As a young girl or child assigned female at birth Sarah struggled with anxiety and low self-confidence. Her anxiety created a lot of fears around situations others might see as innocuous. They was an emotional child and struggled to find healthy ways to express those emotions.

“It made me feel different. It kind of developed into me ostracizing myself” Sarah commented reflecting back on their earlier years.

This anxiety, low self-esteem, and social isolation led Sarah to school refusal, experimentation with drugs, self-harm, and eventually finding a peer group that supported these unhealthy behaviors.

Sarah’s parents were naturally increasingly concerned and tried multiple local options, but couldn’t help Sarah find success. It was then they turned to seeking a residential option where Sarah would have the chance to build healthier relationships and make positive internal changes.

Mom commented about this decision, “Our path led to Solstice and we’re really glad it did. Instinctively Solstice knew what our child needed.”

Both mom and dad were hopeful about the staff they met, the warm and welcoming Solstice environment, and the relationship-based approach Solstice employs.

As Sarah’s time as Solstice progressed, their parents back home gained a greater understanding of why Sarah was struggling and how to better support her. Meanwhile, Sarah’s growth helped repair some of the relationship issues that had built up over the years.

Sarah believes their relationship with their therapist at Solstice was instrumental in their achieving success. The therapist understood where Sarah was coming from, helped their build new coping skills, and then created new connections with their confidence and with their family to build stronger success.

During their time at Solstice, Sarah matured tremendously as well.

Her parents talked about the many years of struggle and challenges which led to Solstice. Dad concluded, “If we had to it again, we’d make the same decision. We have no doubt about this program.”