One of the many things that sets Avalon Hills apart is our willingness and determination to treat each patient at the individual level and not attempt to apply one treatment model to everyone. Avalon understands that each patient has individual needs and struggles and therefor will also need a different treatment plan and individualized interventions along the way. Taking the time to understand each one of our patients allows us to move forward with creative and thoughtful one-on-one interventions. These interventions could be anything that the client and her team believe would benefit her as she moves to recovery. Examples of these interventions include shopping challenges, mirror exposures, eat out challenges, changes to meal plans, horseback riding, personal exercises plans, behavior plans, art classes, or anything within reasonable means that could have a positive impact and ignite the fire for sustained recovery.
Time and time again we have seen these interventions allow a client to make a break through and explore an area of their life and treatment that they had not previously been in touch with. It also allows clients an opportunity to apply the skills that they have been learning while at Avalon into an applicable real life scenario. This gives the client a chance to see how far they have come as well as identify areas that they will need to continue to work on to avoid potential setbacks or relapse once they are able to transition back to their home.
Recently one of our adolescent clients had the opportunity to participate in an intervention where she traveled to Salt Lake to attend a Real soccer game. On this trip our client was able to go out to eat at a restaurant prior to the game. Eating out allowed her the chance to practice using the intuitive eating skills that she has been working on developing throughout her treatment. Intuitive eating is the act of listening to your body and responding to your hunger fullness cues, than using these cues to appropriately gauge how much to eat. Attending the soccer game gave our client the chance to get out and go to an event that would be similar to something she would do at home with her family. This real world application of going to an activity, being around a large crowd of people, and eating snacks with friends, all while balancing internal emotions is the kind of practice that all clients need to ensure there are no holes in their recovery. She had some struggles with body image but we were able to work through them in real-time. Overall, she was able to have a great time at the game and enjoy herself while simultaneously working to achieve personal goals that will aid her in her long term recovery.
– Morgan M, Case Manager