Eating Recovery Center Denver - Franklin St. — Eating disorder treatment center in Denver, CO

If you have a loved one struggling with an eating disorder, ERC is where they will find recovery and you’ll find hope. ERC literally saved my daughter’s life. Her team (therapist, psychiatrist, nutritionist) and the clinical staff gave her nonjudgmental, compassionate, professional mental health and wellness care throughout every phase. The program structure, individual and group therapy, and family education and support are incredibly informative and successful. ERC has the answers you’re looking for to help your loved one regain control and get their life back. Highly recommend this facility and professionals.

I was sent here in 2017 at 15 and am still facing the trauma of this place. My father committed suicide just days after I arrived here and I was treated atrociously as a minor patient. Right after being told my father was dead I was forced into an isolation room and my phone calls with my living family were taken away. My so-called “therapist” (I think her name was Kaylee or another name stating with K I have blocked it out) told me that my grief over the death of my father just days before was bringing down the whole facility and when I cried I would be physically restrained by large men and taken to the “quiet room”. My therapist then refused to see me and would walk out if I started to cry. I was held pretty much captive for about 5 months all while being force fed when my eating disorder was bulimia and not anorexia (I still was able to maintain bulimia in the center bc they don’t acknowledge it as a real eating disorder with separate treatments than anorexia). I was gaslit, physically and mentally abused, isolated, and my mother in her time of grief was financially taken advantage of and bullied into keeping me there by this awful place. One of the most dehumanizing and traumatizing experiences of my life. I have PTSD (diagnosed) to this day from ERC I don’t think I can ever fully express how much harm they did to me and my family. I struggle even more now than I did before. DO NOT GO HERE!! DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILDREN HERE!!

We have utilized five national organizations for eating disorder treatment for a beloved family member. Far and away ERC provided the most comprehensive and holistic support for both the patient and the family. Not only was the care for the patient specific to that person, they provide extensive parent education. This is the most human centered care facility we have worked with. If someone told me they had a loved one with ED, I would tell them to head straight to ERC and bypass all other care providers. Even though our loved one has suffered from severe ED, I would say that to anyone- even with a new diagnosis. We live in Minnesota, and we choose ERC Denver. Being far from home was a huge lifestyle change, cost, and disruption to family but all that being said, sending our loved one here was well worth it.

The good reviews are almost all NOT from actual patients who stayed here, but parents or others who can only assume that they know what happens at ERC. Please do not send your loved one here. My experience was terrible. I and other patients were not allowed to go outside for months, denied letters and packages sent from home, had to earn phone calls with family through compliance with the program, weren’t allowed to talk to others for hours, days, or weeks at a time, denied access to books/art supplies/other belongings simply as punishment, etc etc. All of this occurred to children on an adolescent unit. Look up the multiple Denver Post articles about ERC’s punitive, threatening practices and pending lawsuit for allegedly ignoring patients’ suicide attempts. I would very strongly recommend against ERC, and to please research further into patients’ own accounts.

I was a patient here, and I found that most things were satisfactory. They do a very excellent job at interrupting the disordered behaviors such as purging as restricting. Most staff are kind and helpful, and the patients are wonderful. However, this is a profit based business, and you can definitely tell. There were innumerable patients who were doing fantastically (completing their meals, at their goal weights, & improving mentally) that still had not yet been left out after 10-12 weeks and beyond. In order to leave the facility, parents and/or guardians truthfully have to discharge you rather than your team (therapist, dietitian, & psychiatrist) deciding that you need to go — as the won’t. They attempt to keep patients as long as possible. In addition to this large concern, there are several horrid employees. To begin, the behavioral health technicians Sam and Robbie are beyond cruel to the patients. Sam is extremely rude to all patients, possessing a passive-aggressive attitude as well as taking away privileges from the patients without reason. As for Robbie, he comes into work reeking of cannabis and cigarettes every day; he also has unjustified prejudice towards select patients. But, the dietitian Ginger is the worst of them all. Ginger takes none of the parent’s or patient’s considerations when accommodating to your diet. She is feisty, backhanded, and there are multitudes of horror stories I’ve heard from virtually all patients she has. The worst one includes my friend, who is from a different state. His mom was planning to visit in order to go on an outing with him (the outing was specifically planned to be on Thanksgiving, and he had not seen his mom in months. This visit also cost her thousands of dollars, mind you.) However, she is a doctor, and before her meeting with Ginger, she had to save a child’s life — making her 10 minutes late to the meeting. After the mom explained the situation to Ginger, Ginger proceeded to revoke the outing for, “clearly not caring enough about her child’s recovery.” As you can see, cruel, apathetic, and clearly a megalomaniac. If you want your child to succeed in recovery at ERC Denver, I highly recommend you to request quite literally *any* dietician but Ginger.

I was a patient here and I will say there were a few god experiences I had there but other than that it was awful the good things that happened was a few of the staff were kind and helpful(Greg Meg Braxton Ivon Jamie April and Niki)but everyone else was just plain rude and treated us inhuman.They diagnosed me with the wrong eating disorder and it took them 4months to realize that and even after that they did not treat me for it.For a month I was forced to sit with food all day and not aloud to go to groups that was not even the worse thing.I was told by one staff to just eat it’s not that hard and someone who has experience an ed that was anything but helpful.There was mold in the showers,months in our lights and half of the sinks did not work.And we would ask for it to be fixed and nothing would happen.Also they say that everyone’s plan is individual but that is not true what so ever.In my opinion everyone was being treated for anorexia even if you had arfid as an example I was forced to go to a body image group even though I did have an issue with that and the things I did have issues with there were no groups for that.And lastly you had no privacy every time you went to the bathroom the toilet was checked you had to sleep with your door open and if you were having a bad day you just had to be in front of everyone.

ERC is great at sealing up the cracks that anorexia leaks into. The dietitians and doctors know their stuff and the facility is nice. Visiting hours are limited, which at first was really hard, but then we realized was best for our daughter. We are, sadly, knowledgeable about a few places at this point. I would absolutely recommend ERC especially if after previous treatment your loved one has not yet reached recovery.

My grandson has recently been discharged from the residential treatment facility and has gone through the Virtual Intensive Treatment program, and I could not be more thankful and grateful for the support, kindness, empathy, and education we all received. I was so afraid to take my child to an inpatient program and leave him there knowing I would be away from him. He had phone privileges, days full of therapy sessions as a group and individual sessions geared toward his specific needs. The dietary staff helped us all understand where the problematic behaviors were stemming from, and how to deal with them in the moment and in the future. He was very ambivalent about being admitted, but told us at the end of treatment that he understood the importance of the treatment. His therapists, his dietitians , the psychiatrist, and the medical provider were all top notch professionals . I am hopeful that we all have the tools and understanding of how to get through any rough patches going into the future. Someone very dear to us on staff once told me “a lapse is not a relapse, you just have to get back on the horse and try again.” I will forever be grateful for the care we all received during this trying, scary, and stressful time. If you or a loved one need eating disorder treatment, please reach out. You deserve to live a life worth loving.Two thumbs up for ERC Denver. :)

Our 11 year old son received compassionate care here with the expertise of an amazing team of people. The thing that stands out to me is how well the therapists listened to our concerns and tried to personalize a plan for our son. We would never wish our journey upon another family, but our son's stay at ERC was a crucial turning point in his recovery.

As someone who has received treatment from multiple places, I have a lot to say. Firstly, ERC saved my life. I spent quite a while there, and it was really hard and scary. I witnessed and experienced traumatic things. AND, the harsh reality of treatment facilities is exactly that. Treatment facilities are there to help you, but they are also there to push, and challenge you, when its right. When you are struggling and feel so stuck in your eating disorder, your mindset and opinions on treatment are going to be very different than someone who is fully recovered from their eating disorder, who also went through treatment. Here are my thoughts as someone who has been in full recovery for 2+ years now: After being discharged from ERC I felt so lost and alone. I was terrified for my future. I had a lot of hard feelings revolving ERC. However, here's the thing: Yes, I had a lot of really negative experiences at ERC. Yes, I often still have sad days when I remember moments at ERC. BUT yes, that is how treatment goes. Treatment is really hard. But if I had not been to ERC, I would not be living the beautiful and amazing life I am living right now. I think a lot of the time people forget a very important thing: Everyone's doing their best. The patients are struggling, they are doing their best. The staff are also doing their best. Healthcare must be a really challenging and rewarding job, I can only imagine. Watching others struggle is devastating. But watching patients leave the unit after working so hard is very special. Sometimes the only way out of struggle for a patient is for the staff to help them. Even if the patient claims it to be hurting them, and making everything worse. Because at the end of the day, we have to think, were they hurting me? Or were they hurting my eating disorder? Eating disorders are so complex in so many ways. One being, they can completely take the reality and hide it from you. Some other highlights of ERC: 1. The amazing people you meet. both patients and staff. You create such powerful and impactful relationships that the goodbyes are very bitter-sweet. 2. The support, and how it is specifically created to match each patients needs and abilities. 3. ERC continues to improve their facility, and do amazing things for patients and their families! Last year I visited ERC for a closing chapter to my time spent there. My family and I traveled all the way out to Colorado again so I could say a final thank you, and goodbye. This experience was everything that I could have asked for and more, regarding how healing and empowering it was. There are still hard days where I will mourn sad times at ERC, but there are also days where I will cry tears of joy about beautiful moments at ERC and how far I have come. We must remember the beauty of recovery, but also that getting their will be anything but easy, no matter what treatment is chosen. Choosing recovery is the best decision I have made and I am forever grateful for ERC. ERC, you did save my life. And you also opened my eyes to be able to, and want to, create a life worth living. Reminder: Everyone's experience at ERC will be so different and unique, but the staff and ERC community are there to help you and they are so excited to watch you succeed! And to the parents, its hard for someone to write a genuine review when they are still struggling with their eating disorder, so that's an important reminder when reading reviews:) Thank you so much ERC. Thank you for caring about your patients so much you take actions to improve your facility. Thank you for helping patients not only survive, but thrive. And thank you for helping me get my life back. I am 17 now, and hoping to work as a psychiatric nurse practitioner to help children. Finding meaning is possible. Experiencing pure joy is possible. Recovery, is possible.