For people struggling with eating disorders in Mississippi, you should not have to figure this out alone.
Empowered Treatment is a program for adults with eating disorders based in Austin, Texas, with partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient care, and transitional housing for those who need a place to stay. Wherever you are with food and your body right now, you are welcome to call and talk it over.
Eating disorders do not pick one kind of person.
In Mississippi, someone with an eating disorder might be a sophomore at Ole Miss or Mississippi State, a casino worker on the Gulf Coast, a teacher in Hattiesburg, a farmer's spouse in the Delta, or a nurse at a Jackson hospital who makes sure everyone else eats. They might be in a larger body or a smaller one. Most of the time, the people around them have no idea.
What often ties these stories together is secrecy. The eating disorder asks you to hide it, minimize it, and handle it by yourself, and in a small town or a close family that can feel easier than speaking up. But hiding takes a lot of energy. Telling one trusted person, or calling a team that treats this every day, can begin to lighten the load.
Your experience counts, even if it looks different.
Not everyone with an eating disorder restricts, and not everyone loses weight. Some people binge, some purge, some eat only a handful of safe foods, and many move between patterns. If your relationship with food is causing you distress, it is real and it deserves care.
On a first call, our team listens first, then explains our PHP and IOP in plain language. You can learn more about different presentations on our pages for binge eating disorder and OSFED.
When you are the one who noticed
Families often see the signs first: the bathroom trips after dinner, the sudden interest in labels, the excuses at holiday meals. It is hard to know whether you are overreacting. Our guide for loved ones explains common warning signs and how to share concern without blame.
Caring for someone through this can be exhausting, and you matter too. Our family education gives relatives tools to support recovery, and our article on caregiver burnout is there for the days you feel stretched thin.
Living near treatment makes the days simpler.
For many people in Mississippi, the closest specialized eating disorder program is hours away no matter which direction they go. Our transitional housing removes the daily commute. It is a house in Austin's Hyde Park neighborhood for clients in PHP or IOP, with shared meals, a predictable rhythm, and others who understand what you are working on.
Shared living spaces
A room of your ownThe whole team, focused on your plan.
Therapy alone or nutrition counseling alone often leaves gaps. Our eating disorder therapists, registered dietitians, psychiatric providers, and family therapist build one plan with you and revisit it often. That coordination means medical concerns, emotions, and eating are addressed together, and it carries into the aftercare we arrange in Mississippi when you step down.
Partial hospitalization (PHP)
Full treatment days at our Austin center: supported meals, daily groups, individual therapy, dietitian care, and medical and psychiatric monitoring.
About PHP →Intensive outpatient (IOP)
Group programming plus weekly individual and dietitian sessions, built to fit around work, school, and family once more structure is not needed.
About IOP →
“When someone calls us, I hope they hear right away that we take their struggle seriously, whatever it looks like and however long it has been going on. We built this program so adults could receive specialized, compassionate care and be treated as whole people, not diagnoses.”Steffani Roller, LPC, IEDSCo-Founder & Clinical Director, Empowered Treatment
Getting to Austin and sorting out coverage.
Traveling from Mississippi
Some people fly and some prefer to drive. Either way, our team can help you plan your arrival around admission and housing.
- Distance: about 470 miles from Jackson as the crow flies
- Air travel: Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport (JAN) and Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport (GPT) offer flights to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS)
- Once you land: our center is about a 30-minute drive from AUS, depending on the time of day
- Staying in Austin: transitional housing is available for people enrolled in PHP or IOP
Coverage and costs
We know cost can be the deciding factor. Our admissions team can review your benefits for partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient care and talk you through what we find.
- Fill out our verify insurance form, or call and we will check benefits with you
- If your plan was issued in Mississippi, ask how it pays for out-of-network or out-of-state specialty care in Texas; we can help you prepare for that call
- The Mississippi Insurance Department runs a consumer help line and can assist when you have trouble with an insurer
- Read does insurance cover eating disorder treatment? for a broader overview
Help in place when you return home.
After treatment, having support nearby makes a real difference. These statewide resources in Mississippi can help you and your family stay connected to care, from the Delta to the Coast.
- Mississippi Department of Mental HealthThe state mental health agency, with the DMH Helpline, mobile crisis response teams in every county, and a search for certified providers.
- NAMI MississippiThe statewide affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, offering family education, support groups, and advocacy.
- Mississippi Insurance DepartmentA consumer help line and complaint assistance for problems with insurance companies.
- 988 Suicide & Crisis LifelineCall or text 988, any time, from anywhere in the United States. In an emergency, call 911.
Common questions from Mississippians.
I have had trouble finding a specialized program in Mississippi. What are my options?
Specialized eating disorder care can be hard to reach from many parts of the state, so many adults look further afield. Empowered offers in-person PHP and IOP in Austin with transitional housing. Our article on how to choose a program can help you weigh choices.
Will anyone back home have to know I am in treatment?
Your treatment is confidential. You decide who to tell and how much to share. If you need time off work, our article on telling your employer about treatment covers what you are and are not required to disclose.
Is there anything I should have ready before I call?
Not really. Having your insurance card nearby can speed up a benefits check, and a few notes about what has been hardest lately may help, but you can simply call and talk. Read what happens when you call a treatment center if you want to know what to expect.
Do you work with men?
Yes. Empowered treats adults of all genders. Men often go undiagnosed because eating disorders are wrongly seen as a women's issue. Our page on eating disorders in men explains how symptoms can show up differently.
More for Mississippi
Articles and guides for readers in Mississippi.
Let us help you find the next step.
Reach a real person on our clinical team who can listen, answer questions, and help you sort out what kind of care fits. There is no charge for the call.