FAQs.
Healing from an eating disorder isn’t a quick fix—it’s a journey that asks for long-term, integrated support, structure and connection.
At Ianthe House, we provide compassionate, peer-supported communities designed for women navigating ED recovery while maintaining their independence, careers and personal lives.
About Ianthe House.
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⤷ Minimum 9–12 months of structured, sustained support to ensure real change.
📖 Why is such long-term support needed in ED recovery? Read more.
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⤷ No need to pause your career or personal life to recover.
📖 Discover our approach to accessible, integrated recovery at Ianthe House. Read The Journal.
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⤷ Combining lived experience with clinical expertise for holistic healing.
📖 Read about the power of peer support in ED recovery. Read The Journal.
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⤷ Providing structured support at a fraction of the cost of inpatient or outpatient programs.
📖 Discover how affordability issues leave many without access to care. Read The Journal.
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Ianthe House is a peer-supported recovery community offering long-term, structured support for women healing from eating disorders.
🔹 Flexible & individualised
⤷ choose from Recovery Circles, residential co-living, and therapist-led programs to shape your healing in a way that fits you.🔹 Not a traditional treatment program
⤷ instead of standardised, clinical models, we provide community-driven, deeply personal support rooted in both lived experience and evidence-based care.🔹 A bridge between treatment & real-world recovery
⤷ whether you’re transitioning from inpatient care or looking for long-term support, Ianthe House provides the structure, accountability, and community you need to sustain recovery.🌱 Healing doesn’t happen in isolation—it happens in connection.
📍 Find Your Place in Our Community. Learn More.
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Unlike most short-term treatment models, Ianthe House provides long-term, flexible support that works with your life—not against it.
🔹 More than symptom management
⤷ traditional programs often focus on symptom control. We focus on deep, sustainable healing that lasts.
🔹 Peer-led, not just clinician-directed
⤷ community-driven recovery ensures you’re supported by people who truly understand.
🔹 Long-term engagement
⤷ research shows relapse rates drop significantly when structured support lasts beyond the first year of recovery.
🔹 Cost-effective & accessible – a full year of support costs less than two weeks of traditional outpatient care.🌱 Sustained healing requires sustained support. We’re here for the long haul.
📍 Discover Our Unique Approach. Learn More.
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Ianthe House is designed for high-functioning women who want to recover without stepping away from their careers, relationships, or responsibilities.
🔸 You’re committed to long-term recovery.
🔸You’re managing work, family, or personal commitments & need flexible support.
🔸 You’re transitioning from a higher level of care & need ongoing structure to sustain your healing.
🔸 You want a deeply supportive, stigma-free environment with others who truly understand your experience.🎼 If this resonates, Ianthe House may be the right next step for you.
What Results Can I Expect?
Our approach is proven to create real, measurable change. In our Recovery Circle pilot, within just six weeks participants saw:
🔹 36% reduction in ED symptoms.
🔹 42% increase in wellbeing & quality of life.
🔹 31% increase in social support-seeking.
🔹 52% improvement in financial health, saving an average of £375 monthly.
💡 When long-term support is accessible, recovery becomes sustainable.
❣️ Dive into ED recovery stories from some of the wonderful women we support.
What are Recovery Circles, and how do they work?
Recovery Circles are therapist-led, long-term peer support groups designed to bridge the gap between treatment and sustainable recovery.
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⤷ ensuring accountability, connection, and deep emotional healing.
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⤷ fostering safety, trust, and consistency over 9–12 months.
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⤷ Recovery Circles provide peer-supported structure, with weekly, practitioner-led group therapy and coaching.
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⤷ All our Recovery Circles have their own unique character and qualities.
💡 Whatever your needs and preferences — whether you struggle with binge eating (BED), bulimia, EDNOS, or atypical anorexia, are early career or midlife and beyond, or prefer to prioritise in person connection as well as remote — you will find a Circle for you.
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Eating disorder support group for professional women aged 25-40 in London.
⤷ 🦋 Meet Daphne’s Circle.
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An eating disorder help group for women in midlife and beyond.
⤷ 🌾 meet Hera’s Circle.
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Online peer-support group for binge eating disorder (BED).
⤷ 🕊️ meet Gaia’s Circle.
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Long-term recovery support shouldn’t come at an impossible cost.
Traditional residential treatment: £30,000+ per month
Outpatient therapy: £12,000+ per month
Recovery Circles: Offer weekly practitioner-led group therapy + 1:1 mentorship and daily support for a fraction of the cost
💡 A full year of Recovery Circles costs the same as just two weeks of outpatient treatment—making sustainable recovery accessible.
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Small, Curated Groups for Deep Connection – Carefully matched (4–6 members) for trust, understanding, and shared recovery goals.
Therapist-Led for Expert Guidance – Facilitated by a qualified therapist with lived experience, ensuring both clinical expertise and peer connection.
Long-Term Commitment for Lasting Change – Research shows relapse risk decreases significantly with support beyond the first year of recovery.
Integrated Daily Support – Unlike traditional groups, Circles provide WhatsApp check-ins, reflections, and ongoing peer accountability.
💡 You deserve support that is professional, personal, and built to last.
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Absolutely. Recovery Circles are designed to fit into your real life.
Sessions are structured yet flexible, allowing you to balance recovery with your responsibilities.
Meet once a week for 90 minutes—no need to take time off work or pause your career.
Daily WhatsApp support provides ongoing reinforcement between sessions.
💡 You don’t have to choose between recovery and your life—you can have both.
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A minimum of 3 months, with most members committing to a years shared recovery journey—ensuring deep, lasting change.
Research shows that structured peer support reduces relapse rates by 400% when sustained beyond the first year of recovery.
You are never ‘locked in’, but commitment builds trust, accountability, and personal transformation, with meaningful discounts available for longer commitment.
💡 True healing takes time. Here, you have the time and support to make it last.
📍 Risk of relapse reduces significantly with 9 months + of recovery support and relapse prevention.
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Who benefits most from a Recovery Circle?
You are fully committed to long-term recovery.
You want a safe space to process your recovery journey.
You are actively working with a therapist or outpatient provider.
You need structured, ongoing support after inpatient, IOP, or residential treatment.
You are looking for a recovery support system—beyond what friends or family can provide.
You value giving and receiving support in a mutually healing space.
You are ready to take ownership of your recovery and deepen your self-awareness, resilience, and accountability.
💡 If this resonates, a Recovery Circle may be exactly what you need.
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You require immediate crisis care or urgent stabilisation.
You are unable to commit to weekly sessions for at least 9 months.
You are not currently working with a therapist or mental health provider.
You require a higher level of medical or clinical supervision.
💡 Not sure if a Recovery Circle is the right level of support? Let’s talk.
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What does membership include?
🔹 Weekly 90-minute therapist-led group sessions
Explore emotional regulation, self-compassion, identity, and relapse prevention.
🔹 Daily personalised WhatsApp support
Daily, co-created personal affirmations, reflections, reminders and check-ins designed specially for you by your recovery mentor.
Your dedicated recovery mentor is in your pocket to chat whenever you need.
🔹 Private Online Community Access
Exclusive recovery resources, peer connection, and guided reflections.
🔹 Structured yet flexible support
A therapeutic framework that adapts to your changing needs and real-time challenges.
🔹 Long-term recovery planning
Beyond symptom management—Circles support deep healing and sustained wellbeing in 4 curated quarterly phases that evolve throughout the year as your recovery progresses and integrates.
💡 More than a support group—this is a transformative recovery experience.
How Do I Join a Recovery Circle?
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🔹 Each of our beautiful Circles have a unique theme, whether London-based for those who value in-person socialising in addition to online connection, curated groups for women of different life stages, young professionals or midlife and beyond, or ED specific groups such as binge eating disorder (BED).
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🔹 Complete a short application to join the waiting list for a new or existing Circle. Take our Recovery Circle Readiness Quiz to assess your readiness to join a Circle, and prioritise your application with our team.
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🔹 We carefully curate Circles based on preferences, shared experiences, goals and recovery stage.
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🔹 Receive your welcome pack, access to our online hub and meet your Circle before your first session.
—You Deserve Long-Term Support.
Your recovery deserves more than short-term fixes. With expert guidance, deep connection, and daily reinforcement, Recovery Circles provide the structure and support you need to thrive.
💡 Still have questions? We’re here for you. Whenever you’re ready.
What are Ianthe Houses, and how do they work?
Ianthe House is a network of peer-supported recovery homes designed for women in eating disorder recovery who want to integrate healing into daily life.
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🔸 Each house is managed collaboratively by its members with support from our team and therapeutic oversight.
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🔸 Designed to provide structure, emotional and therapeutic support and practical barriers to eating disorder behaviours at home.
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🔸 Ianthe House residency does not replace therapy but enhances it by offering a community of peer-support, accountability and shared strength and connection at home, whilst working remotely with our lived-experience team, expert practitioners and therapy partners, together with your Recovery Circle.
💡 Healing happens in real life—not just in therapy.
📖 Read more about recovery co-living with Ianthe Houses.
📍 Go house hunting.
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Eating disorder recovery can be expensive, but we provide an accessible, sustainable alternative:
Traditional residential treatment can cost upwards of £30,000 per month.
Ianthe Houses cost no more than renting alone—with the added benefit of structure, support, and a built-in recovery community.
A fraction of the cost of inpatient or intensive outpatient care, while serving as a powerful step-down or transition option.
💡 Long-term recovery shouldn’t be out of reach.
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Unlike clinical or inpatient programs, Ianthe House is:
Peer-led, not clinically supervised – you set the direction of your recovery, alongside housemates who are equally committed.
Flexible & integrated with your life – you don’t have to press ‘pause’ on work, relationships, or personal goals to recover.
Focused on long-term healing – our long-term, rolling tenancies allow for deep, sustainable change beyond a short-term treatment cycle.
💡 You are not a patient in an Ianthe House—you are an equal, a peer and a partner in your own recovery together with your housemates and your Recovery Circle.
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Do I have control over my own recovery?
Yes. Autonomy and agency are core to Ianthe House. Whilst we provide house rules and guidelines, as well as 1:1 mentorship and weekly therapeutic touch points:
Each house is democratically run—you and your housemates co-create your living environment and experience.
No ‘top-down’ authority—you are in charge of your own recovery, with therapeutic oversight, lived-experience guidance and support.
Accountability through community—not through control or strict rules.
💡 Your recovery is yours to shape. We are here to support—not dictate—your journey.
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Yes! Ianthe Houses are designed for real-life recovery.
Flexible living model—continue working, studying, or managing personal commitments while receiving daily support.
Recovery isn’t a pause button—our homes provide the structure to protect your wellbeing without removing you from life.
Balance purpose with healing—nurture your recovery while staying connected to your career, relationships, and passions.
💡 You don’t have to choose between your future and your recovery. You can have both.
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What is the minimum commitment for living at Ianthe House?
Whilst we sometimes run shorter term retreats, Ianthe House memberships are provided through standard assured short-hold tenancies (AST licenses) of 12 months in order to:
Ensure enough time for meaningful recovery—relapse rates are as high as 40% in the first year, but reduce significantly after 12 months of supported recovery and relapse prevention.
Create a stable, consistent community for you and your housemates.
Offer long-term security—you can stay as long as you need, with the option to transition into a mentor or leadership role within the community once graduating from your Recovery Circle program.
💡 Sustainable recovery takes time. Ianthe House is your home for as long as you need, and a community where you will always belong.
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Our homes look and feel like any other house in the neighbourhood—there is no external signage or indication that this is an Ianthe House.
The location of each house is protected for privacy and safety.
Your tenancy is completely confidential—you choose if, when, and to whom you share your recovery journey.
💡 You can heal safely, without fear of exposure.
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Yes. Active participation in ongoing therapy is a condition of membership.
Weekly group therapy sessions with your housemates in a Recovery Circle.
Individual therapy (flexible frequency) tailored to your needs.
Recovery Circle graduates may transition to less frequent therapy, in discussion with their support team.
Graduates have the option to become a Circle mentor or explore other professional roles within Ianthe House. All Ianthe House team members receive regular therapeutic supervision and EFT sessions as a benefit for safeguarding and continued personal growth.
💡 Peer support enhances therapy, but it does not replace it.
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What personal development resources will I have access to?
Exclusive access to our private online community for ongoing emotional support.
A library of recovery & wellbeing resources to help you reconnect with your identity, purpose, and self-worth.
Discounted access to therapy, coaching, wellness, and nutritional services through our trusted practitioners partners and therapists.
💡 Real recovery goes beyond just ‘getting better’—it means reconnecting with your authentic self, building a life that you love, aligned with your purpose, full of peace, joy and personal meaning.
📖 Purpose and meaning — the North Star of eating disorder recovery.
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Yes! Many of our members are ambitious, impact focused women balancing recovery with personal and professional growth.
Within our online community, we host social events, networking opportunities and resources focused on:Financial empowerment
Conscious leadership
Career advancement & work-life balance
💡 Healing and success are not mutually exclusive—you can thrive in both.
📖 Discover the truth about eating disorders in high functioning, adult women.
📖 Read about eating disorders in the work place and how to manage your recovery at work. -
Women aged 25+ who are fully committed to recovery.
Those transitioning from inpatient, outpatient, or residential care looking for structured, step-down support at home.
Women who lack a supportive recovery environment at home.
Those who value peer support, autonomy, and shared responsibility in recovery.
Individuals who respect psychological safety, confidentiality and the community dynamic.
📋 Take our quiz to see if you might be ready to share your recovery journey.
📍 Apply for an Ianthe House today. -
When might Ianthe House not be the right option?
If you require a higher level of clinical or medical care than peer-supported living can provide.
If you are not under the care of a mental health professional.
If you have recently experienced a period of critical health risk—we may need to work with your therapist to assess readiness.
If you are unable to commit to the house’s confidentiality and psychological safety agreements.
💡 Not sure if Ianthe House is right for you yet? Let’s talk through it together.
A Holistic, Trauma-Informed Approach to Deep Healing
At Ianthe House, we know true recovery requires more than symptom management—it’s about healing at the root. Our person-centered, trauma-informed approach empowers you to reconnect with your body, process emotional wounds, and create lasting, sustainable change.
We integrate leading-edge therapies, lived experience, and continuous daily support to help you heal on your terms, in the way that feels right for you.
What therapies does Ianthe House use, and how do they work?
We offer a highly personalised, multi-modal approach designed to address both the emotional and somatic aspects of recovery. Our therapies include:
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⤷ Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) helps process deep emotional triggers, rewire patterns and pathways, and develop self-compassion.
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⤷ Uncovers unconscious patterns, fostering insight, emotional healing and secure relational bonds.
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⤷ Choose from expert-led individual therapy, coaching and nutritional sessions tailored to your needs.
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⤷ Trauma is stored in the body, and we offer a number of somatic approaches that help release and process trapped negative emotions.
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⤷ to process trauma at its root.
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⤷ for nervous system regulation and emotional expression.
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⤷ for deep relaxation, mindfulness and mind-body balance.
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⤷ Eating disorders often co-occur with ADHD. We provide specialist assessments, therapeutic and practical strategies, post-diagnosis care and integration support.
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⤷ Offered in conjunction with somatic therapies like EMDR or music therapy, this innovative approach facilitates deep trauma resolution, cognitive shifts, and nervous system healing.
💡 Recovery is not one-size-fits-all. Your healing is yours to shape. You choose your therapeutic approach, your practitioner and your pace.
Why does Ianthe House emphasise daily support messages?
Healing doesn’t just happen in therapy sessions. The moments between them matter just as much.
At Ianthe House, daily support messages are an integral part of your care. Unlike generic affirmations, these messages are co-created with you and tailored to your unique needs:
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⤷ whether it’s mornings, mealtimes or at late-night; before important meetings, preparing for a night out, or that afternoon slump when you need a lift.
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⤷ Personalised affirmations, reminders, inspiring quotes and encouragement that are deeply personally meaningful to you.
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⤷ via WhatsApp—so when you need to talk, we’re right there with you.
💡 Real recovery happens in the everyday moments. These messages help keep you grounded, supported, and connected—even on the hardest days. Ready to meet your mentor?
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Yes. Sustainable change isn’t about willpower—it’s about insight, compassion, structure, support, and the right therapeutic tools for the time it takes to build new, positive habits.
Long-term healing
⤷ studies show that recovery outcomes improve significantly with ongoing, structured support beyond 9–12 months.Somatic healing for lasting change
⤷ many behaviours are driven by unprocessed trauma stored in the body. Our focus on somatic therapies and nervous system regulation helps break deep-seated cycles.Built-in accountability & reinforcement
⤷ with peer-supported Recovery Circles, expert therapeutic support, lived experience mentorship and daily tools and resources, small changes become lasting habits.
💡 Healing is possible—you’re never alone in your journey.
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Unlike traditional models, which often focus on symptom management, we take a whole-person, long-term approach that is:
Trauma-informed & lived experience-led
⤷ our team and many of our practitioners have walked this path themselves. We lead with compassion and understanding, not judgment.Freedom of choice in your recovery journey
⤷ you choose the therapy that resonates with you, the practitioner you trust, and the pace that feels right.Somatic & neuroscience-backed approaches
⤷ we go beyond talk therapy to heal at the nervous system level, where lasting change happens.Continuous daily support, not just sessions
⤷ your recovery mentor has your back, ready to respond when you need.Integration with psychedelic therapy
⤷ offering ketamine-assisted therapy combined with EMDR through our partners at The Burlington Clinic—a pioneering approach to deep healing.
💡 We don’t just help you with symptoms—we support you in healing deeply, reclaiming your body, and building a life beyond your eating disorder.
Will your program disrupt my career or personal life?
No. Our programs are designed to fit around you—without requiring you to put your life on hold.
🔹 Flexible scheduling means you can balance work, family, and recovery.
🔹 Remote Recovery Circles allow you to engage from anywhere.
🔹 Ianthe Houses support independence with a supportive recovery container at home.
💡 Recovery should work for you—not against you.
📍 Explore your flexible recovery options.
Why do I keep relapsing in eating disorder recovery? How will Ianthe House break this cycle?
Studies show that 40% of individuals relapse within a year of treatment. Recovery requires consistent, long-term support, through and beyond the window of highest risk of relapse.
At Ianthe House, we break this cycle by offering:
🔹 A long-term support system & shared recovery journey.
🔹 Therapist-led, peer-supported Recovery Circles providing weekly accountability.
🔹 Daily support tools & relapse prevention strategies to sustain progress.
💡 Recovery doesn’t have to feel like fear and struggle—it can be an enriching experience of connection, belonging, and personal growth that extends far beyond ED recovery.
📍 Explore the recovery experiences of some of the wonderful women we support.
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Recovery isn’t about 'getting it right'—it’s about continually showing up, even when it’s hard. At Ianthe House, setbacks aren’t signs of failure; they’re opportunities for deeper support. We provide:
🔹 Flexible, individualised pacing—you don’t have to 'keep up' with anyone
🔹A nonjudgmental, supportive space where shame is replaced with self-compassion
🔹Tools to navigate tough moments—so you don’t have to go through them alone💡 You don’t have to do this perfectly. You just have to show up, to stay connected.
📍 Read Becki’s story — from struggle to strength. -
Absolutely. Our groups are intentionally small, carefully curated for connection, compatibility and shared life experience.
Therapist-led, peer-supported groups ensure safety and trust.
Each Circle is carefully designed for compatibility and group dynamic.
All members are assessed for eligibility across physical and mental health, commitment to recovery, confidentiality and mutual support.
Dedicated circles for women at different life stages, different diagnoses and preferences for location.
⤷ 🦋 Meet Daphne’s Circle — eating disorder support group for professional women aged 25-40 in London.
⤷ 🌾 meet Hera’s Circle — an eating disorder help group for women in midlife and beyond.
⤷ 🕊️ meet Gaia’s Circle — online peer-support group for binge eating disorder (BED).
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80% of people with eating disorders experience stigma, and many avoid treatment because of it.
At Ianthe House, stigma has no place.
No labels, no judgment—you’re a person, not a diagnosis.
You choose what and when to share—no pressure, ever.
Our community actively dismantles stigma from within by normalising the complexities of recovery.
Commitment to confidentiality is a requirement for all Recovery Circles and Ianthe House members, as well of course, as our team and practitioners.
💡 Healing happens where you feel safe to be vulnerable.
📄 Read our privacy policy. -
Sadly, 66% of people with eating disorders report feeling dismissed or misunderstood by professionals. We hear this all the time—and we do things differently.
Led by experts who deeply understand eating disorders.
Many of our facilitators have lived experience—so you won’t just be ‘studied’ from the outside.
You are never talked down to, dismissed, or rushed.
💡 Get support from people who truly understand.
📚 Read about our person-centred, trauma-informed, lived-experience led approach. -
If past experiences have made it hard to trust, we understand. Many of our members have felt unheard, judged or dismissed before.
That’s why we:
Create structured yet flexible spaces where trust builds gradually.
Prioritise safety and consistency—you’re never pushed beyond what feels right.
Use a peer-supported model backed by research, proven to rebuild interpersonal trust in a way traditional therapy often can’t achieve.
💡 You don’t have to trust us immediately—just take the first step to get to know us.
💌 WhatsApp Antonia for a friendly chat
📞 Schedule a call to speak on the phone -
Yes. Eating disorders aren’t just about food—they’re coping mechanisms for something deeper. If you only address symptoms, you risk relapse. That’s why we focus on whole-person healing.
We help you understand the emotional roots of your struggles and meet them with compassion.
We teach emotional regulation tools to replace harmful coping strategies.
We support long-term, integrated healing, prioritising your wellbeing first and foremost.
💡 Real healing means getting to the core. Much more than just recovery awaits on the other side of this process.
📖 Discover what lies beyond eating disorder recovery.
How do I begin my journey with Ianthe House?
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⤷ Complete a short application to join the waiting list for one of our programs, whether a Recovery Circle, and/or an Ianthe House.
📍 Start your Recovery Circle application today.
📍 Apply for membership at an Ianthe House. -
⤷ We carefully curate Circles and House placements based on shared experiences, preferences, needs goals, and recovery stage.
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Meet your recovery mentor, receive your welcome pack, access our online hub and meet your Circle or House community before your first session.
💡 Still have questions? We’re here for you. Whenever you’re ready.
💌 Send us a WhatsApp
📞 Arrange a call
📚 Explore our case studies
