The Integrated Compassionate Approach (ICA)
The Integrated Compassionate Approach was born from our years of working side-by-side with clients, families, and treatment teams, where we saw firsthand that true healing happens in the presence of compassion. As we developed our trainings, we came to understand that while clinical skill, evidence-based interventions, and teamwork are essential, they cannot take root without a compassionate foundation. This realization shaped the ICA: a framework that blends clinical excellence with an unwavering commitment to compassion as the starting point for every interaction, intervention, and treatment plan.
The Three Anchors of Compassionate Presence
When sitting with clients, we return to these three foundational practices again and again, not as steps to “fix,” but as a way to be with:
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Attune – Tune into the client’s cues, needs, and unspoken messages with openness and presence.
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Get Curious – When judgment arises or uncertainty shows up, let curiosity lead.
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Bear Witness – Sit with their pain, without rushing to change it. Let them know they’re not alone in it.
12 Pillars of the ICA
Pillar 2: Authenticity is a Recovery Goal
Recovery is about becoming more fully themselves, not who the disorder wanted them to be. Compassionate self-understanding allows the masks to fall, making space for freedom.
Pillar 3: The Brain and Body Must be Nourished
Malnutrition and starvation alter brain function. Nutritional rehabilitation, including for many, weight restoration is not optional. It is foundational to healing.
Pillar 5: Holistic Care Matters
Recovery thrives with integrated support: medical, psychiatric, psychotherapeutic, and nutritional. Collaborative, team-based care honors the whole person.
Pillar 7: Trauma Resolution is Often Most Effective and Safe After Stabilization Through Nutritional Rehabilitation
Many clients have experienced trauma, and healing from it can be a vital part of recovery. But the nervous system needs a foundation of safety first. For most, this begins with full nutritional rehabilitation. We pace trauma work with care, always prioritizing the client’s stability and readiness.
Pillar 9; We Build Distress Tolerance and Compassion
Clients learn to sit with discomfort, emotions, and urges without shame. This is not just a skillset; it’s a healing relationship with their own experience.
Pillar 11: Mindfulness and Embodiment are Key
Recovery is about returning to the body, not just feeding it, but listening to it. Through compassionate mindfulness, clients reconnect with themselves.
Pillar 4: All Parts Deserve Compassion
Even the ones that seem destructive. We meet each part of our clients with understanding and care, including the protective mechanisms that once kept them going.
Pillar 6: Eating Disorders Are Isolating
Healing requires connection. Whether through rebuilding relationships or forming new, safe support systems, community is a critical part of recovery.
Pillar 8: There's No One Right Way
We embrace diverse modalities and honor what resonates for each client. When a modality or provider is needed beyond our scope, we refer with respect and care.
Pillar 10: We Work to Transform Shame
Many clients carry unbearable shame. We offer them a new experience: being seen and understood with compassion. That’s where healing begins.
Pillar 12: We Model Compassion
Our clients are often their own harshest critics. They don’t need us to mirror that. A non-judgmental, compassionate therapeutic stance is essential.
Pillar 1: The Eating Disorder was a Survival Strategy
It helped them get through. We honor the role it played and acknowledge the pain it caused. Healing holds space for both.