For people struggling with eating disorders in New Jersey, and the people who keep showing up for them.
Empowered Treatment offers adults with eating disorders partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient care, and transitional housing in Austin, Texas. Stepping away from a crowded, fast-moving life for a while can create room to focus on recovery.
Busy is not the same as being okay.
New Jersey runs on tight schedules: the Turnpike and the Parkway, NJ Transit trains into Manhattan, long hospital and pharmaceutical shifts, commutes from Bergen County to Princeton and back. For someone with an eating disorder, that pace provides constant cover. Meals get skipped in the car, workouts happen before dawn, and a binge after a long day can feel like the only break available.
It can be hard to admit something is wrong when you are still functioning, still meeting deadlines, still showing up for family. But high functioning is not the same as healthy. Eating disorders affect adults of every age, gender, culture, and body size, and they deserve real treatment. Wanting relief is a good enough reason to explore what help could look like.
Getting help does not mean you have failed.
Many people with eating disorders are capable, conscientious, and used to solving problems on their own. That strength can make asking for help feel like defeat. It is not. Eating disorders are complex illnesses, and specialized care is what anyone would recommend for a serious health concern.
When you call, you will speak with a person on our team who will listen and help you weigh PHP against IOP. If anxiety, depression, or trauma are part of the picture, we can talk about that too; read about co-occurring conditions.
Words matter, and so does patience.
Loved ones often worry about saying the wrong thing, and sometimes they do, because no one handed them a script. Comments about weight, food choices, or appearance, even kind ones, can land badly. Our guide on what not to say offers alternatives that keep the conversation open.
If someone you love begins care in Austin, our family education explains the illness, the treatment, and how families can respond with steadiness rather than fear. It also prepares you for the transition home, a stretch where your encouragement can carry a lot of weight.
Room to breathe during treatment.
Leaving New Jersey for treatment can mean stepping away from the commute, the inbox, and the constant pull of obligations. Our transitional housing is a real house in Austin's Hyde Park neighborhood, available alongside PHP or IOP. You live with other adults in recovery and come home to a calmer setting, which can make it easier to stay focused on the work you are doing each day.
Shared living spaces
A room of your ownMind and body, treated together.
Our eating disorder therapists, registered dietitians, psychiatric providers, and family therapist work from a shared plan rather than separate referrals. That means the dietitian knows what came up in therapy, and your psychiatric provider understands how meals are going. Before you return to New Jersey, we help you set up outpatient care so that coordination continues in a form that fits home.
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 →
“A lot of the people I work with are very good at holding everything together for everyone else, so therapy often starts with giving them permission to slow down and notice what the eating disorder has been protecting them from. From there, we can start building ways of coping that do not cost them so much.”Megan Swiderski, MS, LCSWTherapist, Empowered Treatment
Getting to Texas and paying for care.
Traveling from New Jersey
Flying from New Jersey to Austin is straightforward, and we can help you coordinate your arrival with your intake date.
- Distance: about 1,500 miles from Newark as the crow flies
- Airports: Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) is the state's largest airport, and Trenton-Mercer Airport (TTN) and Atlantic City International Airport (ACY) are also options when routing to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS)
- Landing in Austin: AUS is roughly a half-hour drive from our center, traffic permitting
- A place to stay: transitional housing in Hyde Park pairs with PHP or IOP
Insurance from New Jersey
Plans differ widely in how they handle out-of-network and out-of-state care. We check your benefits with you before you commit, so you know what to expect.
- Send us your details through verify insurance, or call and we will look up your benefits together
- If your plan is based in New Jersey, ask how it covers out-of-network PHP and IOP provided in Texas; we can help you prepare those questions and make sense of the answers
- The New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance accepts health insurance complaints and offers phone help for consumers
- If you are enrolled in Medicaid, coverage for care outside your home state is usually limited, so call and we will help you understand what applies
Help across the Garden State, after Austin.
Support should continue after programming ends. These statewide resources in New Jersey can help you and your family stay connected to care back home.
- New Jersey Division of Mental Health and Addiction ServicesThe state's mental health authority, with crisis resources, treatment information, and links to statewide helplines.
- NAMI New JerseyFamily support groups, Family-to-Family classes, and resources for caregivers throughout the state.
- New Jersey Department of Banking and InsuranceHow to request help or file a complaint about a health plan, including managed care issues, by phone or online.
- 988 Suicide & Crisis LifelineCall or text 988, any time, from anywhere in the United States. In an emergency, call 911.
New Jersey questions, straight answers.
Why consider Austin when I live near New York and Philadelphia?
Some people want space from the daily pressures that keep the eating disorder going, or a program with housing attached. Others are looking for a particular level of care. There is no single right answer, and our team can help you compare options honestly, including ones closer to home.
How do people from New Jersey manage work while in treatment?
Work is usually paused during PHP, and some people return to a reduced schedule during IOP. Our page on working while in treatment covers leave, scheduling, and what to tell your employer.
What if I have anxiety or OCD along with an eating disorder?
That combination is common, and our team treats co-occurring conditions as part of the same plan. Read more about eating disorders and anxiety and eating disorders and OCD, and bring it up on your first call.
What happens on the first call?
You will talk with a member of our team about what is going on, your history, and what you are hoping for. We will explain the programs and next steps, and if it seems like a fit, schedule an assessment. Read what happens when you call.
More for New Jersey
Articles and guides for readers in New Jersey.
Take a breath, then make the call.
Our clinical team can help you sort through what is happening and what kind of care fits. The call is free and there is no pressure to decide anything.