Inside Accord: What to Expect from Immersive Metabolic Psychiatry Treatment

Inside Accord: What to Expect from Immersive Metabolic Psychiatry Treatment

Are you a client who struggles to maintain meaningful structure, relationships, or hope within the traditional mental health-care system? A family member who feels stuck or unsure of how to help a loved one move forward? Or perhaps you’re a provider who has a client who needs an intensive program in an immersive environment that will improve their metabolic and mental health and create sustainable, healthy habits—and you recognize that you cannot personally provide such care on an outpatient basis? Whomever you are, Accord is here to help.

“At Accord, we utilize a comprehensive multidisciplinary-care team within a small, supportive environment in order to implement metabolic therapies as an alternative to or adjunct intervention for mental health care,” says Accord Program Director Sophie Kwass, LICSW. Five to seven clients at a time typically reside at the Accord program for one to three months, explains Kwass, and “as they start feeling better, motivation and hope develop.”

Indeed, there is no room for negativity or darkness at Accord, where an open floor plan full of bright and cheery colors provides what Kwass calls “a homelike environment that fosters a comfortable milieu.” A calming, holistic approach grounded in science is employed to improve metabolic and mental health. “Accord staff is there to support, coach, educate, and guide clients through individualized nutrition and exercise, as well as mentor and monitor everything from circadian-rhythm alignment, mindfulness, and how to avoid metabolic disruptors,” says Kwass. A weekly support and psychoeducation group is also offered for family members, while consultations about metabolic therapy are offered for providers in order to help foster sustainability and long-term success.

As for Accord’s all-important clients, “Our interdisciplinary team engages with each client each week through both individual and group sessions,” explains Kwass. There is a program director (i.e., Kwass) who supports clients from preadmission to discharge, oversees their care, and provides supportive check-ins and case-management services. A dietitian who works with each client to create individualized meal plans with measured macros to meet nutritional and mental health goals and fuel their body. A nurse who oversees each client’s medical needs in combination with a psychiatrist with expertise in prescribing and deprescribing psychiatric medications based on each individual’s preferences and needs. Program coaches who are there weekends and evenings to facilitate groups and help each client implement their individualized treatment plan. A personal trainer who works with each client to create an exercise/movement plan that encompasses cardio, resistance training, and mobility work. And, of course, a chef who prepares delicious ketogenic meals incorporating each client’s uniquely crafted macro plan. “Our clients also engage in daily cooking lessons and are always welcome to be a part of meal creations,” says Kwass. “We want to make using ketogenic therapy sustainable and enjoyable. If there are foods clients miss, Chef Katrina Vazquez will surely find a way to create a keto version with them.”