By Jordan Watson

This photo captures a piece of flower art I did with my three-year-old daughter recently. It is no small task to craft the words “Soul Hearted” out of flowers, leaves, petals, and twigs from my garden with a three-year-old on a windy day.

The finished “product” was quite beautiful, and quite unfinished, as the wind reminded us repeatedly of all the little ways in which the work was in a consistent state of becoming. The effort required many starts and stops, frequent do-overs, and a great reminder on the practice of non-attachment, as the “S” made of rose petals flew away in the wind over and over and over…again.

Soul Hearted: A Constant Willingness to Show Up and Keep Trying

 This difficult and rewarding experience of arranging blooms on the grass with my daughter reminds me of the work we’ve done over the past year at Alsana as well as what it means to truly live “Soul Hearted.” It is work that requires a consistent willingness to show up and keep trying. Knowing that seeking goodness and working to create something meaningful is always a work in progress.

I see Soul Hearted as a way of moving through the world and doing the hard things simply because they are the right thing to do. It means being in relationship. Showing up. Showing up fully.

Fully…in your heart’s commitments, which has a natural way of inviting others to do the same. The result is a “being” and “working” together empowered by a seeing of each other’s heart space that allows us to create something authentic and beautiful.

The Past Year at Alsana

This is the work that we have been focused on for the past year at Alsana. Working hard amidst the great headwinds that continue to blow against the wider behavioral health field and doing our best to do the right thing. It started in early 2025 with lunch conversations between myself and Keesha Amezcua, LMFT, CEDS-C, our Chief Clinical Officer.

I had been at Alsana for about a month in the CEO role when we started to discuss the current state of the eating disorder treatment field, our mutual dream of a better future, and how we could build a company that met the needs of those suffering with eating disorders as well as the needs of their loved ones, providers, and staff members. Most importantly, how we could create something we felt was needed in the world.

So, our work started in authentic relationship and a deep-rooted commitment to the following intentions:

  • A treatment model that acknowledges the current environment of compressed lengths of stay and outpatient providers in need of a higher level of containment delivered in true collaboration so that those suffering from eating disorders leave treatment programs ready to progress in their recovery process.
  • A heavy resource and time investment in training, development, and supervision of our treatment teams through both systems, processes, training programs, and a relational approach to the passing of wisdom through generations.
  • A commitment to create a working culture in which everyone’s full personhood is valued, celebrated, and welcomed. A way of being and working that attracts the best team members willing to work in relationship and full authenticity so we achieve the best results.

The Five Key Components of Alsana’s New Story

From these commitmens, we built five key components of our company from the ground up last year. It was a year of significant change.

Some of those changes include:

  • A working culture cultivated in a wide mission (to be a source of hope and healing in the world), a rooted value system, and a promise we call The Three Truths for every person who encounters our people.
  • A mentorship program in which clinical leaders with a combined over 100 years of clinical wisdom came alongside us and met with our site directors weekly. It has been a communal sharing of wisdom and best practices. This practice continues today and is growing and evolving.
    • Additionally, our mentors train other treatment team members and our care counselors, and provide feedback to executive leadership on what additional training is needed to ensure our staff is prepared to serve our clients.
  • The implementation of a new clinical structure that Keesha named Recovery Story. It organizes the treatment process into chapters and provides staff members and clients a consistent framework to work from as clients move through their treatment journey.
  • A new EMR to empower our teams with improved systems and real time clinical information to inform care with data.
  • A total quality operating framework led by a new Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Clinical Officer that empowers site leaders with the most important metrics to ensure we are delivering the best possible care as well as working in compliance with state and payor regulations and the latest best practices. 

This is just a brief summary of a few of the shifts we made last year. However, our Soul Hearted work is never done. It is ongoing. Unfinished. And always seeking to improve.

Bringing Beauty Into the World Through Soul Hearted Work

Like my daughter and I arranging petals in the grass, at Alsan, we are constantly working with the intention to bring beauty into the world. 

By bringing beauty into the world, I mean bringing a consistent effort to provide the best possible care in today’s environment. I feel this is the most beautiful arrangement of flowers we can offer the field, those suffering from eating disorders, our staff members, and our world.

It is truly from the heart and soul. So, we called the work “Soul Hearted.”

There is so much more to come. We appreciate your continued support, partnership, and feedback on how we can be better, both as a provider and together in relationship. All of it is to ensure that, for the ages ahead of us, those suffering with eating disorders can find their unique story, know their worth, and step into a recovered life.

I believe we can do it. I know we can, simply because it is the right thing to do.

P.S. This was written by me from my heart and not by ChatGPT. In fact, I have never used ChatGPT to write blogs or emails. I intentionally included a typeo or two just for you. Can you find them?😉


Visit our website to explore our renewed mission, vision, and values, and stay tuned as we continue telling this Soul Hearted story.