Women and adolescent girls often have specific needs when seeking help for mental health. Recent research indicates that some mental health concerns are more common in women than in men. They include depression, anxiety disorders, and eating disorders.
In particular, younger women ages 18-25 are more likely than males to struggle with mental health concerns such as any mental illness, serious mental illness, and major depressive episodes.
How Women’s-Only Treatment Helps
Understanding the unique psychological, social, and physiological dynamics affecting women can make a difference in the comfort level women experience when they are in treatment.
At Timberline Knolls, we offer a nurturing and nonjudgmental treatment environment. By solely treating females, we can address the concerns that are unique to this population, allowing for our residents to gain the most benefit from our treatment programs. We have learned that when females are among other females when receiving care, it is easier for them to participate in more open and honest ways that can feel intimidating in the presence of males.
When residents at Timberline Knolls bond over shared experiences during our group therapy sessions for women, they have the opportunity to communicate openly and develop transformative friendships during their time in our care.
Comprehensive Treatment
The comprehensive treatment we provide at Timberline Knolls is rooted in the principles of recovery and emphasizes spiritual growth. We offer a full continuum of care, including residential, partial hospitalization, and intensive outpatient programs for women and girls who are struggling with mental health concerns and addictions.
In our programs, our multidisciplinary team incorporates evidence-supported therapies. Our mission is to help women start the healing process and change their lives for the better. Our personalized treatment plans can help women and girls heal from the effects of trauma, including sexual abuse and domestic violence.
A stay at a treatment center can sometimes be lengthy, and many of our adolescent residents are required to continue with their education while receiving care. Our TK Academy is an on-campus school that provides residents with the opportunity to earn credits from their school while in our treatment programs. Our certified teachers provide adolescent girls with the educational support they need.
Trauma-Informed Approach for Women & Girls
Recognizing that many women and girls who are struggling with eating disorders, mood disorders, and addictions have a history of trauma, an appropriate approach to care requires addressing deeply rooted experiences from the past.
At Timberline Knolls, 90% of our residents have experienced some type of trauma in their lives. Our clinical team is trauma-informed and trained in how to be mindful of boundaries and address these concerns.
Treatment for the effects of trauma will vary for each woman or girl depending on their unique circumstances. In general, when a woman or girl gets individualized care in a women’s-only inpatient or outpatient treatment program, they can identify and address the specific ways trauma affects their life and therapeutic process.
Depending on what is best for our residents, individualized treatment plans may include medication management; individual, family, and group therapies; and multiple forms of experiential therapy. The therapeutic modalities offered at Timberline Knolls include acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). Using different therapies to help women and girls work through the effects of trauma can advance their healing progress. Often, experiential therapies like yoga, art, and music therapy can assist with reducing anxiety and stress, which in turn can help with healing from the effects of trauma.
Women and girls who are receiving treatment for addiction and the effects of trauma can benefit from our 12-Step programming during their time at Timberline Knolls. Our 12-Step programming is trauma-informed and takes into account the many aspects that might have contributed to the onset of mental health or addiction concerns. After residents leave our care, they can get ongoing support by participating in 12-Step meetings outside of treatment.
It is not uncommon for a traumatic experience to trigger distressing emotions and behaviors in women and girls when they are receiving care. It is important to address these underlying emotions while in a treatment environment with a clinical team that understands the complexities involved in dealing with the effects of trauma. The staff at Timberline Knolls is highly trained to be aware of the impact trauma can have on a person and how these types of experiences can cause various responses in the therapeutic process.
Ongoing Support
After leaving treatment, women and girls often seek encouragement and support from their peers. The bonds formed between residents during treatment are deep. The Timberline Knolls alumnae program helps women and girls maintain these supportive connections long after they leave our care. All residents and clients, including those in our residential treatment program, partial hospitalization program (PHP), and intensive outpatient program (IOP) for women, are an important part of our alumnae community.
The alumnae program allows the staff at Timberline Knolls to remain in touch with our residents and offers numerous in-person and online services throughout the year. A yearly alumnae retreat, located in the Chicagoland area, gives our alumnae community the opportunity to get together for continued support and fellowship as well as to reconnect with clinicians and other staff members they met during their time in treatment at our facility.
Aftercare Planning
When women and girls leave inpatient, residential, or outpatient care for mental health concerns, aftercare planning is an integral part of the treatment plan as they return home. Aftercare plans provide the support and resources women and girls need to reenter their communities. At Timberline Knolls, we provide every resident with a personalized discharge plan and a local referrals list to help them continue their healing journey.
Making a Real-Life Difference
Women and girls who receive care at Timberline Knolls can benefit from comprehensive treatment that is tailored to meet their unique needs. Our professionals are dedicated to providing our residents with compassionate care in a safe and welcoming environment. Through our programming, we aim to help women and girls begin the healing process and continue on a path to living healthy and productive lives, empowering them to create opportunities for themselves and transform their lives through a commitment to personal growth and change.
We strive to help the women and girls in our care to not only develop the coping skills needed to be successful once they leave Timberline Knolls, but also to feel confident in their ability to confront any future challenges they may face.
At Timberline Knolls, our goal is to make a real-life difference by offering our residents the opportunity to embark on a journey of healing and rediscover their strength to live fulfilling lives.
