University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics

Hospital based program

Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa

The Eating Disorder Program in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Iowa is the only comprehensive treatment program in the State of Iowa that serves adults, adolescents and children. As a program, the University of Iowa has been treating individuals with an eating disorder since 1976. This program has a continuum of care that spans outpatient, partial hospital and inpatient care. It has the ability for a step-up or a step-down approach to care offering wide latitude for those individuals who need assistance. This program works with state of the art empirically validated treatments with a wide range of professionals involved in the care of individuals who struggle with an eating disorder. The location of the program within University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics affords patients the best psychiatric and medical care. Individuals who develop an eating disorder often have multiple psychiatric and medial problems. As a program within the hospital, we can immediately respond to patients medical needs. The eating disorder program was one of the first to develop an inpatient treatment milieu based on cognitive therapy principles that are see as vital in the treatment of this disorder. The program continues to explore treatment outcome to assess and change to the most sophisticated and validated methods of treatment. In addition, being housed in an academic Department of Psychiatry the program has been able to add to the professional literature as to the best methods and sequence of treatment especially in the use of inpatient and partial hospital care.

The program staff is exceedingly experienced and crosses many professions including Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Nursing, Social Work, Nutrition, and Rehabilitation Therapy. Individual team members have upwards of 35 years experience in the care of individuals of this disorder. This program is one of a handful of programs that will treat males with an eating disorder. The Psychologist with the program, Dr. Wayne Bowers is internationally know in the psychosocial treatment of eating disorders with advanced training in the use of Cognitive Therapy and specifically its adaptation to inpatient and partial hospital. programs. Dr. Bowers also works across the full spectrum of the program working in the outpatient, partial hospital and inpatient areas.