Wherever you live in Ontario, you can work with a registered dietitian who specialises in eating disorders by secure video. No referral needed. Lauren Hofstee is based in Guelph and Toronto and sees clients virtually across the province.
Book a free intro callLauren Hofstee is a Registered Dietitian with the College of Dietitians of Ontario. She works entirely by secure video, so where you live in Ontario does not change whether you can work with her. A session is a private video call from home. All you need is an internet connection and a quiet space.
No. You can book privately with a dietitian directly, with no doctor's note and no waitlist to get in the door. A physician referral is only required for some publicly funded hospital programs, not for private virtual care.
Ontario has two broad paths to eating disorder support. The first is publicly funded hospital and community programs. These are covered, but they usually need a physician referral, can carry long waitlists, and many focus on the most medically severe cases. The second is private care with a registered dietitian, which you can start quickly, is often partly covered by workplace or student health benefits, and works alongside your doctor, therapist, or a hospital program rather than replacing medical care. If you are in crisis or medically unwell, hospital care comes first. Wherever you are, the National Eating Disorder Information Centre offers free, province wide information and support.
All care is virtual, so this list is a starting point, not a limit. The notes below are honest context about what publicly funded care exists in each part of Ontario, and where the gaps are. If you live anywhere in the province, you are welcome to reach out.
Toronto anchors Ontario's specialized care. The Eating Disorder Program at Toronto General Hospital, part of University Health Network, treats adults 17 and older with a physician referral and is also home to the National Eating Disorder Information Centre. Children and youth are served by SickKids, and adolescents across the region can be referred to the Slaight Family Foundation Eating Disorders Unit at Ontario Shores in Whitby. These programs are valuable but referral based and often carry waitlists, which is where private virtual care can bridge the gap while you wait or after discharge.
Hamilton is the regional hub. St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton runs an adult outpatient eating disorders program for people 16 and older, and McMaster Children's Hospital is the regional pediatric centre for Hamilton, Niagara, Haldimand, and Brant. The Hamilton charity Body Brave adds free, virtual, weight neutral support groups with no referral or diagnosis needed, open across Ontario. In Niagara and the smaller Horseshoe communities, most hospital based care still means traveling to Hamilton, so virtual options matter.
London Health Sciences Centre runs the Adult Eating Disorders Service with CMHA, a regional resource that includes the only 20 week residential eating disorders program in Ontario and receives more than 300 referrals a year. In Windsor, the charity BANA has offered free specialized eating disorder treatment since 1983 and also serves Chatham-Kent and Sarnia-Lambton. Both are strong programs but in high demand, so private virtual care is a common way to start sooner or to stay supported between programs.
Guelph is home to Homewood Health Centre, which runs Canada's largest inpatient eating disorders program for people 16 and older, with residential care that can be covered through OHIP and extended benefits. That program is intensive and residential rather than everyday outpatient support, so many people in Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, Guelph, and Wellington County pair it with, or begin with, private virtual counselling. This is Lauren's home region.
Ottawa is the regional centre. The Ottawa Hospital runs the Regional Centre for the Treatment of Eating Disorders for adults 18 and older across Ottawa-Carleton and Eastern Ontario, and CHEO provides the child and adolescent program. The Hopewell Eating Disorder Support Centre adds free peer support across the National Capital Region and wider Eastern Ontario, though it does not provide clinical treatment. Communities further out, from Kingston to Cornwall to the Ottawa Valley, are a long way from Ottawa, so virtual care removes the travel.
This region, from Barrie and Simcoe County through the Kawarthas, Northumberland, Muskoka, and Haliburton, does not have a large specialized eating disorder hospital program of its own that I can point you to today. In practice, residents are usually referred to Toronto programs or rely on community and virtual services. That distance is exactly why virtual care is useful here, and Lauren can work with you from Orillia, Peterborough, Muskoka, or anywhere else in the area.
Grey and Bruce counties and the Georgian Bay shore are rural, and I could not verify a dedicated specialized eating disorder program based in the region. People here typically travel to London or Hamilton for hospital care, or use virtual and community support closer to home. Virtual counselling means you can start without a long drive.
Health Sciences North in Sudbury runs the Regional Eating Disorders Program, a community based outpatient service for children, adolescents, and adults across Northeastern Ontario. It is the main specialized program for a very large area, and public reporting has documented long and growing waitlists. Virtual care can help people in North Bay, the Sault, Timmins, and smaller northern communities get support without traveling to Sudbury or waiting alone.
The Northwest is vast, and specialized in-person eating disorder programs are sparse across Thunder Bay, Kenora, and the communities between them. That makes virtual care and provincial telehealth options especially important here. Lauren can meet you by video wherever you have a connection, so distance is not a barrier to starting.
Looking for what else exists in the province, including free community groups, publicly funded hospital programs, and help lines? There is a free guide to eating disorder support across Ontario, with no form and nothing to buy.
Book a free, no pressure intro call. We will talk about what you are going through and whether working together makes sense. No referral needed, anywhere in Ontario.
Book a free intro callPlain, no-cost guides for anyone weighing eating disorder or nutrition support in Ontario, with nothing behind a form. How to find an eating disorder dietitian · What seeing a dietitian costs in Ontario · How virtual sessions work · Free support across Ontario · Publicly funded programs · Support at Ontario campuses · Seeing a dietitian for free · Ontario eating disorder therapists · Peer and caregiver support groups