Initial Evaluation Process

Thinking about the initial evaluation process can be a stressful, anxiety producing event.  Our main goal both in our overall treatment and in the initial evaluation process is to be thorough, yet efficient. 

To begin, you will need to call our office at 770-953-0080 and speak with our highly trained intake coordinators.  Let them know you are interested in our eating disorder clinic and would like to schedule an initial evaluation.  Our goal is to be thorough and to be accurate in diagnosis, degree of severity, specific needs of each individual, and of course to make sure we place you in the right phase of our program.  As noted in other sections, we have an Intensive Outpatient Program - Phase I (IOP-I) which is 5 days per week (18-20 hours) for 1 month.  We also have an Intensive Outpatient Program - Phase II (IOP-II) which runs 3-5 days per week (10 hours) which also lasts 1 month.  Finally, we have the regular outpatient, individual therapy and group availability. 

It is extremely important to you and us that we get you placed in the right program.  The initial evaluation will be conducted by the clinic director, Dr. Alan Behrman, or by one of the staff members directly involved in leading any of our many groups that are available.  The evaluation will begin with an initial interview.  Upon completion of the initial interview, you will complete 3-4 questionnaires of varying lengths to determine where you fall on a variety of issues involved in eating disorders.  The evaluating therapist will immediately score all questionnaires and give immediate feedback on them.  The therapist will then consult with Dr. Behrman to determine which program is right for the client.  The only thing we ask is that if you are below 15% of your ideal body weight then you bring in documentation from your physician stating that you are medically stable and able to participate in our program.