The Wandi Nerida Model of Care
An evidence-based holistic program based Carolyn Costin’s recovery model
Our B-FREEDT Model of Care© is based on the work of Carolyn Costin’s successful residential facilities in the United States, while tailored to the Australian environment. The recovery-focused model involves different phases of treatment tailored to a person’s needs and uses the power of lived experience in the recovery journey of each participant.
We address not only symptoms and behaviours but also underlying psychological factors. The home-like centre set in beautiful bushland is critical to the success of the treatment – a space where people with eating disorders can connect with nature and work towards health and wellness.
The B-FREEDT Model of Care© is underpinned by the transdiagnostic approach to eating disorders which suggests that all eating disorders share the same core underlying features, whilst acknowledging that each individual recovery journey is unique. It follows a set of general principles of treatment for eating disorders that are universally accepted in contemporary best practice clinical care. Multi-disciplinary treatment plans are collaboratively designed with each participant to meet their unique needs which are informed by an ongoing process of comprehensive multidisciplinary assessment.
What makes us different
- Eating Disorders are psychological conditions with medical consequences
Unlike a hospital setting where the focus is on medical complications, this model puts the priority on the psychological aspects of the illness. Eating Disorders are conceptualised as mental illnesses with medical consequences. - High staff to client ratio to maximize support (intensive support)
A high staff to client ratio will ensure that clients always have therapeutic, medical and nutritional support. Clinical staff are available from breakfast until bedtime with multi-disciplinary staff on-site 7 days a week. - The importance of the social milieu
As the dynamic of the social milieu is viewed a powerful agent for change, group therapy is the main vehicle of the treatment program. This allows for peer feedback/reflection, validation, accountability and support. - Focus on developing increased autonomy with objective measurements of progress
The phased treatment system allows for an objective measurement of progress and provides a means of increasing autonomy and freedom to make recovery-oriented choices while tailoring care to each person’s stage of illness. Inherent in each phase are appropriate challenges and opportunities that meet each client’s individual needs as well as meeting them where they are at in their recovery process. - Home-like environment with hands-on food preparation experience
The goal is to model a home-like environment so that clients can envision recovery when they are back in their own homes. This environment allows them an opportunity for hands-on experiences such as portioning food and preparing meals as well as sitting at a family table. - Importance of choice (motivation) around food and eating
This model of care aims to bring clients back into a healthy relationship with food, without the use of medical feeding devices. The goal is to help clients re-establish normal eating patterns and practice eating and keeping their food with a focus on choice in eating disorder recovery. - Holistic evidence-based treatment model in a natural Australian bushland setting
Clinical care will incorporate up to date evidence-based multi-disciplinary treatment and management of eating disorders while taking a whole person approach rather than only focusing on the condition. Therefore, in addition to evidence-based treatments such as CBT, treatment will focus on developing social connection, along with connection with country and nature. This will be facilitated by being in a natural bushland setting and incorporating complementary treatment modalities that have shown some evidence to be effective, specifically Permaculture (Ecopsychology) and Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy. - Power of lived experience
Recognising the value of staff with lived experience to instil hope and to model normal eating and body sizes post eating disorder recovery.
