Transformational Living Center Open House

July 6th, 2009

TLC Open HouseMirasol opened its new Transformational Living Center (TLC) on June 15, and just a few weeks later, we celebrated with an Open House in honor of Mirasol’s 10th Anniversary. Guests were invited to tour the new 10-bed facility, and to share a fabulous buffet prepared by Mirasol’s world-famous chefs.

TLC is a new program based on 10 years of research into the most effective options for eating disorder treatment and relapse prevention. Like Mirasol’s primary residential program, it combines traditional therapy with alternative therapies proven effective in the treatment of chronic stress-related conditions. However, TLC recognizes that not everyone can take time out for long-term residential care, so its flexible program emphasizes real world skills and therapies that can achieve rapid improvements in the client’s ability to cope with stress.

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Transformational Living for Eating Disorder Recovery

July 6th, 2009

By David Romero, Executive Director, Mirasol Eating Disorder Recovery Centers

David RomeroMany visitors to our 10-bed facility have asked us why we call it “Transformational Living Center” (rather than a “transitional living center”). The answer has its roots in an ongoing debate within the therapeutic community regarding the type of environment that supports positive change.

It is widely accepted that behavioral changes are never accomplished with a single step. Instead, personal growth has many different stages, and individuals move gradually through the process as they acquire new tools and skills.

A central tenet of Mirasol’s treatment philosophy is that personal growth is not a clean process, and that individuals must be allowed to practice their new skills in a safe and nurturing environment that is tolerant of failure. We honor the “humanness” of each client (and ourselves), and we accept that “perfection” is a conceptual ideal that has little to do with the reality of everyday living.

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