Teen Trauma Treatment Centers and Programs

Trauma treatment programs and centers for teens are designed to specifically treat the effects of trauma. If your teen is struggling with the aftermath of a traumatic event, Solstice West may be a great option for them. We have been helping teen girls and assigned female at birth rebuild relationships and reclaim control of their lives after experiencing traumatic events for over a decade. Holistic treatment programs, like Solstice West, go beyond reprocessing the details of their trauma by empowering teens in multiple areas of their lives.

The guide is meant to be comprehensive, but as such, not every section will be applicable to everyone. Instead, we invite you to click on the links in the table of contents to jump to the sections that most interest you.

How Does Solstice RTC Help Teens with Trauma?

Solstice West is a residential treatment center (RTC) that focuses on helping teenage girls and assigned female at birth heal from the effects of trauma. Our relationship based program seeks to provide a safe and welcoming space. Our multidisciplinary treatment team works with each student to develop their individual goals tied into their progress while at Solstice West.

Once we have established the goals of their treatment, we utilize Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as well as EMDR, both evidence-based modalities that are very effective for the treatment of trauma.  We also use Trauma-Focused Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (TF-EAP) during which students work with their therapist and our horses to better understand self-regulation principles in real time. The goal is for our students to leave Solstice West healed and empowered versions of themselves.

What are causes of trauma in teens?

Trauma is inclusive of many different types of experiences that a young person can have. When many people think of trauma, it is typical to think of a major, catastrophic event such as war or sexual assault. These events absolutely are traumatic, but there is a broader definition of trauma that isn’t necessarily associated with the physicality of the event; instead the psychological trauma is what we are focusing on. Working with this definition we can understand that trauma typically falls into two categories: Big T Trauma and Little t Trauma.

• Big T Trauma: This would include major life changes such as divorce, death of a parent or sibling, moving, or sexual assault. In these scenarios, often times people avoid discussing the past trauma because it is too painful to do so. Avoidance is a sign that therapeutic work would likely be helpful at the appropriate time.
• Little t Trauma: These events are more of the everyday, “low grade” trauma that a teen would experience multiple times or on a regular basis. Examples include bullying, consistently not meeting academic expectations, verbal or emotional abuse from a trusted adult, or the loss of one’s friend group. Many times, it is the repetitive nature or cumulative effect that is truly detrimental with little t trauma.

The important thing to remember is that it’s not the significance of the event as it appears to others – it is how significantly it was processed by your teen’s brain as a dangerous or potentially dangerous situation. Furthermore, the impact of such events might be interpreted differently in a teen’s brain versus an adult’s brain. The teenage brain is still developing and creating lasting coping skills.

Why Choose a Teen Trauma Treatment Program?

Effective treatment of trauma means shifting the focus from “what’s wrong with you?” to “what happened to you?” as it relates to symptoms, reactions, and behaviors. Trauma-informed care calls for providers to opt for whole-person care and this is exactly what Solstice West does. By using multiple modalities to get to the root of the trauma while providing a safe, relationship-based setting and program, Solstice West has seen powerful changes in students that otherwise were not seeing shifts prior to enrolling. 

As a residential treatment center, Solstice West is all about helping teens build relationships with staff and peers. We believe that supportive relationships are key to healing relational trauma. By developing trusting relationships, students feel safe and comfortable exploring underlying core beliefs related to their trauma in a group therapy setting. This deep self-work is sometimes difficult, and students need to work with people they trust in order to access these areas of themselves.  

Types of Therapy for Teens with Trauma

It’s important to note that there isn’t one therapeutic approach that will heal individuals heal from trauma, which is why Solstice West employs a number of evidence-based approaches that have been shown effective for our students. We want our students to heal at Solstice West and flourish after they leave. Healing the underlying trauma is the best way to ensure this progress.

Solstice West uses the following therapeutic approaches when treating trauma: 

• Trauma Focused Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (TF-EAP)
• Trauma Recovery Group
• EMDR (Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)
• Somatic Experiencing
• Seeking Safety
• Trauma Sensitive Yoga
• Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)
• Family Therapy

How does Solstice West implement a holistic approach to treatment?

Solstice West takes a whole-person, holistic approach when it comes to helping teens with trauma. This means that we consider all the difference parts and pieces that may be affecting your child and their trauma, including their social, emotional, academic, medical, nutritional, and spiritual needs. We believe that all of these things contribute to their well-being as well as the mind-body connection. Here are some examples of how we integrate this approach into the program:

• Mindfulness: Our daily mindfulness practice seeks to help your child recognize what they are feeling and how that is showing up for her. The first step in being able to overcome or regulate strong emotions is being able to name the emotion and recognize how that shows up in your body. Mindfulness is just like any other exercise: doing it daily will help strengthen that muscle.
• Nutrition: Our dietitian utilizes the Intuitive Eating model which allows students to recognize hunger and fullness cues, as well as provide choices for healthy eating habits. They also provides nutrition classes and approves the menu that is served at Solstice West.
• Fitness: With daily PE/fitness classes, we want to get our students moving and having fun! We emphasize that fitness is about more than physical activity: it contributes to emotional well-being and also positively impacts brain function.  
• Being outside: With Adventure Therapy every Friday, we make sure our students have time to get outside and get back in their bodies. Our Adventure Therapy program consists of outdoor recreation, experiential education and community service.

We also want your teen to develop their individual interests and coping skills while they are at Solstice West. They will have the opportunity to work closely with their primary therapist and mentor guide to explore practices and activities that speak to their heart. The curriculum in the Hero’s Journey will also encourage their to address any imbalances that they recognizes or would like to work on.

In order to create lasting change, a holistic, integrated approach to health and well-being is necessary. Read more about our holistic approach at Solstice West>>>