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For Girls

For Girls

Therapeutic Inpatient Treatment for Girls

At Copper Hills Youth Center, we know how hard it is to watch young women engage in behaviors that are destructive or harmful. We see each young woman’s full potential. We strive to help these adolescents make the right choices resulting in the best chance for success in life. Our program offers a positive setting that emphasizes emotional regulation, distress tolerance, increasing communication skills, building empathy and modeling healthy behaviors. By addressing issues of chronic stress, complex trauma and/or attachment related symptoms, residents develop new skills and progress through the phase system and prepare for discharge.

Copper Hills provides 24-hour supervision in an intermediate, secure setting for girls aged 12 through 17. The girls in our program have psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder or depression and have generally failed outpatient therapies or other attempts at recovery.

We customize treatment plans based on evaluations given during admission to diagnose problems. Each resident receives individual, family, group therapy, medication management, recreation therapy and academic instruction provided by teachers who have been trained to integrate in the classroom the skills that our residents have been learning and practicing.

Gems Program

Not all young women learn or progress in the same way, which is why we provide separate tracks that allow adolescents to learn in a way that is geared toward their needs. The tracks are broken up by chronological age and level of cognitive functioning. All tracks allow individuals to advance to upper phases and include a positive setting, group meetings and other interventions.

Phase System and Advancement

Residents are provided with a structured environment guided by a progressive phase system. As they progress in treatment, residents will move through their personal journeys and phases – Explorer, Apprentice, Leader and Guide. Advancement is based on safety, cleanliness, social skills, participation, following directions and therapy progress.

Positive Peer Culture

At Copper Hills, we understand the importance of having the support and encouragement of peers (fellow residents). We believe that the involvement of peers, along with staff, contribute to learning, guidance and positive change. Peers are often able to see and address problems with thinking and behavior in a way that adults cannot allowing individuals to change their behavior when needed. Our Resident Advisory Council is a strong part of leadership at Copper Hills Youth Center. This group of youth who have successfully advanced in our phase system meet weekly with our CEO to discuss ideas for improving the quality of life at Copper Hills.

Group Meetings

Our programming provides a series of groups that are divided into multiple categories:
Skill-development groups include:

  • Mindfulness
  • Distress tolerance
  • Communication skills
  • Anger management
  • Impulse control
  • Daily-living skills
  • Values education and moral reasoning training
  • Problem-solving training
  • Social-thinking skills for adolescents
  • Refusal skills
  • Cognitive restructuring
  • Money management
  • Victim awareness
  • Stress management

Helping groups are structured daily meetings conducted by a mentor resident. Community issues and needs are discussed in these groups.

Group therapy is held at least two times per week and conducted by a licensed therapist. The first group focuses on the Structured Psychotherapy for Adolescents Responding to Chronic Stress (SPARCS) curriculum and second group may be used as a follow-up or address the needs of the track.

Recreation therapy groups are held at least three times per week conducted by a licensed recreation therapist. Group content is based on the leisure and well-being model as well as resiliency theory and provides students with experiential learning.

Chemical dependency groups are conducted on a weekly basis for those residents who have substance use problems. Students will be assigned to these groups if indicated by their clinician who will refer to history as well as results from the SASSI-A assessment.

Relationship Awareness groups are conducted by a licensed therapist. This is a 12 week “closed” group in which students are nominated to participate by their individual therapists. The curriculum reviews sexuality, healthy relationships and building personal values.

These groups are designed to accelerate treatment and help the resident to become a productive and contributing member of her community.

One Call Is All It Takes

If your adolescent is struggling with a primary psychiatric disorder, including autism spectrum disorder, treatment at Copper Hills Youth Center could help change their lives. Don’t wait, call 800-776-7116 today.