95% of Our Patients Are Covered by Insurance

We are in-network with most major insurance plans. Side by Side accepts:

We are committed to ensuring that our clients have access to healthcare, and we make every effort to facilitate this. We accept insurance plans such as BlueCross Blue Shield (Anthem/Regence), United HealthCare (Optum), Aetna, and Cigna.

Eating disorders and ADHD:

What challenges can the intersection of ADHD and an eating disorder present to someone’s relationship with food, nutrition, body image, and the recovery process? Here are some challenges that may arise:

• Impulsivity and Disordered Eating Behaviors: Some people with ADHD struggle with impulsivity, which can contribute to impulsive or binge-eating behaviors. This may lead to feelings of guilt and further complicate the relationship with food.

• Executive Functioning Difficulties: ADHD often involves challenges with executive functions, such as planning, organization, and self-regulation. These difficulties can make establishing and maintaining consistent and healthy eating habits challenging.

• Inattentiveness and Meal Planning: Difficulty in sustaining attention may interfere with meal planning and preparation, making it more challenging to maintain a balanced and nutritious diet.

• Hyperfocus on Food or Dieting: Some with ADHD may experience hyperfocus, which can lead to an intense and obsessive focus on food, dieting, or body image. This hyperfocus may contribute to the development or exacerbation of an eating disorder.

• Emotional Dysregulation: Both ADHD and eating disorders are associated with emotional dysregulation. Managing emotions can be challenging, and it’s not uncommon to use food or restrictive eating as coping mechanisms.

• Medication and Appetite Changes: Medications commonly prescribed for ADHD may have side effects such as appetite suppression or changes in eating patterns, which can impact nutritional intake.

• Body Image Concerns: ADHD-related challenges may contribute to difficulties in developing a positive body image. This, combined with societal pressures and potential impacts of the eating disorder, can perpetuate body dysmorphia.

• Comorbidity Complexity: Managing both ADHD and an eating disorder concurrently can make treatment more complex. A comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach may be necessary to address both conditions effectively. The team might include a physician, therapist, dietitian, occupational therapist, and other healthcare professionals.

• Treatment Challenges: The presence of ADHD symptoms may contribute to challenges in engaging with and benefiting from traditional eating disorder treatments.

• Relapse Risk: The co-occurrence of ADHD and an eating disorder may increase the risk of relapse due to the interplay of symptoms and challenges associated with both conditions.

Addressing these challenges may require an integrated treatment approach that considers the unique needs of individuals with co-occurring ADHD and eating disorders.

Our Team of Dietitian Nutritionists, Expert ED and Medical Nutrition Counselors

The Side by Side Nutrition team has a team of 12+ outpatient registered dietitians. We provide online nutrition counseling to patients in Colorado and around the country. We offer one-on-one and family nutrition counseling for patients either online or in person, with offices located in Colorado Springs and Fort Collins. We specialize in eating disorder recovery and body image healing.

RD - Registered Dietitian
RDN - Registered Dietitian Nutritionist
MS - Masters of Science

As specialists in ED nutrition counseling our mission is rooted in compassion. We:  

• Strive to create a safe and nurturing space for individuals on their journey to wellness. 

• Understand the profound impact that eating disorders can have on one's life.

• Are committed to fostering a supportive community where every client feels seen, heard, and understood. 

• Work from an intuitive eating, HAES (Health at Every Size) Informed Approach.

• Believe everyone has the right to high-quality care – accessibility and inclusivity are at the core of our values.

• Stand firm in our belief in the possibility of full recovery. 

• Continually invest in our education to stay at the forefront of the field.

• Are committed to ongoing learning.

• Channel all our resources into becoming the best eating disorder nutritionist counselors.

• Are dedicated to guiding our clients toward a life of lasting health and empowerment.

What does nutrition therapy include?

TESTIMONIALS

Our team of Expert Dietitian Nutritionists Have Been Featured In:

ADHD & Eating Disorders Treatment - Nutrition Therapy

What insurance plans do you accept?

Side By Side Nutrition is in network with Cigna, Cigna Localplus, Aetna, BlueCross Blue Shield (Anthem/Regence), UMR, and United Healthcare. Prior to your visit, please call your insurance company to check your benefits. We can not guarantee coverage. 

For other insurance companies, we are out-of-network providers. This means we can provide you a superbill to submit to insurance for possible reimbursement. SBS can not submit superbills without a medical diagnosis. Payment is due at time of service for folxs using out of network benefits.

What is the DSM-5?

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th edition), commonly referred to as the "DSM," serves as a comprehensive guide on mental health and conditions related to the brain. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is tasked with the creation, editing, review, and publication of this manual.

Patients may also hear the term ICD-10. This is the International Classification of Diseases (10th revision), a system used by doctors to classify and code all diagnoses, symptoms and procedures for claims processing. 

How does treatment work? What does a typical session look like?

An outpatient team consists of a dietitian, therapist, and primary care physician at minimum. Sessions are highly individualized and change from week to week depending on the needs, goals, behaviors, and journey of each client. Our dietitians are constantly assessing the needs, progress, safety, and next steps with their client’s short and long term goals in mind. 

An outpatient team works collaboratively to ensure clients get the best care for their recovery while staying in their day to day life. Clients in eating disorder recovery being treated on the outpatient level will typically visit with their dietitians 1-2x/week, therapist 1-2x/week, PCP monthly, and psychiatrist as needed.

I don’t live in Colorado, can we still work together?

Absolutely! We are passionate about making care accessible for you and offer telehealth services and online nutrition therapy when appropriate. We will meet via a HIPAA-compliant video conference platform and communicate between sessions using email. 

We provide nutrition counseling to clients from around the county. 

How much do sessions cost?

Side By Side Nutrition session rates for private pay clients are:

• $225 for the initial session and $170 for follow up sessions.

Insurance rates may vary from private pay rates depending on the insurance provider and your individual plan. We accept credit cards, debit cards, HSA, and FSA cards. 

We offer sliding scale spots open for those who qualify and are experiencing financial hardship.

Do you work with children and adolescents?

Dietitians at Side By Side Nutrition work with teens and adolescents ages around 9+ and up. With treating adolescents for an eating disorder, we typically use a modified family based treatment approach which involves treating the entire family. You can learn more about Family Based Treatment for eating disorders here.

How do I get started?

You can schedule directly online here!

You can also contact us to help you schedule via our contact form here.

If you have any questions about working with us or scheduling, feel free to contact us via email or phone: contact@sidebysidenutrition.com or call us at 708-717-7394.

What states do you work in?

We have offices in Colorado and WA but we see clients all over the United States! We can see clients virtually in Nevada, Kentucky, Minnesota, New York, Arizona, Wisconsin, Kansas, Missouri, Alabama, Illinois, Connecticut, California, Florida, Washington DC, Maryland, Oregon, Texas, New Hampshire, Utah, Virginia, Wyoming, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.

We are moving more virtual because our goal is to make nutrition counseling as accessible, affordable, and stress-free as possible. Appointments with your dietitian are rooted in conversation. We have found that exchanging information during nutrition counseling sessions is far more effective and less stressful when you aren’t rushing to get to our office or worried about getting stuck in traffic. Want to talk to your dietitian in your pjs? Feel free! We use HIPAA-compliant Zoom for all of our appointments so you can easily and comfortably connect from home, work or wherever you are, on any device you choose.

Do you have a cancellation policy?

Because many patients wait several weeks for an appointment and to protect our providers time, we must strictly adhere to a 48 hour cancellation/late change policy. This policy states that you must cancel your appointment at least 48 hours ahead if you need to make any changes to your appointment. Failing to respect this policy will incur the full session fee. We appreciate your understanding as all clients who wish to be seen sooner benefit from this policy. 

Why do you keep a credit card on file?

The main reason we do this is to encourage our clients to communicate promptly with us about changing or canceling an appointment (see “Do you have a cancellation policy?” above).  

What is body dysmorphia?

Body dysmorphic disorder, also known as BDD, is a mental health condition characterized by excessive preoccupation with perceived flaws in one's appearance. This condition can affect individuals of any gender identity, including male, female, transgender, or non-binary. While it often emerges during adolescence, BDD can persist into adulthood and can affect individuals at any stage of life.

What is Health at Every Size?

Health at Every Size™ is a compassionate care framework that recognizes and promotes body diversity and holistic health. We recognize a focus on intentional weight loss causes harm, does not improve health, and further invokes weight stigma and discrimination. We believe any person in any size body can pursue health and create positive behavior change that prioritizes their individual health desires.

What is intuitive eating?

Intuitive Eating is an approach to eating that incorporates building body trust, intuitive responses, emotional awareness, and listening to your body. It encourages self-compassion, curiosity, trust, and a gentle attitude towards food in order to cultivate and maintain a sustainable, healthy, and trusting relationship with food and body image.

What is the difference between a nutritionist and a Registered Dietitian?

In summary, all Registered Dietitians (RD or RDN) are qualified nutritionists, but not all nutritionists hold the Registered Dietitian Nutritionist credential. The term "nutritionist" is not regulated, allowing anyone to use it, which complicates distinguishing individuals with comprehensive nutrition education (e.g., CN or CNS) from those with minimal training such as weekend courses or self-study.

The Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RD or RDN) designation is nationally recognized and provides certain assurances. It indicates that the individual has met specific criteria, including obtaining at least a bachelor's degree in nutrition science, completing a supervised practice program of over 1200 hours, passing a national registration exam, and fulfilling extensive continuing education requirements for license renewal. Our dietitian nutritionists are also licensed in states where licensure is mandatory.

Other practitioners who may identify as nutritionists, such as health coaches, holistic nutritionists, nutrition therapy practitioners, and personal trainers with "nutrition certifications," may lack formal nutrition training. Consequently, their services are ineligible for insurance reimbursement nationwide because they are not recognized as nutrition experts.