The exact location of this support group is confidential. Contact the group monitor via email for the address and information.
Project HEAL only recently started their Philadelphia support group, “Communities of HEALing”, in place of their old West Chester group. This move to Center City has made the group very accessible for persons who rely on SEPTA, PATCO, NJ Transit, and possibly even AMTRAK. Those who have cars can choose their preferred method of parking in the area or just park & ride from the suburbs via public transportation. The group location is a short walk from most of the transit stations and bus routes in Center City. Even in the bitter cold, this walk will be manageable for most.
Communities of HEALing Philadelphia is open to any person with an Eating Disorder, regardless of gender or specific eating disorder type. It is a very small group right now, as it is only about a month old. It was a little unnerving, at first, trying to find the location. The instructions that were emailed to me offered zero landmarks and didn’t mention any neighboring businesses for me to be aware of. If you get the same response as I did, be sure to ask for these details as they will be helpful in locating the group. There is no phone number to call for information, so email is about all there is to use.
A group leader will pop down into the lobby (which is more like a small foyer) near the entrance a few times to check for waiting participants in order to bring them upstairs via elevator to the group room. The location is very modern, very comfortable, quiet, with the group itself taking place in a nice large conference room with gentle lighting. Before group started, I was asked to sign in and the group leader reviewed the group rules with those in attendance. Standard group etiquette was expected, with the typical ban of weights/calories/numbers/sizes, but it’s very low key and anyone can pipe up when they’re compelled to speak. The group leader (the night I attended) was very pleasant and sociable- I do plan to attend again soon.
Do not attempt to attend unless you have registered. Registration includes a standard contract for all Project HEAL Communities of HEALing support group participants, which outlines the confidentiality rules. As of this publication, registration and attendance are both free, no charge. After you have registered, you can request the group location from the group monitor using the same email with which you registered under, and let them know that you have digitally signed the necessary paperwork.
Contact: cohphiladelphia@theprojectheal.org
Website: http://theprojectheal.org/coh-open-support-groups/Every Thursday 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Location: Center City, Philadelphia
FREE – Registration is required
How to find the group: When you arrive at the location’s West entrance, stay on the first floor in the small lobby. Someone will be down to get you before group starts. There are no signs announcing the group and nobody who works in the building will know about Project HEAL meeting there. Even if you’re 5 minutes late, someone should be down to see if anyone still needs to be brought up to the group.
Handicap access: The building is handicap accessible with an elevator, however, there are no automatic doors. It’s a modern building with low thresholds and decent width doorways. I believe the hallways were free of carpeting, as well. There is a wheelchair accessible bathroom or two in the wing where group takes place.
Accessible commute: When traveling South along the exact street of the location’s entrance, you will want to utilize the sidewalk on the West side of the street. The East sidewalk has a missing curb cut at one point and is too tall for the average wheelchair to “pop” over.
Service dog access: I had no concerns.
Disclaimer:
this is my blog. I can do or say whatever the heck I want. If I want to post incomplete articles and finish them later, I’ll do just that. Check back every now and then to see if I got around to finishing it. Comment if you want more info sooner/now/sometime this century.
Migraine/sensory folks: see my note under “Handicap access”.
The drive was pretty easy for me. The hospital is just off the Route 30 exit, and Route 30 connects to several major roads/routes. Load up a podcast and set your cruise control to the state speed limit: you’re golden.
So this eating disorder support group was different from others I’ve experienced. The only rule is confidentiality. Weights, numbers, calories, etc are all permitted to be talked about and introductions during my first time there included your name and what eating disorder you have (to which I merely responded with “I have a restrictive based eating disorder”), but this wasn’t repeated my second visit. They served us water, Diet Coke, and pretzels….? Which is weird. (I mean, like, it’s nice that they offered something at all but kind of inappropriate in a sense too… why not just water? Why Diet Coke when we’re supposed to be “anti-diet” in recovery? Ah. But I digress)
This Brandywine group is VERY co-ed, with all genders represented. This is likely because the hospital’s inpatient ED program is co-ed and the patients are probably referred to this group upon discharge. I was ecstatic to see so much male representation there. Every eating disorder, from Orthorexia to over eating, was represented in this support group. The group is open to anyone, so there were parents there. Some parents came with their loved one (with an ED) to support them, other parents came alone to gain support as a caregiver.
Overall it was pretty chill. The group leader has worked with eating disorders for probably decades. I got a little freaked out when certain topics were discussed that are normally taboo in other groups (WHY do specific weights need to be discussed? WHY??). If I was more comfortable, I might have spoken up and said “Hey, can we not say ____? Because this messes with my recovery.” (which honestly would have been a healthier approach on my part, but I wasn’t in a good place emotionally to risk being shut down). So, the group was chill- I just wasn’t. LOL.
Phone: 610-383-4950
Website: brandywineeatingdisorders.com1st & 3rd Thursday 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Location: 1 West Conference Room
(1st floor) Brandywine Hospital
FREE – Registration NOT required
How to find the conference room:
Park near the “main entrance” (there should be a lighted sign to indicate which door this is) and utilize that main entrance. When you walk in, there will be a clerc/desk for visitors to sign in and get a badge. (Support group attendees do NOT need to sign in and do NOT need a visitor’s badge.) The conference room is on the ground floor and will be down the hall that is left of the desk and entrance upon walking in. Go down that hall to the end, make a right. The conference room will be a few steps away on the right hand side.
Handicap access: There is plenty of handicap parking as well as wheelchair access. The conference room is small with a table in the center that takes up much of the room and a table off to the left side of the door with snacks. There is very bright fluorescent lighting- those with sensory issues or migraines may want to bring tinted eyewear for comfort. A couple of wheelchair users could easily fit into this room, despite its small size. There were at least two handicap accessible, gender neutral, single person bathrooms. They were a bit narrow (in my accessible opinion) but should be fine for most wheelchair users, if not all.
Migraine/sensory sufferers: The fluorescent lighting is terrible and incredibly harsh in this conference room. It would be wise to bring a hat or sunglasses suitable for your needs. I really struggled with this both times and am looking to purchase 50% tinted prescription glasses for these lighting situations (for both in group and in real life).
Service dog access: Access, my first time, was annoying at worst. My second time I had zero issues and no comments from the clerc/desk staff. At first, my first visit, nobody noticed my service dog at all. It wasn’t until the end of the group that a group attendee noticed her under the table and made a scene. The group leader said “You know you’re not supposed to bring animals in here” to which I implored “She is my assistance animal and I require her to be with me at all times for medical purposes”. The group leader didn’t seem to believe me and proceeded to walk across the room and bend over to inspect my dog under the table. Despite my dog being in full service gear, the leader proceeded to talk to her and then announce “I know we’re not supposed to talk to them, but what is her name?” to which I gave a fake name and the leader, naturally, started calling after my dog with it- which prompted the whole room to start fawning after her. Upon trying to leave the building, I was stopped by the desk/clerc (the same person who was there before group) to be asked the two legal ADA questions regarding my dog. I’m not normally irritated by this, but the fact is that I was leaving the building, and was right next to the door, so what is the point? It was just annoying. My being hounded in the small conference room shortly prior to this encounter probably influenced my annoyance to this inquiry more than anything else, as it is a very typical and legal service dog inquiry that I’m supposed to encounter anyway. I was just bitchy, oh well. It didn’t happen again.
a bit tachy 