Eating Disorder Treatment for College Students

Equip for College Students

Eating disorder treatment that fits into on-campus life

Flexible. Personalized. Effective.

College life is busy. Equip treatment is built to fit into students’ schedules, so that they can recover while still attending classes and staying connected to the friends and activities that matter to them. Whether the semester is just ramping up or students are heading home for the holidays, Equip adapts and travels with them, meeting them exactly where they are. Most importantly, our treatment works, empowering students to achieve lasting recovery through proven, evidence-based care.

Equip is:

100% virtual

Equip treatment is virtual by design so that students don’t need to press pause on life to recover. Research shows that virtual eating disorder treatment is as effective as in-person care.

Personalized

Each patient gets a personalized treatment plan to meet their unique needs, challenges, and goals.

Evidence-based

We pull from the leading evidence-based treatment modalities, including CBT-E, DBT, and ERP, among others.

Multidisciplinary

Patients have access to a dedicated multidisciplinary care team that can include a registered dietitian, licensed therapist, medical provider, and mentors with lived experience.

For every stage of recovery

Equip is a safe and effective treatment option for every medically stable patient.

Whole-person care

Our providers are trained in treating co-occurring conditions—like anxiety, depression, OCD, and others—alongside the eating disorder. Among college-aged Equip patients, 80% have a co-occurring condition.

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Equip treatment works

College-aged patients in Equip treatment see a consistent reduction in eating disorder symptoms, as well as symptoms of co-occurring conditions like anxiety and depression.

of college-aged patients highly recommend Equip

attendance rate for Equip appointments among college-aged patients

Lindsay’s story

Lindsay struggled with disordered eating for a few years, but during her first year of college, it got worse. She began comparing herself to others on social media, and this set off a cycle of restriction, binge eating, and, eventually, purging. She wanted to get better and knew she needed help, but making that leap was tough. Then she found Equip through an online search.

At first, Lindsay was unsure if Equip was right for her—but she trusted the process, and slowly began to get better. The constant thoughts about food and her body faded, and she built warm, trusting relationships with her team. At the end of her recovery journey, she applied for and won a fellowship to work on a farm, where she’s continuing to explore and deepen her relationship with food and her body.

All names and identifying information have been changed in accordance with privacy laws.

Recognizing eating disorders in college students

College is a high-risk time for developing an eating disorder or experiencing an eating disorder relapse. At the same time, it can be particularly hard to spot eating disorders among college students, because a lot of eating disorder symptoms—like body image concerns, anxiety, and new eating habits— are also common parts of the transition to college.

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If several of the signs below seem familiar, it’s probably cause for concern:

Noticeable changes in weight

Rigidity around eating (what, when, where, or how to eat)

Avoiding eating with other people; preferring to eat alone

An extreme or inflexible workout schedule; working out despite injury or illness

Adopting a new diet; cutting out entire food groups

Fixation on food’s calorie content or other nutritional information

What a student’s week might look like

Each student’s schedule will look different depending on their treatment needs, preferences, and course load. Here’s an example:

9-11am: Anthropology

12-1pm: Equip therapy session

4-5pm: French 101

7-9pm: Dorm social hour

10-11:30am: Intro to American Studies

12-1pm: Linear algebra

2-3pm: Equip peer mentor session

4-6pm: Internship

9-11am: Anthropology

1-3pm: Volunteering

4-5pm: French 101

8pm: Trivia night

8:30-9:30am: Equip dietitian session

12-1pm: Linear algebra

4-6pm: Internship

9-11am: Anthropology

2-3pm: Equip meal support group

4-5pm: French 101

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College and body image

College can be a fraught time for body image. Challenging social dynamics, unfamiliar eating environments, and a culture of comparison can all feed into body image distress. This can be particularly intense for students dealing with an eating disorder, but body image struggles are tough for anyone.

Explore: Freeform

Equip’s free, self-guided body image program is a powerful jumping-off point for beginning to push back against harmful appearance ideals and build a better relationship with your body.

Learn more

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FAQs

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Equip is in-network with most major commercial insurance plans as well as smaller local plans. Whether students are on their family’s insurance plan or using student health insurance, our team can work with them to understand their coverage and talk through options. Students can also check coverage themselves with our insurance screener.

College life can be extremely busy, so it’s understandable to feel like there’s no time for treatment. Equip treatment was built to fit into patients’ lives, not the other way around, so we work with students to find a schedule that can accommodate all of their different demands. There are usually more appointments during the first couple weeks of treatment, but then we’re usually able to work with even the busiest of schedules. And remember—in the end, having an eating disorder takes up far more time and energy than treatment.

If a student can’t or doesn’t want to involve loved ones in treatment, that’s okay. Though we believe that support from loved ones can be important in helping people recover, we know that’s not always practical or possible—and we also know that you can achieve lasting recovery either way. Most college students begin Equip treatment on their own, and then work with their team to decide if and when to involve friends, family, or anyone else. Because of Equip’s virtual model, we can integrate supports into treatment plans regardless of whether they’re in the same physical location as the patient.

We know that college mental health services are often spread too thin to effectively diagnose and treat the many students struggling with eating disorders. Equip helps fill the gaps in on-campus health services by providing comprehensive virtual treatment that takes patients through every stage of recovery. When you refer a patient to Equip, we work with you directly to help them transition seamlessly to Equip care. Once treatment starts, we work with referring providers as necessary to provide updates on treatment progress and collaborate on any in-person treatment needs.

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