Compassionate and Comprehensive Support Without Putting Your Life on Hold
Bariatric Counseling Center’s Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) in San Antonio provides structured, comprehensive treatment for eating disorders — with the flexibility to maintain your work, school, and family commitments.
What Is an Intensive Outpatient Program?
An Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) provides a higher level of care than weekly therapy sessions, but without requiring residential or inpatient treatment. It is designed for people who need structured, consistent support to address eating disorder behaviors while continuing to live at home and maintain daily responsibilities. Our program serves individuals dealing with binge eating, emotional overeaters working to break long-standing patterns, and those recovering from other disordered eating behaviors.
BCC’s eating disorder IOP in San Antonio is accredited with Joint Commission’s Gold Seal — a distinction that recognizes our commitment to quality care and evidence-based treatment standards.
What Our IOP Includes
Our IOP is not a single-track program. Each session integrates multiple therapeutic components, so you build skills across several areas simultaneously. Learn more about the full details of our IOP structure.
Behavioral Health Therapy
Group and individual therapy sessions led by licensed therapists who specialize in eating disorders, emotional eating, binge eating, and the psychological factors underlying disordered relationships with food.
Nutrition Counseling
Our registered dietitians work with you to rebuild a healthy, non-restrictive relationship with food. Sessions focus on understanding your body’s needs, identifying eating patterns, and developing sustainable nutrition habits.
Cooking Classes
Hands-on cooking education helps you develop practical kitchen skills and a more positive relationship with food preparation. This experiential component bridges the gap between nutrition knowledge and real-world application.
Movement Programming
Gentle, body-positive movement sessions help you develop a healthier relationship with physical activity — focused on enjoyment, not punishment or calorie burning.
Schedule and Flexibility
Most clients attend 2-3 sessions per week, with approximately 30 sessions recommended for lasting change. We offer both morning and evening options to accommodate work and family schedules.
Our IOP is available in-person at our San Antonio location and virtually throughout Texas. The virtual option provides the same comprehensive programming — therapy, nutrition counseling, cooking demonstrations, and movement — from the convenience of your home.
Who Benefits from IOP?
Our eating disorder IOP in San Antonio is designed for adults who are living with binge eating disorder, compulsive overeating, food addiction, emotional eating that significantly impacts daily life, or disordered eating patterns that have not responded to traditional outpatient therapy alone. It is also an appropriate step-down for people transitioning from higher levels of care.
IOP vs. Inpatient Treatment
Unlike inpatient or residential programs, our IOP allows you to continue living at home and maintaining your daily responsibilities. You receive structured, intensive support during sessions, then practice the skills you are building in your real-world environment. This makes the transition to independent recovery smoother and the skills more durable.
Learn More About Our IOP
Contact us to discuss whether our Intensive Outpatient Program in San Antonio is the right fit for your needs.
Bariatric Counseling Center — San Antonio Location
9618 Huebner Road, Suite 320
San Antonio, TX 78240
Phone: (210) 634-2200
In-person IOP in San Antonio and virtual IOP available throughout Texas. Gold Seal accredited. Most major insurance plans accepted.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is an IOP different from inpatient treatment?
An intensive outpatient program (IOP) provides structured therapeutic support 2-3 times per week while allowing you to live at home and maintain work, school, or family responsibilities. Inpatient treatment provides 24-hour supervision for people in medical crisis. Our IOP is designed for people who are medically stable and motivated to engage in outpatient treatment.
How long does the eating disorder IOP last?
Our IOP typically spans 8 to 12 weeks with approximately 30 sessions recommended. Your clinical team will work with you to determine the right timeline based on your progress and needs.
Can I attend the IOP virtually?
Yes. We offer both in-person and virtual participation. You can attend sessions at our San Antonio location, join virtually, or mix both options depending on your schedule. Residents anywhere in Texas can participate fully online.
Do I need a diagnosis to participate in the eating disorder IOP?
A formal diagnosis is not required to begin the conversation. During your initial assessment, our clinical team will evaluate your situation and determine the best level of care. If an IOP is the right fit, we will work with you to begin treatment.
IOP Schedule Tracks
BCC’s program runs approximately 30 sessions over three months, across three schedule tracks designed to fit working adults:
- Morning: Tuesday–Friday, 11:00 AM–2:00 PM
- Evening: Monday–Thursday, 5:30–8:30 PM
- Saturday: 10:00 AM–1:00 PM
The Therapies at the Core of Our IOP
BCC’s multidisciplinary team includes licensed clinical psychologists, LPCs, registered dietitians, a registered nurse, and a professional chef — all working within a single integrated program.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): The evidence base for DBT in binge eating disorder is among the strongest in the field. DBT builds distress tolerance — the ability to experience difficult emotions and cravings without acting on them — and emotion regulation skills that interrupt the binge-shame cycle at its source.
CBT for Eating Disorders (CBT-E): The enhanced cognitive behavioral model for eating disorders. CBT-E directly targets the overvaluation of shape and weight, the dietary restriction-binge cycle, and the cognitive patterns that maintain disordered eating.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): Supports patients in moving toward valued living even when eating-related thoughts and urges are present — particularly effective for patients who have spent years fighting food thoughts with suppression.
Radically Open DBT (RO-DBT): Available for patients with over-controlled patterns — perfectionism, rigidity, emotional masking — that often co-occur with binge eating in ways standard DBT was not designed to address.
For Patients with Bariatric Surgery History or GLP-1 Medications
BCC operates at the intersection of eating disorders and weight — an area most eating disorder programs actively avoid. Patients at BCC often have a bariatric surgery history, are on GLP-1 medications, or are managing the health and emotional consequences of long-term binge eating. This is our clinical specialty, and our program was built for it.
Insurance We Accept
BCC accepts Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare, Tricare, Humana, UMR, Carelon, Oscar, Imagine Health, Sana, MultiPlan, Meritain Health, ComPsych, Curative, 90 Degree Benefits, Healthcare Highways, and CareCredit. If your insurance requires authorization or an appeal for IOP services, BCC manages that process at no cost to you.