Maintaining Doctor / Therapist Appointments During the Holidays

Moving to an intensive outpatient or outpatient form of care for eating disorder treatment is an exciting place to be, as you are progressing in your recovery efforts. However, this may be more effort on your part in many ways as well, and it is important to keep on top of all your necessary appointments to maintain the care you need for your eating disorder recovery.

While in more acute forms of treatment, everything you need is usually there for you, under the umbrella of a treatment center, including the various professionals you will meet with, such as a dietitian, therapist, counselor, psychiatrist, and more. Once stepping down to a less structured form of treatment, appointments will usually need to be set up on your own.

Structuring Appointments During the Holidays

In anticipation of a busy holiday season, it is important to structure your appointments accordingly to maintain consistency in your recovery and with your providers. This does take proactive work on your part. As early as possible, set your appointment times with your providers ahead of time, working around possible vacations, travel plans, etc. Your providers will likely have a holiday schedule they are working with to, so attempt to set up your appointments during a mutually agreeable time that works with both of your holiday schedules.

Scheduling ahead of time will also help you understand if you are needing additional support or have gaps that might need to be filled. For example, in the case that your provider may be out of town and your schedules overlap during the holiday, you might be able to set appointments before and immediately after vacation periods.

Alternatively, you might be able to meet with a different provider during large gaps of time or schedule a double session with a regular provider. Don’t leave these decisions to the last minute however. The earlier you can anticipate these changes in schedule and plan accordingly, the better you will be able to maintain your treatment.

Maintaining Consistency With Care

While things inevitably will come up, especially during the holiday season, do the best you can to stick with your scheduled appointments. These are essentially built in times for you to mentally, physically, and emotionally check in with yourself and your treatment team. The holidays are also a season that involve many triggers in recovery, and it is critical to allow yourself the time you need to process things as they come up.

You will also find that in establishing adequate time for your treatment, this will make the holiday season more enjoyable for you. Making the effort to maintain continuity of care during the busy seasons will help keep your recovery a priority.

Community Discussion – Share Your Thoughts Here!

What are tips that have helped you keep your various appointments together for your eating disorder recovery?

About the Author: Crystal is a Masters-level Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) with a specialty focus in eating disorders, maternal/child health and wellness, and intuitive eating. Combining clinical experience with a love of social media and writing, Crystal serves as the Director of Content and Social Media for Eating Disorder Hope/Addiction Hope, where her passion to help others find recovery and healing is integrated into each part of her work.

As a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor, Crystal has dedicated her career to helping others establish a healthy relationship with food and body through her work with EDH/AH and nutrition private practice.

The opinions and views of our guest contributors are shared to provide a broad perspective of eating disorders. These are not necessarily the views of Eating Disorder Hope, but an effort to offer discussion of various issues by different concerned individuals.

We at Eating Disorder Hope understand that eating disorders result from a combination of environmental and genetic factors. If you or a loved one are suffering from an eating disorder, please know that there is hope for you, and seek immediate professional help.

Last Updated & Reviewed By: Jacquelyn Ekern, MS, LPC on December 5, 2016
Published on EatingDisorderHope.com