Eating & Weight Dysphoria
Please note: Our staff specialists are fully equipped to treat eating disorders such as Anorexia & Bulimia on an outpatient level. However, the program described below is designed for those with food dependency, binge eating, nutritional deficiencies, mood disorders associated with diet, emotional eating, health dysphoria, or severe fatigue. For treatment of restrictive eating concerns, please get in touch with us here.
*Announcing: Medication Assisted Semaglutide PCOS Management & Weight Loss Program Available April 1, 2024 As Adjunct Treatment To This Program! Wellness Blueprint group member receive 15% off their group sessions if already a member of our Semaglutide program. Click Here for info & to sign up!
The Wellness Blueprint Program
Do you find that it is difficult to control your weight and eating? Have you tried countless diet and exercise programs only to find yourself back where you began? Are you experiencing low moods & constant fatigue? If so, we are here to help, and we take a unique approach. This problem is much more common than most clients realize, but we understand how alone you may feel in your struggle. Unlike the cookie cutter "diet" approach, at Whole, we view this issue as behavioral, physiological, and emotional, and we treat it as such.
The Wellness Blueprint Program was the first of it’s kind in Upstate NY to help individuals struggling with ongoing weight & health issues, food dependency, chronic fatigue, mood instability, physical and emotional burnout, binging, yo-yo dieting, coping through food, and so on. This program’s greatest aim is to influence a significant lifestyle shift for our clients, and for health & balance to become our client’s “new normal.” The program utilizes several talented therapists and is overseen directly by Patricia Petrone, who performs evaluations and curriculum design.
Designed from the ground up in 2014 by Patricia Petrone, LMHC, NCC, CMHIMP, CNC, this program utilizes knowledge gained through her experience treating Eating Disorders at a Partial Hospitalization level, as well as her educational foundation around Food Psychology, Integrative Medicine, Nutrition, and the Mind-Body Connection. Patricia graduated Summa Cum Laude from St. John Fisher College & Nazareth College of Rochester, and her several credentials are focused on providing well rounded programming that is highly specialized in this area. Patricia aims to differentiate WWS programming from traditional “Eating Disorder” treatment, which is typically focused on Anorexia & Bulimia.
Whether you have struggled for years or are just not feeling yourself health wise, our team specializes in creating an individualized, research based plan to help you find your way back to health, or to reach a place of health & wellness you have never been before! Food dependency is an ever growing problem in the United States, and many don't even realize they are experiencing it.
WHAT’S DIFFERENT ABOUT OUR PROGRAM?
• We explore every possible avenue to get to the core of the issue - Our first question; “Is there something medical going on?” We have the medical staff needed to get to the bottom of this question through functional and basic lab work.
• We use a combination of psycho and nutritional education, person centered and behavioral therapy, and nutritional guidance to help shape a total lifestyle change, not a quick fix crash-diet
• We create an individualized plan tailored to you and your own personal goals; food allergies or dietary preferences are worked around wherever possible!
• We include special considerations and solutions for women’s weight loss challenges, which are considerable and should never be ignored
• We utilize only the most up-to-date, empirically sound research to support our plans.
• We aim to educate you so that you are able to navigate the incredibly complex landscape of information that exists regarding food and weight for a lifetime.
• We provide email support to help answer your questions outside of session.
• The Wellness Blueprint Peer group meets twice monthly and adds an element of support, accountability, in depth education, and mentoring.
• We help you make changes slowly and steadily so that you can maintain new habits and your body and mind can adjust properly.
Goals of our Program
• Educate our clients about the nutritional/lifestyle basis of their symptoms.
• Provide medical services, symptom investigation, interventions, or collaboration where needed.
• Bridge the gap between past symptoms/experiences and current conditions.
• Connect physical health symptoms to mental health symptoms.
• Identify alternatives to current lifestyle behaviors that will bring positive & lasting results.
• Identify where food related behaviors may be a subconscious effort at re-establishing balance in the system.
• Identify nutritional goals that are sustainable long term, and assist our client with continuous change over time.
What Does the program entail?
• A health evaluation performed by a licensed clinician who will perform a deep analysis of your current eating patterns & behaviors, nutritional deficits, lifestyle factors, prior blood workup & mental and physical wellness as a whole. A detailed report will be provided to you and your primary therapist with recommendations and evaluation results, including any suspected diagnostic information. (Optional but strongly Recommended)
• The opportunity to meet with our Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner and Integrative Psychiatry Specialist, who can provide diagnosis, psychiatric evaluation, Prescription and OTC symptoms reduction, basic and integrative lab workups for nutrient deficiencies, thyroid health, food sensitivities, neurotransmitter issues, etc.,
• Ongoing Individual Therapy with your Licensed Primary Clinician who specializes in eating issues and The Wellness Blueprint Program. Frequency of sessions are tailored to your goals & budget.
• Our 90 minute Wellness Blueprint Education & Support Group which meets twice per month on an ongoing basis, and is at a reduced session cost. You will gain support from peers going through this process as well as being provided psychoeducation around topics that will not typically be provided during individual therapy.
• Discounted pricing on all wellness workshops and travel retreats.
What will eating be like?
At Whole, our priority is creating a lifestyle change for you that is manageable, sustainable, and helps you to meet your goals. A staggering 97% of "diets" fail once pursued, and we believe it is partially due to the fact that they simply do not fit into the average American's busy lifestyle. We have created a program that countless clients have found to be sustainable long term.
• No counting calories, measuring portions, or agonizing over number of meals per day.
• No packaged food, supplements, or shakes to purchase
• A strong focus on bringing you back to intuitive eating and healing your bodies natural hunger and satiation signals
• Learn to make the right changes at the right times, and avoid the “0 to 100” layout of the traditional “diet”
• Gain insight about the emotional triggers that contribute to your eating struggles
• Utilizes a whole food eating approach, emphasizing easy preparation, substitutions, and learn about items that we consider "empty" foods.
• Learn how to cope with cravings for empty foods
• Simplicity is emphasized and time saving food recommendations are provided
• Learn how to eat well on a budget
• Discover ways to navigate your lifestyle change within your family system
• Work through self esteem & body image issues, and grow in your assertiveness
• Finally understand how to experience an “empty food” without reverting back to old behavior, binging, or feeling as if you've failed!
WHAT ABOUT COST?
The good news is, we are incredibly passionate about building awareness of this issue as a therapeutic one. For that reason, costs to enter the program at this time are no different than seeing us for standard sessions and range from $75-80 dollars per hour long session. Group sessions are $45 and typically 1.5-2 hours. We may also tailor session frequency according to client finances if needed, and clients may be eligible for insurance reimbursement, depending upon their carrier.
*Note: For those outside of the Monroe County, NY area, this program is available fully online! Inquire for information.