At The Kahm Center, we know that successful recovery involves not just clinical improvement but also building confidence in navigating real-world settings and experiences.
Our Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) and Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) are uniquely structured to include community outings, giving clients the chance to practice their skills in a safe yet realistic environment. We visit restaurants, grocery stores, and social venues, intentionally guiding clients through common scenarios where they might encounter challenges.
These outings empower clients to reclaim their autonomy in a supportive, structured way.
For many people with eating disorders, simple daily experiences — selecting items at the grocery store, ordering at a restaurant, or attending a social gathering where food is present — can feel overwhelming. These situations might spark anxiety, distress, or avoidance behaviors rooted in long-held fears and distorted beliefs about food and body image.
At The Kahm Center, we know that engaging with these scenarios gradually and thoughtfully builds resilience. By practicing in real-life environments, clients strengthen their ability to approach these moments with a sense of calm and control, empowered with the skills and strategies learned in treatment.
As part of this experiential approach, we take an open, educational stance on topics that are often treated as “taboo” in the world of eating disorder recovery.
A key example of this is our stance on the term “calorie.” In our programs, we demystify calories by addressing them openly as units of energy that fuel the body, an approach that diverges from traditional treatment settings where calorie conversations are sometimes avoided.
The Power of Language: Redefining “Calories” as Energy
Traditionally, many treatment programs avoid conversations around calorie content, as this language is frequently tied to dieting and weight control in society at large. However, the very avoidance of such language can keep clients in a state of heightened sensitivity around terms like “calories.”
Without context and education, these terms can retain a power that reinforces fear and triggers, rather than neutralizing them. At The Kahm Center, we approach this differently: rather than avoiding these topics, we take the time to explore them in a supportive, non-judgmental way.
In our framework, calories are simply energy units — the fuel that allows us to live, think, move, and heal. This is a fundamental truth of nutrition and biology, and we believe that understanding it allows clients to build a healthier relationship with food.
By equipping clients with factual information, we aim to disempower terms that have often been weaponized by diet culture. We discuss how calories work, how they contribute to metabolism, and how they support mental and physical well-being, aiming to disconnect them from weight-centric thinking.
Exposure to Real-Life Triggers: Why Facing Language Matters
In the “real world,” clients will inevitably encounter conversations and information about calories, often in contexts influenced by diet culture or judgment. Without having developed a neutral, factual understanding of calories, these encounters can feel intimidating and even derailing.
Imagine sitting at a restaurant with friends and seeing a menu that lists calorie counts next to each dish. Or overhearing a colleague talking about the “need” to “burn off” calories from a meal. For many in recovery, these moments can be triggering and overwhelming if they haven’t had a chance to face them in a supportive environment.
Our approach is rooted in the belief that it is crucial to equip clients with the knowledge and skills to navigate these situations. Through guided exposures to conversations about calories and balanced discussions about food, we work to build resilience in facing language that clients will inevitably encounter. This gradual desensitization allows clients to approach these topics without fear, neutralizing their influence and empowering individuals to move through life with confidence and autonomy.
Providing the Knowledge for Informed Healing
Part of our philosophy involves empowering clients to actively participate in their own recovery. Knowing how calories provide energy helps clients understand how nourishment impacts their physical and mental well-being.
Understanding how food serves as fuel allows clients to make informed choices, supporting their own health rather than reacting to external pressures or misunderstandings around food. Our goal is to transform the idea of calories from a charged, anxiety-inducing concept into one rooted in biological function and essential health.
This approach also helps clients challenge diet culture and advocate for themselves. By viewing calories neutrally — as neither good nor bad, but simply necessary — clients develop a critical lens that helps them reject harmful cultural messages about food, weight, and body image.
Empowered with this knowledge, they can more effectively resist societal pressures and focus on internal health, setting the stage for lasting recovery.
Balancing Exposure with Individual Readiness
While we believe strongly in the value of this exposure-based approach, we are also committed to honoring each client’s unique readiness. Not every individual entering our programs will feel prepared to dive into these conversations.
Each client’s needs and sensitivities are carefully assessed, and we structure their treatment with a gradual approach that respects their comfort level and readiness. This ensures that every step is taken in a way that is safe, manageable, and helpful, building a stable foundation for further growth.
Through this balanced approach, we support clients in building resilience not just in the treatment setting, but in their lives beyond it. The goal is to ensure that they feel capable and empowered to face real-world experiences with confidence, fully equipped to engage in a life free from the constraints of fear and anxiety around food.
Conclusion: A Pathway to Real, Sustainable Recovery
At The Kahm Center, we’re here to provide more than just structured care. We’re here to support our clients in building a robust, empowered relationship with food, body, and self. Through community exposures, open discussions, and a focus on real-life readiness, we create a pathway to sustainable recovery that values both education and experience.
Recovery is about regaining freedom and agency, and we’re committed to guiding each client along that path with compassion, knowledge, and unwavering support.
Clinically Reviewed By
Nick Kahm, PhD
Co-Founder
Nick Kahm, a former philosophy faculty member at St. Michael's College in Colchester, VT, transitioned from academia to running the Kahm Clinic with his mother. He started the clinic to train dietitians in using Metabolic Testing and Body Composition Analysis for helping people with eating disorders. Now, he is enthusiastic about expanding eating disorder treatment through the Kahm Center for Eating Disorders in Vermont.
