Announcing New Leadership for Alsana® Eating Disorder Treatment Programs in St. Louis, MO

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Mar 28, 2022, 08:40 ET

Rebekah Freese, MSW, LCSW, Ph.D., an accomplished leader in the eating disorders and behavioral health treatment field, has been named Senior Regional Executive Director, overseeing Residential and PHP/IOP Programs in the greater St. Louis, MO area.

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., March 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Rebekah Freese, MSW, LCSW, Ph.D., has joined Alsana, an eating recovery community and treatment provider, as Sr. Regional Executive Director. She leads Alsana's multidisciplinary eating disorder treatment teams for Residential and PHP/IOP programs in Pacific, Ballwin, and Fenton, Missouri.

Freese joins the team during a time when expanding access to eating disorder care has never been more crucial. She brings more than two decades of professional mental health care experience, service, and innovation, demonstrating a deep passion for helping clients cultivate balance and self-compassion in their lives.

"My hope for clients is that they find their true authentic self by leaning into the discomfort and vulnerability of the recovery process enough to replace harmful belief systems with beliefs rooted in self-compassion."

With extensive training in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), and Prolonged Exposure (PE) (to name only some of her qualifications), Freese's expertise will enrich all Alsana programs in the state of Missouri.

To say that Freese values community service and volunteerism would be a gross understatement. She is driven, compassionate, and selfless in her approach to client care. These traits are also apparent throughout years of tireless service to causes that include mental health advocacy, hunger relief, social justice, eating disorders education, and volunteerism throughout her community.

"The importance of being of service is something I learned from my parents growing up," Freese said, acknowledging the selfless service and community activism that were second nature in her childhood home. "It's just who I am. I'm just not the kind of person who can see a problem and not try to help find a solution."

Freese recalls joining her parents in their volunteer efforts and has been cultivating a servant's heart ever since. In Columbia, MO, Freese found opportunities to share her time and talent to better the lives of at-risk youth. She served as a board member and helped develop programs for a local group that provides transitional living opportunities for high school students facing housing insecurity. And in 2014, she co-founded and served as Clinical Director for a free behavioral mental health clinic, which still provides counseling, casework, and other resources for members of underserved communities in Missouri.

Freese's inclination towards service also benefits various eating disorders outreach efforts. She is a current board member of and serves as President for the Missouri Eating Disorders Association (MOEDA) and sits on the Missouri Eating Disorder Council for the State of Missouri. Another point of pride is Freese's work as an expert practitioner for Show-Me ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes). ECHO is a state-funded telehealth project operated by the Missouri Telehealth Network at the University of Missouri School of Medicine.

"One of the first of its kind, ECHO is an urgently needed resource," Freese said. "It connects an interdisciplinary team of eating disorder experts with other providers in the community to advanced skills and best practices."

In 2022, Freese is eager to welcome more clients into the St. Louis programs and develop compassionate servant leaders within her team. "I'm also excited about growing Alsana's already robust family program," said Freese. "We want to avoid operating in silos and leverage greater alignment within clients' recovery networks.

Another value at the core of Freese's vision for Alsana is compassion. "I admire Alsana's holistic approach to care and our care teams' emphasis on inclusivity and compassion, which are vital in caring for individuals struggling with eating disorders," Freese said. "We aim to elevate our current evidence-based practices with integrity, adaptability, and a focus on nurturing compassion-focused therapy best practices for our clinical staff."

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About Alsana®

Alsana is an eating recovery community and treatment provider with in-person Residential and PHP/IOP programs in Alabama (Birmingham and Huntsville), California (Monterey, Santa Barbara, Westlake Village, and Thousand Oaks), and Missouri (St. Louis), and Virtual PHP/IOP offerings across the United States. Their approach to eating disorder treatment is compassionate, evidence-based, and designed in alignment with the Adaptive Care Model®, a holistic method that seeks to address healing in all areas of clients' lives by integrating medical, nutritional, and therapeutic care with movement and relational therapies. Alsana serves adult clients of all genders and sexual identities struggling with a broad spectrum of eating, feeding, and co-occurring disorders. Alsana's programs are designed to accommodate the unique needs of vegan clients and clients struggling with ED-DMT1, also known as "diabulimia." Learn more at alsana.com or visit alsanareviews.com