Believe me, I understand! I was in other hospitals and had the same experiences myself, but WIIT is really different. I didn't feel like a "patient." I felt safe. I had a sense of hope that I had never had before. They explained what was going on inside me and helped me to work with myself. I felt responsible instead of belittled. Read WIIT's Treatment Philosophy and see how it's different:
WIIT's Treatment Philosophy
We Help Women Reclaim Their Lives. It is our belief that while the women we treat are suffering and in many ways have become dysfunctional, they are strong, intelligent and creative. Our goal is to help our patients recognize and experience their strengths and talents, which up until now have been invested in a survival effort which often relates back to childhood. We then focus on teaching them how to redirect their strengths and talents towards reclaiming themselves and building their lives.
We Foster a Positive Atmosphere. Atmosphere is very important to our program. Our women's unit is small and maintained separately from the rest of the hospital. The unit is not run in a strictly traditional manner. All of our patients are voluntary; there are no restraints used and there is no time out or isolation room. We treat the results of trauma in women: Depression, grief, loss, compulsive behaviors, self harm, Dissociative Disorders and PTSD. We support recovery and 12 step involvement for those with addiction or eating disorder problems, but we do not do primary treatment in those areas. We do not initiate abreactive work on the unit. We do not allow acting out or self destructive behavior. This is accomplished by making our standards known and having the patients contract with us regarding their behavior. The peer experience on the unit is positive. The grouping with other motivated women with similar problems helps them to "share the secret(s)."
