Family Based Recovery with Kristina Saffran

 
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Episode 69 - Family Based Recovery with Kristina Saffran

by Karin Lewis, MA, LMFT, CEDS

In this episode, I am joined by Kristina Saffran, co-founder and CEO of Equip Health, and co-founder and active board member of Project HEAL. Recovered from anorexia as a teenager, Kristina has been on a mission to ensure that all families have access to high quality treatment. Kristina is also an Ashoka Fellow, Forbes 30 under 30 social entrepreneur, Facebook Community Leadership Fellow, and graduated from Harvard College with a bachelors degree in psychology in 2014.

SOME OF THE TOPICS DISCUSSED:

  • Kristina’s motivation for starting Project HEAL as a teenager.

  • Fitting the stereotype of an eating disorder as it relates to access to treatment.

  • How Project HEAL has proven the possibility of full eating disorder recovery.

  • A parent’s role when their child is in crisis.

  • The benefits of virtual treatment not otherwise available in standard treatment settings.

  • Honoring the difficulty in navigating the transition from higher levels of care.

ABOUT KRISTINA SAFFRAN:

Kristina Saffran is working to transform the eating disorder care delivery system, ensuring that it is patient centered, evidence-based, and accessible to all who suffer. Diagnosed with anorexia at ten years old and after multiple hospitalizations and relapses, Kristina’s parents learned about Family Based Treatment (FBT), which led her to lasting recovery at the age of 15 year old.

In 2008, Kristina co-founded the nonprofit Project HEAL, with the mission to raise money for patients who did not have financial access to treatment. Her mission led to Project HEAL becoming the leading grassroots eating disorder non-profit in the US providing treatment access and recovery support to people struggling with eating disorders. As the co-founder and CEO, Kristina spent her days ensuring more people access to quality, close to home, affordable treatment, developing model peer support programs for early intervention and relapse prevention, and spreading hope that recovery is possible.

After years of plugging holes in a broken system, Kristina knew she had to create the model that needed to exist. Teaming up with Dr. Erin Parks, Kristina and Erin learned that families wanted treatment teams with multiple specialists, practical support, treatment that evolved with their family, treatment that was enduring – that stayed with you through recovery and could catch relapses.

In 2019, Kristina and Erin built the needed treatment for clients and families, and launched Equip Health, a virtual eating disorder program giving families lasting recovery through dedicated virtual care teams and expert treatment delivered at home. Equip’s holistic, data-driven, gold-standard care program is delivered by a team of five care professionals, giving families confidence they’re providing the best opportunity for progress and lasting recovery.

Alongside her work in the field, Kristina is also an Ashoka Fellow, Forbes 30 under 30 social entrepreneur, a Facebook Community Leadership Fellow, and graduated from Harvard College with a bachelors degree in psychology in 2014. She currently lives in San Diego with her husband Ryan and bernedoodle Walter.

CONNECT WITH KRISTINA:

ABOUT KARIN LEWIS:

Karin Lewis, MA, LMFT, CEDS has been recovered from Anorexia Nervosa for over 20 years and has been specializing in the prevention and treatment of eating disorders since 2005. Karin is the founder of the Karin Lewis Eating Disorder Center located in Boston, MA. You can visit Karin Lewis Eating Disorder Center online to learn more about Karin and her center’s services. You can also connect with Karin on social media by following her on Facebook and Instagram.