Why recommend NewCircle to your client?
At NewCircle, we don’t just treat eating disorders. We care for the whole person with clinical depth, relational insight, and unwavering compassion. You can count on us to extend your work with integrity, communicate with transparency, and support your clients with the dignity they deserve.
What to expect when you refer to NewCircle:
Seamless, compassionate referrals
Regular clinical collaboration
Trauma-informed, evidence-based programming
Support across the care continuum
A team that honors your work
Post-treatment reintegration support
“Working with NewCircle to support clients with limited access to care has been nothing short of stellar. As a member of our HEALers Circle and a collaborative partner all around, NewCircle offers intentional, informed, and considerate care to clients from across the country. We have felt overjoyed to see our applicants provided with person-first, trauma-informed, and equitable treatment.”
– Carsen Rhys Beckwith, Program Director at Project Heal
How to make a referral
We know how much trust goes into making a referral. That’s why we have designed a streamlined, thoughtful process that keeps communication open and your client’s well-being at the center of every step.
A simple, supportive process, centered on your client’s care.
Make a Referral
Start by filling out our secure referral form. Whether you are a therapist, physician, school counselor, or other provider, we’ll review your submission promptly and follow up within 24- 72 hours.
Introductory Chat
Once we have received your referral, a member of our admissions or clinical outreach team will reach out to schedule a brief call. We will connect with you (and/or the client’s family) to gather additional context and answer any initial questions.
Client Assessment
Our clinical team conducts a personalized intake assessment with the client (and caregivers, if appropriate) to determine the best-fit level of care.
Finalizing the Care Plan
Following the assessment, we will share next steps, begin transition planning, and keep you informed as the client begins treatment. We honor your continued role and invite collaboration as care continues.
Referral Interest Form
Frequently asked questions
Answers for providers that trust us with their client’s care.
Yes. NewCircle holds the Joint Commission Gold Seal of Approval for Behavioral Health Care and Human Services, awarded May 2026. This accreditation confirms that our programs, clinical team, facility, and standards of care have been independently evaluated against the most rigorous benchmarks in behavioral health. For providers making referral decisions, it means there is an independent, third-party verification that what we say we do, we actually do. Our NPI is 1245025501, and our Joint Commission HCO ID is 728650 — both verifiable through their respective registries. NewCircle is also a member of the National Eating Disorders Association. Verify our accreditation →
We treat the full spectrum — anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, ARFID, OSFED, and presentations that don’t meet full diagnostic criteria but are causing significant clinical harm. We also provide integrated care for co-occurring conditions, including anxiety disorders, depression, OCD, PTSD, complex trauma, and ADHD. Our model doesn’t require a clean, singular diagnosis. If your client is struggling and the eating disorder is a meaningful part of the picture, we want to hear from you. Clients with atypical presentations, subthreshold diagnoses, or complex co-occurring profiles are exactly the population we’re built to work with.
NewCircle offers Residential Treatment, Partial Hospitalization Program, and Intensive Outpatient Program for both adolescents and adults. Placement is determined through a comprehensive clinical assessment that considers medical stability, current level of functioning, safety, prior treatment history, and the home environment. We don’t default to the lowest or highest level of care — we recommend the level that makes the most clinical sense for where your client is right now. Clients can also step up or down across levels as their needs evolve, with continuity of team and setting throughout. If you have clinical context that would be helpful to our assessment, we welcome that input once appropriate releases are in place.
Yes. NewCircle provides Residential, PHP, and IOP within a single program and facility — same team, same environment, same clinical relationships across every level of care. A client who enters at residential doesn’t encounter a new team when they step down to PHP. That continuity of relationship is clinically meaningful, particularly for eating disorder clients whose recovery depends heavily on therapeutic alliance and a consistent sense of safety. It also means discharge planning begins from day one — not in the final week — because the step-down pathway is built into the structure from the start. For providers who have seen clients destabilize at transitions between facilities, this is worth knowing.
Medical oversight is integrated throughout every level of care at NewCircle, not limited to residential. Our Medical Director, Tracey Jones, MD, oversees clinical medical care across the program, supported by psychiatric nurse practitioners Kayla King, MSN-Ed, APRN, PMHNP-BC and Amy Henry, DNP, CRNP, AGPCNP-BC, and a nursing team led by Gabriel Jordan, RN. For clients with medically complex presentations — cardiac complications from purging, severe malnutrition, electrolyte instability, or significant psychiatric acuity alongside the eating disorder — we conduct a thorough intake assessment to determine whether our level of care is the appropriate fit or whether a higher medical setting is needed first. We will be direct with you about that. We don’t admit clients whose medical complexity exceeds what we can safely support, and we will always communicate that clearly and help coordinate the right next step when it arises.
We respond to referral submissions within one business day and schedule most clinical assessments within 24 to 72 hours of initial contact. Admission timelines vary depending on clinical need, program availability, and insurance verification, but we move as quickly as we can and keep you informed at every step. If your client’s situation is urgent, tell us when you call or submit the referral form — we will prioritize accordingly. Waiting is hard when you’re watching a client deteriorate, and we take that seriously. Submit a referral or call us directly. →
The simplest way is to fill out our secure referral form on this page — it takes a few minutes and goes directly to our admissions and clinical outreach team. You can also call us directly at (205) 848-4514 or reach out to our National Outreach Director, Jennifer Luyster, who works specifically with referring providers and can answer questions before you’re ready to submit a formal referral. Once a referral comes in, a member of our team will follow up within one business day to gather any additional context, answer your questions, and schedule the client assessment. We know how much trust goes into a referral. We treat it accordingly. Submit a referral →
With appropriate releases in place, we maintain active communication with referring providers throughout the treatment episode. That includes clinical updates at key transition points, coordination around step-down planning, and direct contact when something clinically significant warrants it. Our Clinical Director, Chris Willson, LPC, and Clinical Mental Health Director, Katie Reese, M.Ed., LPC, are accessible to referring providers who want to discuss a client’s progress or raise clinical questions. We don’t treat the referring relationship as a handoff that ends at intake. You know your client’s history, and that context is valuable to us throughout treatment — not just at the start. If you have specific communication preferences or protocols you’d like us to work within, tell us when you refer, and we’ll build that in. Reach out to discuss. →
Discharge planning begins at intake, not at the end of treatment. By the time a client is ready to step down or complete care, they have a concrete, individualized aftercare plan that typically includes a return to the referring provider, ongoing outpatient therapy and dietitian support, relapse prevention resources, and connections to local community support. We coordinate that transition directly with you. If your client is returning to your care, we’ll share a clinical summary, discuss what the treatment episode addressed, and flag anything worth knowing as they reintegrate. We don’t discharge clients into a void, and we don’t disappear after treatment ends. The goal is that your client comes back to you more stable, better resourced, and with a team around them.
Yes. NewCircle provides eating disorder treatment for adolescents starting at age 13 across all three levels of care — Residential, PHP, and IOP. Our adolescent programming runs completely separate from our adult track, with age-appropriate peer groups, developmentally specific clinical approaches, and Family-Based Treatment integrated into care. We coordinate with schools and outside pediatric providers throughout treatment, and family involvement is built into the structure rather than offered as an add-on. For pediatricians, school counselors, and child and adolescent therapists, we understand the specific complexity of adolescent referrals — including working with families who may be further along in recognizing the problem than the teenager is. Learn about adolescent eating disorder treatment →
Yes, and we encourage it. If you’re on the fence about whether your client is the right fit, whether the timing is right, or what level of care makes sense, a conversation with our team is the right first step — not a form. Our National Outreach Director, Jennifer Luyster, works directly with referring providers and is available for informal clinical consultations before any formal referral is submitted. Our clinical leadership is also accessible for providers who want to discuss complex or atypical presentations. We’d rather spend time on a preliminary conversation that leads to the right outcome than have a referral that isn’t the right fit for your client. If you have a client you’re thinking about, call us. That’s what we’re here for. (205) 848-4514
NewCircle is located in Birmingham, Alabama and serves clients from across the state — including Jefferson and Shelby Counties and the broader Alabama region — as well as individuals and families traveling from out of state. For providers outside the Birmingham area, we work with referring providers across Alabama and in neighboring states regularly.
Our residential program includes furnished apartments for families who need to be nearby during treatment, which makes out-of-state residential care more manageable for families who would otherwise face extended hotel stays. If you’re a provider outside Alabama considering a referral, we’re happy to talk through what that process looks like and how we support out-of-area transitions. Reach out to discuss. →
Yes, and this is something we want every referring provider to know clearly. NewCircle is a weight-inclusive, LGBTQIA+-affirming, and culturally competent treatment center. We have dedicated programming for LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communities, with staff who reflect and understand these communities. If you have a client whose identity has made it difficult to find care that feels genuinely safe — not just nominally inclusive — we want to be a place you can refer them with confidence. We are happy to speak directly with providers about specific concerns before a referral is made.
Yes. NewCircle works with many major insurance providers, and our admissions team handles benefit verification as part of the referral and intake process. We advocate for the level of care that is clinically appropriate for each client and support families in navigating coverage decisions. If insurance authorization is a concern for a specific client, our team can address that directly during the intake process and work with you to make the strongest case for the care they need. Contact us to discuss a specific situation. →
