Kartini Clinic for Children and Families

I highly recommend Dr Moshtael and Kartini Clinic. They are compassionate, yet firm with eating disorders. While our journey with our daughter was not easy at the beginning, Kartini educated us and when she was discharged, we felt well equipped to continue recovery at home with our outpatient team. They have a fantastic team and are willing to do what it takes to free your child from ED and push for full recovery, rather than a life of partial recovery.

If you are seeking treatment for your loved one for an eating disorder, Kartini Clinic is a lifesaver! My son was treated at Kartini and the staff was supportive, professional, and kind. Through family therapy, they helped us navigate through a very difficult situation. My son was able to learn about his condition, and how to advocate for himself. We learned skills in helping him through challenges, as well. We finally received some insight into what our son had been going through for years. Their art therapy, on-site teacher, counselors, doctors, nurses- all of their staff from the top-down were amazing and responsive. I cannot say enough about what a positive experience Kartini has been!

My daughter was a patient in Kartini in 2001. She was 13. Her life was destroyed by Kartini. They drugged her heavily and did nothing to help her with a serious eating disorder. She was not a typical good girl: a pliable, obedient patient who only wanted to be perfect, and would do what she was asked without complaint. Maybe their methods have changed in 20 years - I hope so. But, as a desperate parent looking for help and answers, this was the worst place for my daughter. She suffers from the methods they used to this day.

Can’t say enough about Kartini Clinic and the Kartini staff. They saved my daughters life. They work with families and have an amazing way to help your kid get through the hard times of eating disorders.

Highly recommended. You, as a family have to work together for this to work. Is a lot of work, but with Kartini’s help is very doable.

The Kartini Clinic gave critical support to our family when our child required hospitalization and then intensive treatment. Several pieces were particularly important for us. Family therapy was challenging, but created a space for us to take a hard look at how the illness works and how we needed to change to better support our child. We were not prepared for the severity of our child’s illness or the way in which it was entangled with our family’s dynamic- Leslie was patient and wise. The parent group was also a great place to hear and share ideas for managing. We learned a great deal from others’ experiences, that helped us work through our own.

Dr. M is a wonder. She is relentless and completely focused on healing. She did far more for our child than anyone could expect. Her affection helped create trust, even when he was oppositional. Honest and clear, she guided us through, and we’ll always be grateful to her.

The staff are also great. From answering random questions, running a classroom, to managing the endless medical and insurance paperwork, they were always kind and attentive.

We feel very lucky to have landed at Kartini.

The treatment our daughter received at Kartini was invaluable. Having a loved one struggle with an eating disorder is heartbreaking. The clinic offered support and helped her re-structure her relationship with food and how she viewed her body. I appreciated that all of the staff were always warm and welcoming. Their approach to therapy includes not only the one struggling with the ED, but family as well. We found the family therapy sessions to be very helpful. In addition, they have an optional parents’ group that meets weekly. It was nice to hear from others who are facing the same issues and it helped to be able to hear/share suggestions with this group. It is nice to know your family is not alone, and others are dealing with the same struggles. I appreciated the end of the week phone calls from our daughter’s group leader. It helped us know how she was doing and what she was struggling with moving into the weekend, so we could best support her.

Kartini clinic saved my child’s life. The structure of the program makes some people nervous but in my experience, structure and unbending rules around food is the only way through an eating disorder that is severe. Additionally, the structure gave me a rule book which I desperately needed.

My daughter was treated at Kartini for anorexia (age 11, restricting) 1 year ago. I am here to let parents know that this is a great place to get help for your child. There is another parent who has been to 2 other clinics with her child and said this one is the best. Even though I feel so unlucky to have a child with an eating disorder, I feel very lucky to live in Portland where we have the Kartini Clinic. They restored my daughter's body when I could not. The work continues on her mind, and we are getting there. It takes a long time.
The only thing that could make this clinic better is more emotional support for the parents. Not just for when they are at Kartini, but also when they are discharged. A parent support group for "graduates" would be great.
Thank you, Kartini.

Our family had a wonderful experience with Kartini, given the very difficult circumstances under which we ended up using their services. They helped us to identify what was happening with our child, after being dismissed and not being taken seriously by doctors. Dr Moshtael, Sherrill, Amy, Smadar and the entire staff at Kartini Clinic really held us up and supported our family in a time when our entire world imploded and fell apart, and we were completely lost. They were an instrumental part of the team that saved our child's life and restored our child's health from anorexia. I am beyond grateful that this clinic is in Portland, and that our family did not have to travel thousands of miles for our child's eating disorder treatment. Without a doubt, I would highly recommend Kartini Clinic if you have a young child struggling with an eating disorder.