Contact us Monday through Friday 8:00am CST to 4:00pm CST at 715-327-4402

Individualized Residential Treatment for Girls – Prairieview

Recognizing the unique needs of adolescent females, we have designed a DBT informed program with components to address the need to increase self-esteem, promote positive relationship-building and connection with community, and develop healthy coping skills.

Northwest Passage’s Prairieview (formerly known as Passage III) is an individualized, DBT informed, residential program for adolescent females aged 12 to 17. At Northwest Passage, we engage with the child and family system to build a therapeutic lifestyle to last a life time, providing the expertise and support your child will need as they embark on the PassageWay.

Unique to Prairieview are the girls’ small group cohorts (6-8 girls) where the young ladies grow and learn together as we use evidenced-based treatment modalities to provide essential life experiences for girls such as: relationship development, adaptive education, community participation and time in nature. Our program provides an intensive, effective, and lasting treatment – click here to learn more about the PassageWay.

We Provide Essential Life Experiences for Girls Through:

  • Individualized programming designed to fit your child’s needs
  • Consistent daily schedule and community expectations
  • Building and maintaining positive relationships with peers, adults, and the community
  • Individual therapy, family therapy, and specialized treatment groups
  • Psychiatric services and comprehensive medication management for any clients taking psychotropic medications
  • Specialized groups based upon individual client needs. These include: Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) Skills, Character Development, Diversity, Healthy Bodies-Healthy Minds, Healthy Living, Chemical Health, Yoga, Razzle Dazzle (dance group), and Independent Living.
  • Fully accredited school services including transitional educational opportunities available for HSED, mainstream public school, or day treatment
  • Expressive arts and restorative nature photography program
  • Trauma sensitive interventions

The primary objective of this program is to provide a treatment community that promotes a therapeutic lifestyle. Prairieview utilizes many regional resources such as wooded areas for hiking, cross-country skiing, and camping, as well as the rivers and lakes for swimming and canoeing.

Community integration… Northwest Passage is committed to relationship-based services. In addition to using innovations in mental health treatment for children and families, we maintain a core treatment value of assisting our clients with developing and maintaining healthy relationships in all facets of their lives. We believe that one critical facet of long-term, stable mental health, particularly for our female clients, is a lasting connection to a strong community. Therefore, Prairieview incorporates service-learning programming to assist clients with productive and rewarding community involvement with the aim of broadening the relationship-skill-building to include communities. We partner with organizations in surrounding communities to engage our clients in rewarding service-learning projects.

Dialectical behavioral therapy… Prairieview engages programming specific to the needs of our clients. Although our female clients are often referred because of behaviors that have been concerning to those who love them and problematic in their lives overall, most often it is their emotions that lie at the root of their difficulties. Often, our clients are those who have experienced extreme emotions and who often attempt to avoid distress by engaging in harmful behaviors (drug use, elopements, promiscuity, self harm, etc.). Therefore, we have integrated Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, or DBT, into our programming. This type of therapy differs from other methods because it focuses on emotions rather than thoughts. DBT teaches people to look at areas of conflict in their lives and resolve them differently than they typically have in the past. Ultimately, this will help them discontinue those harmful behaviors. DBT focuses on the here and now, rather than what may have occurred in the past and includes instruction in areas such as:

  • Emotional regulation -learning to change emotions and promote stable emotions
  • Distress tolerance -learning how to put up with emotions that hurt but can’t be changed
  • Interpersonal skills -learning how to appropriately interact with people to successfully get what you want
  • Mindfulness skills -learning to be in the moment rather than always in your thoughts
  • Meaning-making skills -identifying what is really important to you so that your behavior and plans are always tied to your values

DBT typically includes one individual therapy session and one group therapy session per week. Both sessions focus on instruction of the necessary skills. Clients are also asked to complete homework assignments between sessions to help them maintain focus on the skills they are learning.

Healthy bodies, healthy minds… Few can argue the relationship between self-esteem and an active, healthy lifestyle. Key components of the Prairieview program are physical training and activities designed to promote healthy living while also providing our clients with an opportunity to experience a healthy outlet for their energies. We weave physical training, weight lifting, and outdoor adventure skills training into the programming. These activities not only provide opportunities for our clients to engage in a more active lifestyle, but they also provide very natural opportunities for pro-social interactions and the development of team-building skills.

Group work… Relationships and skills for relating to others are critical to the stability and success of our female clients. Oftentimes, teenage girls can find greater stability in their lives if they can find healthy and successful ways to relate to others. A central focus to our programming involves group work aimed at promoting healthy relationships and relational skills. Groups involving anger management and peer relationships provide consistent opportunities for our clients to gain skills in these areas. In addition, we help our clients focus on an array of healthy daily living choices through healthy living group topics such as nutrition, exercise, relationships and sex education as well as providing chemical health groups and group programming aimed at daily living skills and resilience.

Daily programming… While in our program, clients are consistently engaged in a schedule that keeps them active and focused within a therapeutic living environment. This ensures that our clients have more opportunities to integrate their progress into their daily lives in a sustainable way. The daily schedule includes time for educational instruction and physical training as well as groups and individual therapy. Weekends provide relaxing activities but remain structured and supervised with staff planning activities that are creative and fun, yet therapeutic.

Women of the valley… This program, exclusively at Prairieview, aims to empower the girls to understand their own “heroine’s journey” through connecting them with the women who shape the history and culture of the St. Croix Valley. Through mastering portrait photography and photojournalism skills, participants tell the stories of these women. The project has been showcased through exhibits and newspaper articles. The National Park Service is the primary partner for this project. Follow the In a New Light blog to find out what the girls are up to.

The admissions process… Northwest Passage accepts referrals from parents, social service personnel, community service providers (therapists, psychiatrists), and independent educational consultants.

PRAIRIEVIEW QUICK FACTS

This conveniently located center is situated on 25 acres of prairie. It features a full service cafeteria, comprehensive on site treatment staff, classrooms, and space for lounging – all under one roof. Upcoming construction will add an on-site wellness center which will include a recreation area and outdoor education classrooms.

 

  • Serving ages 12-17
  • 24 beds across three units in a comfortable dorm-like setting
  • 6-8 month approximate average stay
  • 1:4 minimum staff to client ratio

HOW PRAIRIEVIEW CAN HELP

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Beyond the support children can find in their family, we strive to also teach our clients that they can find strength, support, and vitality in becoming a committed member of their community. Through our Restorative Justice program, residents have an opportunity to participate in significant and dynamic community service projects. These efforts can play a vital role in helping our clients see themselves, sometimes for the first time ever, as a true part of something larger.

 

Northwest Passage clients all share one goal: to move forward in their lives. We recognize that sometimes the most fearful part of a treatment experience is the end. When the time comes for our clients to take their new skills and put them to work in their homes and communities, we know that their greatest need is support.

Each resident is assigned a Case Manager who begins working with clients at least one month prior to discharge.

The Case Manager is available to help residents reintegrate into their communities including finding jobs, enrolling successfully in school and setting up an appropriate IEP (Individualized Education Plan) if necessary, addressing a family’s stressors specific to the return of the client to family living, and in general aiding with all matters of transition. This service continues, without additional cost, for at least 60 days following a client’s discharge.

Northwest Passage accepts referrals from parents, social service personnel, community service providers (therapists, psychiatrists), and independent educational consultants.

PRAIRIEVIEW SITE PHOTOS

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