Are you seeking a transformative solution for your teen’s challenges? Turning Winds offers a long-term residential treatment center for teens that fills the gaps left by other treatment options. Such a transformation takes time. Most teens need between six to nine months, but the results are often dramatic.
Alumna Madison (not her real name) was one of those clients who changed her life within a year. That change did not come easily at first. “At the beginning of my stay at Turning Winds, I was a very closed-off, quiet individual. I struggled with trusting people.”
Madison had experienced trauma and needed time to have faith in her therapists, teachers, and fellow students. They were there for her “to listen and talk to you and trust was built. Just having the ability to have a member of staff or someone sit and listen to you about a struggle that you were having that day, or simply just be there through your highs and lows. It was definitely something that allowed me to build a sense of trust that I didn’t have when I was growing up.”
BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS
“Turning Winds works because we build relationships with these kids. The more of a relationship therapists have, the more of a positive impact they can have on these kids,” says Turning Winds clinical manager Sean Carlin, MS, PCLC.
Many Turning Winds clients arrive angry, confused, and unsure of where to start. “The key is building that relationship,” says Carlin. “You see it with the therapists, the staff, our leadership. Everybody here has a relationship with these kids. And we’re able to use these relationships to shape and mold these kids. We’re motivating them to think in a healthier way.”
Madison agrees that building relationships is “something that is really strong” at Turning Winds. “That was definitely a big factor for me getting better and improving my mental state, knowing that I had people that were going to be there for me through my highs and lows and the days that I was struggling.”
Therapists at Turning Winds “are willing to actually take the time to explore how you’re feeling and what you’re actually going through,” says Madison. “And with the consistent commitment to explore more, it wasn’t just a job to them. It really had an impact on me and definitely built the foundation for relationships here. And that really started my process out here.”
BUILDING LEADERSHIP SKILLS
Another strong element of the treatment approach at Turning Winds is peer monitoring and building leadership skills. “As kids come in at a higher level of care, they’re learning basic ways to cope and regulate their emotions,” explains clinical manager Kimberly Sparks, LCPC. “They learn how to take on leadership skills, such as having more accountability to themselves, their peers, and their families.”
At Turning Winds, our clients get an opportunity to practice leadership and accountability, take responsibility, hold others responsible, and have confidence in doing that. “I think it definitely improves their overall self-esteem,” says Sparks. Madison feels that leadership taught her “the real values and the true self-character that you have with being a leader. And that is what I carried with me into the real world when I left Turning Winds.”
Madison also has much improved relationships with family members now, although it’s not always smooth sailing. “After you leave Turning Winds, there are still gonna be rough patches and not everything’s gonna be perfect. You’re not gonna necessarily be ‘fixed.’ It’s just not gonna be like a perfect everything, as if one thing’s going to fix everything. But at the end of the day, you know that everyone has each other’s best interests in mind.”
PART OF A TEAM NOW
Treatment wasn’t always easy for Madison, and she knows that she has to continue working on herself. “You’re still gonna have lows, you’re still gonna have slip-ups. But now I have the skills I learned here at Turning Winds, and I have a team that I can reach out to. I’m no longer alone. I’ve built a foundation, I’ve built relationships, and I can come back, and they’re only a phone call away.”
THE TURNING WINDS DIFFERENCE
At Turning Winds, we believe that creating relationships is key to success in life. We challenge each student to achieve personal excellence in academics and communication as they become self-directed and continue on their path of growth and achievement.
Before coming to Turning Winds, our clients typically have levels of self-worth that are in an unhealthy low range, which is manifested outwardly by almost daily self-defeating decisions.
Additionally, they may struggle with social skill deficits and poor impulse control. These children underachieve because they do not understand their value, potential, and strength. We specialize in helping them gain the vision to understand, see, and act according to their potential.
Our mission is to rescue teens from crises, renew their belief in their potential, reunite them with their families, and put them on a sustainable path to success. Contact us online for more information, or call us at 800-845-1380.
