Nashotah Center for DBT Female Adolescent Residential Care

For any teenager, high school is a challenging period of life. Emotions are experienced more intensely than in any other period of life. For females who may have difficulty regulating these emotions, who are experiencing severe depression, or who might be at risk for self-harm or have attempted suicide, Rogers' Nashotah Center for DBT Female Adolescent Residential Care may be the right place.

The Nashotah Center is a small, 16-person program that features individualized treatment and planning. Teens are immersed in dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) to effectively reduce symptoms. These skills lead to improved personal safety, relationships, self-esteem, quality of life and resilience—all within our validating environment, where girls are safe to explore change, express genuine emotions and better tolerate thoughts and feelings.

For motivated high school females up to age 18, this treatment can address severe:

Self-harm, nonsuicidal self-injurious behavior
Depression and other mood disorders
Anxiety disorders
Difficulties in emotional regulation
Perfectionism
Disordered eating
Struggles with managing interpersonal relationships
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Nashotah is a female name for “twin” in the Potawatomi Native American language. Our Nashotah patients may struggle with dual, conflicting thoughts, while valuing both. With our focus on DBT, we help patients accept doing the best they can, while acknowledging the need to try hard and make healthy changes. Open since 2014, our outcomes are demonstrating the positive impact of our evidence-based approach to care.

At Rogers, we understand that if you are considering this type of treatment, there is a need for the intensive level of care only available in a residential setting. While here, the teens live on campus at Rogers’ Oconomowoc, Wisconsin location, in a comfortable, home-like setting. A typical stay lasts 60 to 90 days.

In this level of care, we can reduce safety risks associated with emotional dysregulation and work to gain skills that will help teens learn how to manage personal conflict and symptoms of personality disorders, and decrease the risk of future traumas such as abusive relationships.

In addition to medication management, treatment includes 30 hours per week of skills training, group therapy, DBT-based experiential therapy and more within an individualized treatment plan.

Immersion in DBT

Led by a board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist, a dedicated team of professionals is trained in the Marsha Linehan Institute’s model of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). These DBT skills serve as a foundation of care. Here teens build distress tolerance, improve emotional regulation, maintain safety, and learn non-judgmental personal acceptance and mindfulness in managing life’s challenges. DBT prolonged exposure may also be part of the individualized treatment plan.

Other components of care include:

Experiential therapy (art, music, recreation, movement)
Academic and classroom work with certified teachers
Spiritual care options

Family involvement is another key part of treatment, allowing for more effective treatment and easing the transition back home and to work or school. This includes family therapy and Rogers’ Parent University, a program that educates parents about treatment, recovery, and how to best support their children’s mental health needs. Parent University occurs twice a month for three hours per each session.

Here’s what an average weekday looks like.

Morning	Afternoon	Evening
Vital/weights; medications	Supervised lunch	Supervised dinner
Supervised breakfast	Education services	Therapy assignments; schoolwork
DBT homework review	Physical activity	Recreation
DBT skills group	Experiential therapy	DBT skills study
Group therapy		Phone time, family time
Mindfulness		Evening wrap-up group, mindfulness

Our treatment team members

The treatment team works closely together using a strengths-based, DBT-informed approach that allows patients to experience emotions with more awareness and acceptance so that they can develop healthier relationships and make real change in their lives.

The entire clinical team is engaged in ongoing training in DBT therapy by Behavioral Tech, LLC, an internationally recognized training organization under the direction of Dr. Marsha Linehan, PhD. Staff participate in a weekly DBT consultation group, which ensures your child receives effective and compassionate care throughout her treatment stay.

Members of the treatment team may include:

Board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrists
Licensed clinical psychologists
Pediatric, family practice and internal medicine physicians
Registered psychiatric nurses
Registered dietitians
Master’s level social workers/counselors
Therapeutic specialists
Experiential therapists
Art therapists
Certified teachers
Child and adolescent-trained residential care specialists

Nashotah Center for DBT Female Adolescent Residential Care setting and tour

Treatment Location
Oconomowoc, WI

This type of treatment is part of our residential care located on the more than 50 acres within a wooded and lakeside setting in the lake country of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.

The 12-bed facility is found on an updated wing of the main building. A soothing color scheme, inspiring photography on the walls and comforting décor create a homelike setting which includes semi-private bedrooms, group rooms and welcoming lounge area. The campus grounds feature walking trails, a ropes challenge course, labyrinth and a multipurpose and indoor experiential therapy buildings as an extension of treatment.

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