Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Sara Hamilton.
Hi Dr. Hamilton, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
Our behavioral health facility was founded in 2016 to provide support to those who struggle with food the way others struggle with alcohol or other substances.
We recognized a need for people to have an environment in which they could change their eating habits and have support to explore the underlying issues that contribute to their problematic relationship with food.
We are the only treatment provider in the San Antonio area created exclusively for people who have struggled with weight, obesity, binge eating, emotional eating, and other disordered eating that results in the overconsumption of food. Our clients participate in our intensive outpatient program, which is three 3-hour sessions a week, typically for about ten weeks.
The immersive multi-disciplinary sessions include nutrition education with our registered dietitian, therapy with our clinical psychologist and licensed professional counselors, movement instruction with our physical therapist, medical assessments with our program nurse, culinary education and demonstrations in our state-of-the-art teaching kitchen with our executive chef, and delicious healthy meals where clients are supported in practicing mindful eating.
Uniquely, our program is covered by most health insurances, including BlueCross BlueShield, Aetna, and United Healthcare, among others. We truly take a comprehensive, integrated approach to addressing all behavioral aspects that contribute to an individual’s struggle with weight and health and the associated maladaptive relationship with food.
At the onset of the pandemic, we shifted towards a telehealth model and have retained that component in our program, currently offering a hybrid on-site and telehealth model to clients across the state. Our scheduling is flexible, with 9 weekly sessions to choose from on a week-to-week basis, and the option to attend on-site or virtually from one session to the next.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
We often hear from successful alumni of our program, “I thought I didn’t need this, but I did, and I am so glad I came here.” It’s hard to market a treatment for problems people think they don’t have.
Because of cultural messages about weight loss, people think “I just need more self-control” and are hesitant to reach out for help when both weight and help-seeking are often stigmatized. And it is sometimes hard to convince people who have been dieting their whole lives that the dieting approach and mentality is not a solution.
Our program educates and allows for practice in order to form new habits. Helping people understand these concepts as a long-term solution can be challenging when they have pre-existing barriers to seeking assistance along with a lack of understanding about eating disorders and the complex behaviors associated with them.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
The members of our client population have all struggled with obesity and issues related to living in a larger body in a culture often hostile or insensitive to these issues, which is why we desired to exclusively serve this population and designed our program to specifically address the issues and concerns related to this population.
This exclusivity sets us apart and creates the safest possible environment for clients to comfortably address a variety of issues and work to achieve recovery in a setting with their peers.
Notably, some of our clients have had or are planning to have bariatric surgery – we are also specially trained in working with these patients and their unique challenges and are experienced in working collaboratively with their bariatric physicians and medical professionals.
So maybe we end by discussing what matters most to you and why?
At BCC, it is most important to us that we provide this safe space for clients to begin to try to do things differently. Because of stigmas about weight and mental health, this kind of treatment can feel very vulnerable.
We foster a community of people who provide support and understanding of the struggles unique to our population.
It can be scary to pay attention to the feelings you’ve ignored, to communicate differently with your loved ones, and to begin to prioritize taking care of yourself; all of these are necessary in order to heal the relationship with self and food and are best done in an emotionally safe and supportive space that allows clients to progress at their own pace.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bariatriccounselingcenter.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bariatriccounselingcenter/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bariatriccounselingcenter/
