Center for Discovery Menlo Park is a high level of care eating disorder treatment facility for adolescent patients of all gender identities, age 10-18 who are in need of inpatient care. The Menlo Park location opened in 2006 and is located in the heart of the San Francisco Bay area, just off the 280 freeway. Centered between San Francisco to the north and San Jose to the south, Menlo Park is just minutes from Palo Alto. Center for Discovery Menlo Park is down the street from prestigious Stanford University Medical Center and our staff collaborates closely with their affiliate medical team.
Our quaint, cottage-style home is located in a quiet, residential neighborhood. This location treats six adolescent patients at a time, allowing for an individualized treatment approach while offering therapeutic gardening practices to bring about emotional and psychological healing. Family therapy is a weekly part of treatment plan as well as mindful movement therapy, trauma therapy and drama therapy. Treatment modalities we offer include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), exposure & response prevention (ERP) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT).
In addition to receiving evidence-based therapies, patients all have the opportunity to put “joyful” back into movement through yoga and other activities. Discovery’s specialized binge eating disorder (BED) program, Path to Peace, is also offered at this location.
Insurances we accept include but are not limited to Alameda County, Holman Group, Health Net, IEHP and San Mateo County. Please remember that the insurances we accept change frequently. Our insurance team will verify your coverage.
Center for Discovery Menlo Park draws a wide range of patients and families with diverse backgrounds and as a result, the treatment team aims to actively work on sensitivity and competence around cross-cultural challenges of each and every patient.
CENTER FOR DISCOVERY
1895 Altschul Avenue
Menlo Park, CA 94025
PH 866.482.3876
HOURS 24/7
PROGRAM FEATURES
Residential Treatment
Partial Hospitalization
All Genders
Ages 10-18
MEET THE TEAM
Susanne Martin, MD
PRIMARY CARE MEDICAL PROVIDERSusanne Martin, MD is board-certified in Internal Medicine as well as Adolescent Medicine. After finishing her residency through Yale School of Medicine, she pursued a three-year fellowship in Adolescent Medicine at Stanford with a research focus on bone health in teens with eating disorders. She is also the Medical Director at a day treatment program for teens in the area (The Healthy Teen Project), has a private practice at The Community Health Collaborative, works part-time in Urgent Care at Palo Alto Medical Foundation and at Vaden, the College Health Center at Stanford. She continues to be actively involved in research projects in the field, peer reviews of articles and she contributed the medical chapter to the book: “How to Nourish Your Child Through an Eating Disorder”.
Rachel Wirthlin, RD
REGISTERED DIETITIANRachel Wirthlin received her Master’s in Public Health specifically in Public Health Nutrition while doing a dietetic internship. She is currently a Dietitian at Center for Discovery. Rachel believes that food fuels our body and believes in the All Foods Fit Philosophy and Health at Every Size. She loves helping people make peace with their food and finding peace with accepting who they are.
Yimeng (Lily) Fei, RN/BSN
NURSE ADMINISTRATOR
Dr. Mina Fisher, MD
PsychiatristDr. Mina Fisher (Psychiatrist): Mina Fisher received her BA in Economics and Human Biology Minor from Stanford University where she was also actively engaged in leadership roles as Freshman, Sophomore, Junior and Senior Class President. She obtained MD from UCLA School of Medicine, completed medical residency at San Mateo County Residency Training Program and completed Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship at Stanford University Hospital. Since receiving MD and completing fellowship training at Stanford University, she joined the faculty at Stanford Hospital and Clinics as an attending physician at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital’s Comprehensive Care Program 2009-2013. In 2013, she transitioned to work with primarily underserved population locally within San Mateo County while continuing to teach Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellow a System of Care Services Course at Stanford as Adjunct Clinical Faculty.
Mika Celli, LCSW
PRIMARY THERAPISTMika is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, working as a Primary Therapist with CFD Menlo Park. She graduated from the University of Southern California with a Master of Arts in Social Work (with an emphasis on mental health). She also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in social work, obtained from Concordia University in Portland, OR. Her experience includes eating disorder, dual diagnosis and general mental health (Depression, suicidality, anxiety, PTSD, Bipolar Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, etc.) treatment at the residential level and mandated substance abuse counseling, as well as general mental health services, at the outpatient level. She’s also worked in community-based mental health treatment for children and families on MediCal.
Mika works to meet the clients (and their support systems) wherever they are in the moment and provides empathetic, individualized, and client-centered care, using a variety of therapeutic approaches and techniques. Outside of work, she provides suicide prevention and intervention on the Golden Gate Bridge and strongly values civil rights and social justice.
Francesca Lalli, PsyD
Primary TherapistFrancesca is a licensed psychologist in California. After graduating with a master’s degree in clinical psychology from University of Padua (Italy), she moved to California to purse a doctorate degree in clinical psychology. Francesca obtained a Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) in Clinical Psychology from Sofia University in Palo Alto, CA. Her dissertation addressed the correlation between shame and self-compassion in a group of women at risk of developing an eating disorder. Francesca’s academic training includes psychodynamic orientation, evidence-based and mindfulness-based techniques. She is experienced in working with patients in the general mental health, substance use and cancer diagnosis populations. With a patient- and client-centered, collaborative and eclectic approach, Francesca has worked with adults, couples and children both in individual and group settings. She strives to honor, respect and foster each client’s unique journey, providing empathetic care and presence to the client’s experience.
Support Group
This location provides free in person eating disorder support groups on Thursdays 7:00PM. We also have a handful of free online support groups. Find out more about how to join our free support groups.
COVID-19 Update: Online telehealth is offered for intensive outpatient treatment as an option to patients living in California, Florida, New Jersey and Texas.
In-person intensive outpatient and partial hospitalization is also offered at this location. Residential treatment continues to be offered at our residential facilities for individuals in need of a higher level of care. Learn about all that we are doing to protect the safety and wellbeing of our patients and staff.