she continues to work on recovery.

“I don't know if I'll ever be fully recovered. Partially, or maybe mostly because I didn't start this process until I was almost 65 years old. I think if I had started it sooner, it would have been different. But I think I can be recovered enough. And I'm glad that I have recovered at all. Instead of just staying on the path I was on.”

“One of the things my Melrose therapist told me, was the analogy with the bucket and the little shovel and digging new neural pathways. I mean, that's helped a lot. Sometimes overcoming some of these things seems like a really impossible thing, but just digging away at it little by little.”