Solstice East is a treatment center for teens. They use a holistic approach focusing on the mind and body connection. This leads them to combine family therapy, nutrition, exercise, and complementary therapies like equine therapy.
They believe the hero's journey provides an excellent treatment model everyone can understand.
What is the Hero's
Journey?
Joseph Campbell first outlined the hero's journey. He realized that hero stories, both ancient and modern, follow the same pattern. You can see it in movies, best-selling books, and humanity's earliest literature.
The hero will encounter trials, experience self-discovery, and eventually triumph over adversity. Then they can re-integrate with the world they left behind.
Stages of the Hero's
Journey
The stages of the hero's journey begin with an orientation and end when the hero returns home.
Orientation
During this stage, the journey still needed to begin. The hero receives the call to adventure. In many stories, the hero will initially ignore the call. Eventually, they will decide to make the journey.
At Solstice, this represents the beginning of a client's time at the facility.
Separation
Separation is when the hero leaves the world they knew behind to go on an adventure. They are uncertain about what they will encounter in the future.
During this phase, they may meet their mentor as well.
Solstice East views this phase as an adjustment period. The girl is letting go of her old life and preparing for a new one. She will be provided with a mentor at a different phase in their journey to help guide her.
Threshold and
Initiation
The threshold begins the moment the hero crosses the threshold into a new world. They are then initiated into the new world. They must overcome a difficult challenge as part of the initiation.
At Solstice, girls receive a charm during the initiation phase. It's a key moment in the program.
Transformation
During the transformation phase, the hero will transform into the person they are meant to be. They have already left their old world behind, but now they leave the person they used to be behind as well.
Solstice East similarly views transformation. The girl has demonstrated significant positive changes in her life.
Atonement
The atonement phase allows the hero to atone for a great mistake they've made on their journey. They realize where they've gone wrong and do their best to correct it.
This is also true at Solstice. Girls are encouraged to reflect on their mistakes and how to avoid repeating them in the future.
Return
The end of the hero's journey is the return. The hero returns from their quest. They are back in the world they knew, but their journey has changed them.
Girls at Solstice will return home during this phase. They will carry the lessons they learned during their time at the facility.
Solstice East
Solstice East provides treatment for teen girls suffering from a variety of mental or behavioral issues. These include anxiety, addiction, and trauma.
Treatment includes psychiatric care, individual, group, family, equine, and adventure therapy.
orientation, separation, initiation, transformation,
atonement, return.
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