The posting
Weekly outpatient therapy isn't always enough, and a trip to the ER isn't the only answer. Patients and their families rely on Compass Health Center when in crisis – every day, we help people overcome depression, anxiety, suicidality, obsessions/compulsions, trauma, chronic pain, and other obstacles in order for our patients to live freely.
About This Role
As a Registered Dietitian in the Eating Disorders Program, you’ll provide nutrition therapy and support to patients whose relationship with food is the primary target of treatment. You’ll meet with patients individually, facilitate clinical nutrition groups, and provide direct support during meals and snacks. You’ll partner closely with Primary Therapists, Group Therapists, Family Therapists, and Psychiatry Team Members to ensure comprehensive and compassionate care. Reports to the Associate Director of the Eating Disorders Program, with a dotted line clinically to the Director of the Eating Disorders Program, who oversees all clinical aspects of the program.
This role is an onsite role at our Northbrook location working within our Adult (ages 18+) Eating Disorders Program. At times, this role will include virtually supporting our other locations, as well as our Adolescent Programming as indicated.
What You'll Do:
Nutrition Assessment and Care Planning
- Complete nutrition assessments at admission, including all aspects of nutrition care process—diagnosis, intervention, monitoring, and evaluation planning
- Develop individualized meal plans that support nutritional rehabilitation and progressive exposure to avoided and feared foods
- Establish and revise individually determined, biologically appropriate weight ranges in collaboration with the treatment team
- Collaborate with nursing and prescribers to assess and monitor ongoing medical status, including weights, vital signs, and lab values, and adjust nutrition interventions accordingly
- Revise the nutrition plan as intake, medical status, and treatment targets change
Individual Nutrition Sessions
- Meet with patients individually to review intake, adjust the meal plan, and set nutrition-related treatment targets
- Address food rules, ritualized eating, compensatory behaviors, and avoidance directly
- Support provision of nutrition interventions, including structured food exposure planning
- Address exercise, movement, and compensatory activity in collaboration with the treatment team
- Prepare patients for independent eating at step-down and discharge, including grocery preparation and restaurant planning
Group Facilitation and Eating Support
- Facilitate clinical nutrition groups within the program curriculum
- Facilitate applied nutrition groups, including in vivo food-based interventions
- Provide required coverage during supported meals and snacks
- Coach patients through meal completion, distress, and post-meal urges
- Communicate intake and behavioral observations to the treatment team
Care Coordination
- Partner with the other members of the treatment team to align nutrition targets with the case formulation and treatment targets
- Contribute nutrition and medical observations during interdisciplinary rounds
- Serve as the program’s resource on nutrition status and needs for prescribers, nursing, and clinical staff
- Provide nutrition education to families and support people in partnership with the Family Therapist
- Coordinate with outpatient dietitians and medical providers through nutrition aftercare handoff
- Contribute nutrition documentation supporting initial and continued insurance authorization
Program Operations
- Participate in required program training, fidelity monitoring, supervision, and consultation
- Complete required documentation throughout treatment
- Contribute to development of program nutrition standards, meal structure, curriculum development and revision, and food sourcing practices
- Other duties, as assigned
Who You Are:
Credentials and Experience
- Master’s degree in dietetics or related field, or bachelor’s degree if licensed prior to 2024 (required)
- Registered Dietitian credentialed through the Commission on Dietetic Registration (required)
- State licensure or certification as required for practice
- 2+ years of experience as a Registered Dietitian, with experience in eating disorder treatment (required)
- Experience in PHP, IOP, residential, or inpatient setting (preferred)
Skills and Approach (preferred)
- Practices from a weight-inclusive framework
- Adopts an "all foods fit" approach toward clinical nutrition
- Comfortable providing nutrition care in a behavioral treatment context, where the meal plan is an exposure rather than only a prescription
- Able to hold the meal plan under patient distress without negotiating, accommodating, or reassuring
- Recognizes how co-occurring OCD, trauma, and mood symptoms present around food, and adjusts approach accordingly
- Comfortable with medical acuity and with escalating medical concerns promptly
- Works within a defined curriculum and fidelity expectations rather than an idiosyncratic model
- Practices as an independent clinical discipline and collaborates with therapists as peers
- Seeks and uses supervision and consultation
We know job descriptions can be intimidating, so if this sounds like an opportunity for you, please don't hesitate to apply!
Who We Are
Compass Health Center is a recognized leader in crisis-level mental health, bringing passion, connection, and patient-centered care to the Partial Hospitalization and Intensive Outpatient space (PHP/IOP). Based in Chicagoland, we serve hundreds of patients every day, ranging from ages 5 through adulthood, in our onsite facilities or through our flourishing virtual programming. Compass fills a critical gap between outpatient and inpatient care through an intermediate level of Behavioral Healthcare.
A few more things we want you to know: our values are super important to us, and hopefully will be to you, too. Cultural humility, teamwork, continuous improvement, connection, patient centered care, passion, innovation, and agility should be your power sources. Joining Compass is an opportunity to feel fulfilled through a joint mission towards healing our communities.
Benefits & Perks
We know that you will be dedicated to your purpose here. We look at that investment as a two-way street. We are proud to offer plenty of space for growth, and opportunities to pursue continuous development within our organization.
For eligible positions, our other benefits include: comprehensive medical/dental/vision plans, 401k program with company matching, generous PTO (including competitive parental leave after 1 year of employment), and continuous training through CEU seminars and volunteering opportunities.
What’s Next?
Compass is committed to cultivating diverse and dynamic teams who exude passion for their craft, so whether or not you check all the boxes, we encourage you to apply – we’d be grateful to hear from you!
