Rosecrance Therapies acquires Ascend, expanding counseling services for eating disorders and sports performance
Rosecrance Therapies Wednesday announced its acquisition of Ascend CHC, to provide treatment of eating disorders and support for sports and performance counseling.
Eating disorders frequently accompany substance use and mental health disorders, said Carlene Cardosi, COO of Rosencrance, which provides mental health and addiction treatments in residential and outpatient settings in Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa. Ascend, also a behavioral health provider, is known for its expertise in eating disorder and performance counseling.
While eating disorders and sports performance are very different, they share an increased demand for specialized counseling.
'We are also enhancing our counseling services for individuals in high-performance roles — such as athletes, musicians and performers — equipping them with the mental skills essential for optimizing their performance while ensuring their long-term well-being,' Cardosi said.
Mental health treatment for athletes has received greater awareness through challenges shared by gymnast Simone Biles, swimmer Michael Phelps, and tennis players Naomi Osaka and Amanda Anisimova, who both took breaks from competition, citing the great pressure to perform.
Besides treating anxiety, performance counseling can include efforts to increase concentration and confidence, and visualizing success.
Meanwhile, the prevalence of eating disorders more than doubled worldwide from 2000 to 2018, the National Eating Disorders Association reported, with an added increase during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Binge eating in particular has become more common, as those with higher body weight have more than twice the likelihood of disordered eating.
Expected growth in the market to serve these needs has spurred a flurry of mergers and acquisitions in the field. There have been more than two dozen mergers and acquisitions this year, worth more than $1 billion, according to market analyst PwC.
As part of that trend, the latest acquisition continues Rosecrance's recent growth. Earlier this year, Rosecrance reached an affiliation agreement with North Central Behavioral Health Systems to expand services in central Illinois.
Rosecrance also acquired Connections Counseling in the Madison, Wisconsin, area in 2020.
Rosecrance opened a new facility in Chicago's River North in 2022, in Norwood Park in 2023, in Chicago's Beverly neighborhood in 2024, and has locations in Des Plaines, Frankfort, La Grange, Northbrook and Warrenville.
It offers outpatient treatment in the Chicago area, and residential treatment for substance use disorder, mental health and rehab in Rockford and Champaign.
Rosecrance Behavioral Health employs over 1,500 individuals in Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin and has added an additional 10 to 15 employees from Ascend. Officials stressed that multi-service organizations are better equipped to survive than small, narrowly focused agencies.
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