Zimmerman has worked at Meadows for nearly a decade, specializing in young adults. Submitted photo
The Need for Disordered Eating Programs
The program didn’t emerge from a formal plan. It was built in response to a growing need, as research published by the American Medical Association shows that 22% of children and adolescents worldwide experience disordered eating.
“Let’s try to be courageous and try new things. We’ll see what works and maybe go outside our comfort zone,” said Ryan Zimmerman, Director of Adolescent Outpatient Services. That philosophy applies as much to his clinical team as to the teens they serve.
“I think more like an artist, so a set manual is not the way I would go,” he said.
Zimmerman has worked at Meadows for nearly a decade, specializing in young adults with substance use, trauma, anxiety, depression, and co-occurring disorders. Before that, though, his life looked very different. “My first career was tour musician, frontman of a hardcore band,” said Zimmerman. “The kind of Warped Tour scene, you know?”
Now, his creative spirit lives through his approach to adolescent care—and in his aesthetic. Concert tees, Converse, and tattooed arms match the laid-back energy of the clinic itself.
“If you show up someplace and it feels gross, or it feels cold or sterile, no one wants to be there, kid or not,” he said.
Teens Find Comfort and Connection
Rather, Meadows’ adolescent wing is designed for comfort and connection: a mindfulness room softly lit and scattered with beanbags, an art studio stocked with supplies, a brain center where galaxies swirl across the ceiling. It’s a place where adolescents can feel at ease as they work toward healing.
“It feels like a place my kid would be happy to be in,” Zimmerman said, echoing the comments he often hears from parents touring the space.
At its core, the program follows a stepped-care approach to help teens gradually build confidence and community. Patients begin in the Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP), spending their days in small, skills-based groups with individualized attention. As they gain confidence, they transition into the larger Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) in the evenings to practice and connect with a broader peer group.
Continuity of care
What makes the program particularly distinctive is its seamless continuity of care. Because it operates within an established Meadows facility, teens stay with the same clinical team across both PHP and IOP, avoiding the disruption of new staff or environments. That consistency is especially valuable for adolescents in maintaining trust and rapport.
Another hallmark of the program is its trauma-informed foundation, shared Dietitian and Life Coach Brittany Gill. At Meadows, disordered eating isn’t viewed in isolation—it’s understood as a coping mechanism linked to deeper struggles.
“There’s a reason why we’re acting out in these areas,” said Zimmerman. “Whether it’s OCD, substance use, trauma, those are going to be addressed.”
The team is also focused on incorporating more hands-on learning experiences to help adolescents build skills they can carry beyond treatment, Gill added.
“Our nutritional philosophy is very individualized,” she said, “which honors unique needs, and balances structure with flexibility.”
Sometimes that flexibility means serving familiar comfort foods; other times, it’s reintroducing a childhood-favorite cereal that’s become a source of fear.
Yet for Zimmerman, the true strength of the program isn’t its methods or its spaces—it’s the people.
“When I first was offered the position to open this up, I was like, ‘I hope there’s people that actually want to work with adolescents.’ And that has never been a problem,” he said.
Zimmerman describes his team as one that genuinely enjoys working with teens. “I’ll hear laughter in the hallway all the time,” he said.
Submitted photo
And when therapy dog Oakley comes trotting through—Zimmerman’s own family pet turned unofficial team member—that community feeling only grows.
“I’m so proud of this team,” Zimmerman said, “and I’m excited to see where we go as we keep growing.”
For more information visit https://www.themeadows.comor call 866-683-1597
