We believe that full recovery is possible.

Our founder, licensed therapist Renée Miller, has lived in complete recovery from a severe eating disorder for more than a decade. Many staff members celebrate the same success and can honestly say, “I’ve been there.” At A Center for Eating Disorders, or ACED, we maintain that full recovery is achievable for everyone. Anorexia or bulimia is not a lifelong label. We believe clients have the capacity to overcome an eating disorder – they just need help doing it.

We blend compassion with research-proven and evidence-based treatment methods.

We are at the forefront of research in Alabama and throughout the U.S. to understand the causes of eating disorders and establish new treatment practices. We established ACED on a belief in complete recovery. We base our program on treatment methods proven effective both in research and in practice for anorexia, bulimia and other eating disorders.

Our program is individualized and multi-faceted.

We use a level system that allows clients to progress at an individualized pace. These levels break down the overwhelming process of recovery into “doable” steps. The treatment team works collaboratively with each client to develop individual goals and challenges specific to the client’s strengths and needs.

You can simultaneously participate in treatment and live your life.

We have an advantage at ACED. As a daytime treatment center in the Birmingham area, our clients have the structure of our program but also the opportunity to practice new skills in their outside lives. We can help clients confront everyday pressures as they happen. Specific groups help our clients set intentions for their time outside of our program, and then we process what happened during this time in follow-up groups at the center.

We believe in community and collaboration.

Community is at the heart of ACED, and our community requires collaboration among staff and clients. We ask the same of our clients as we ask of ourselves: Be engaged, participative and open-minded. We encourage clients to be active in their treatment, set personal goals and work toward self-awareness. Recovery cannot be forced. It is a choice the clients make and a summit we climb together as a community.

We keep the program small and personal.

Primary therapists at the center do not have more than three clients at a time, and there is always at least one staff member for every three clients.

We believe in the healing of mind, body and spirit.

Eating disorders certainly deplete the body, but they also chisel away the spirit and soul of an individual. We want clients to realize overall health – inside and out – from anorexia, bulimia and other struggles. We incorporate balanced eating, healthy exercise and meditative exercises – yoga, journaling, etc. – with group and individual therapy to foster a consciousness of the connection between body, mind and spirit.