What Makes Us Different

Your destiny is waiting for you.

At Skywood, we have a beautiful property comprised of woodlands, fields and ponds. We have a lot of fresh air, tall trees and waving grasses. We relish the outdoors, and we believe our surroundings have a restorative effect on the people who come here.

Our natural environment has led us to the telling of certain stories. There’s one story we tell our community about the stars. Each star has its own place in the night sky. It is singular, and yet it is part of many greater constellations. It is part of network, a larger whole. Every star has its own destiny, its own brightness, its own contribution to the night sky.

It is alone, yet never alone.

When you cope with problems using alcohol or drugs, you lose a measure of your brightness. Your star gets dim. You forget your unique place in the world, and you withdraw from the network that surrounds you.

When you come to Skywood, you will encounter people whose goal is to restore your brightness. Our program is designed to make you feel totally human again, to remember how much you add to the world by being in it. And it is specifically engineered to target each area of your life so that you can experience transformative healing.
 

What Sets Us Apart

What makes us really different at Skywood is that we have research-backed, integrated methods proven to unearth the real you — the unique, authentic you that is buried under all the pain, shame, complexity, and cloudiness of addiction and mental health conditions.

You should not be treated like a condition, because that’s not who you are. In fact, your issues probably get a lot more attention than you do right now, because they have been pushing your true self down into a hiding place where it feels all alone. While it is critically important to address your conditions so that they get out of the way of who you are, that’s the very thing that many treatment centers miss—who you are.

 
As human beings, our lives often get relegated into different categories. This is especially true when it comes to life-disrupting issues. For instance:

• “She’s just having some emotional problems—that’s where her depression is coming from.”
• “He’s having a lot of physical issues. He’s sick all the time, so he has to take a lot of pills. That’s the real problem.”
• “He just needs to get more in touch with his spiritual life. That would fix this.”
• “She has mental issues. She needs medication.”

Sometimes people tend to believe that anything going wrong in their lives can be blamed on one particular area of their being—physical, emotional, mental or spiritual. But the truth is that these all operate on a spectrum, and they all affect the others. For instance, what may start as “an emotional problem” quickly manifests itself in mental distress, spiritual detachment and physical pain.

That’s not even considering elements like your familial, work or social context. The way that your environment affects you, and how you affect it in turn, is very significant for your well-being.

You cannot treat one area of your life and expect the others to be fine. You have to approach your health and lifestyle holistically.

That’s what Skywood does. We understand that people are not simply made up of conditions that need to be treated. They are human beings who have multi-faceted lives and complex needs. We have come to understand that all our best-laid plans—our innovative and time-tested methods, compassionate staff and notable programming—are all next to useless without relationships, support, and motivation. That’s why we developed a comprehensive approach that fosters those things and yields true healing.

Our Comprehensive Approach

Each element of our program supports your overall health. We believe every aspect can help you develop important connections, gain understanding, and be filled with hope. Here are some of therapeutic treatment methods we employ and why we use them at Skywood:

• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

  DBT is about learning how to embrace both the acceptance of reality and the need for change, enabling you to move forward despite negative events or feelings. We use DBT skills to teach you how to be mindful and understanding, relieving feelings of conflict and tension that hold back your ability to heal and find happiness.

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

  During a CBT session, you are shown how to think and behave in ways that will help you reach your self-stated goals. You can “unlearn” your unwanted reactions and choose new responses to your thoughts and feelings. We use CBT because, as you continue in the process, you’ll understand how and why you’re improving. You’ll continue to develop skills that will help you face future challenges and make positive changes to your thinking and behavior.

• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
  This type of therapy helps an addicted person detach from specific thoughts and feelings that enable addiction. ACT helps you take control of your life and determine how much importance negative thought patterns and habits will receive. At Skywood, we use this approach to help you discover your most precious values and act on them.
• Adventure Therapy
  Adventure therapy reaches back to the roots of what makes us truly human. Our safe, team-oriented adventures are combined with clinically-proven counseling therapy. As you proceed on the path of wellness, you may find new hobbies and interests that you never knew you enjoyed before. You can engage both your body and mind through interactive team-building activities, nature walks, and fitness excursions. We use adventure therapy because it can help you develop the confidence and stamina to embrace life’s challenges.
• Art Therapy
  So much of treatment is verbal—discussing issues and talking through problems and barriers to sobriety. A non-verbal option like art therapy can provide a welcomed break as well as fresh insights and a new perspective. We use art therapy because it can increase your creativity, build your self-esteem, and enhance your strengths as you explore issues that may not be as easy to address in traditional therapy sessions.
• Equine Therapy
  In equine therapy, horses are used as a means to provide metaphoric experiences in order to promote emotional growth. Equine therapists are trained to teach a variety of lessons on the ways in which horses learn, react, and follow instructions. We use this at Skywood because it provides a chance for you to understand how your behavior affects others, and it can often lead to a therapeutic breakthrough.
• Nutrition and Wellness Sessions
  Your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health can go out of balance during active addiction. Nutrition is one of the important things that falls out of focus when substance abuse accelerates. Many people arrive at treatment with medical issues related to their substance use and lack of proper nourishment. We provide nutrition and wellness sessions to teach you proper self-care through healthy practices.
• Family Therapy and Family Weekends
  At Skywood, we have an emphasis on bringing families together for counseling and quality time that can benefit both you and your loved ones. This is accomplished with the help of a qualified therapist who can influence positive discussion and promote a healing environment. As the family members learn about addiction and mental health conditions, they gain a new understanding of how they themselves can heal and support the recovery process.
• Anger Management Sessions
  An effective anger management program teaches positive skill sets. Many people may think that managing anger means suppressing it, but the truth is that learning how to deal with anger is a study in self-reflection, the manifold causes of anger, and what it means when one experiences an agitated emotional state. It is also about determining the techniques and exercises that work to eliminate the causes of anger, not simply limiting the expression of anger. At Skywood, we use a patient-centered care method based on psychological therapy to help each individual patient understand the primary feelings that can lead to excessive or even uncontrollable anger and aggression.
• Grief and Loss Sessions
  Excessive feelings of grief can leave a person vulnerable to a constant state of sadness, anger, and despair, leading to physical symptoms, such as sleeping or eating disorders. Skywood’s goal is to support each patient who is struggling with the mourning process. We provide compassion, education, a listening ear, and proven therapeutic methods to help patients redirect negative emotions and process their feelings of grief and loss.
• Physician-directed Medication Management
  We understand that sometimes you may need medications in order to manage your health properly. Whether the medication is for temporary or longer-term use, our consulting physicians are able to monitor your symptoms and ensure that you receive the right kinds and the right doses.
• 12-Step and Peer Support Meetings
  One popular approach to recovery is based on the 12 Steps, a historical set of principles and guidelines that help you recognize your conditions and use a clear set of actions. During the 12-Step process, you explore a series of realizations, make amends, and look toward the future. At Skywood, participation in 12-Step or similar programs is voluntary. Our goal is to expose you to different peer support recovery methods and allow you to choose what works best for you.
• Psychoeducational Groups
  Because you are a partner in your recovery, we will educate you about your diagnosis and other aspects of behavioral health. We want you to obtain greater self-awareness, and we also want you to grasp the science behind addiction and mental health conditions. You’ll see how your disease affects you psychologically as well as how your behavior affects you and other people. Education is a powerful ally in your long-term recovery. When you understand addiction and mental health better, you are empowered to face them with discernment and understanding.
• Individual Therapy
  We think it’s very important for each person to have one-on-one time with a dedicated therapist. Your therapist will listen to you, learn from you, and ultimately help you heal wounded parts of your inner self. When you develop or increase your sense of personal well-being, your process of change becomes easier, and interpersonal relationships improve. As sessions continue, growth becomes evident and comes as a natural result of therapy.
• Group Therapy
  Group processing can be a deeply enlightening part of treatment and recovery. Gathered with your peers, you can express feelings and emotions with those who can relate to you. This opens the door to new points of view and helps you foster your relational skills. Skywood’s groups, led by a therapist, are focused on encouragement and helpful feedback in a safe, supportive atmosphere.
• Yoga
  We consider yoga to be a gem in the recovery world because it provides you with a chance to reconnect with your body in a peaceful way. The practice of yoga can benefit anyone, but specific yoga techniques can be particularly useful in detoxification and rehabilitation. These include breath control, certain postures or poses, relaxation, and meditation. Simply learning to breathe consciously can positively impact your treatment and recovery process. Yoga is a holistic piece of our program that everyone can appreciate.

“Thank you guys for all the tools you gave me to stay sober and to finally love myself.”

— A graduate of an FRN treatment program