DBT and Residential Treatments

[KARAKAYA]

Hi my 15 yr old daughter is suffering from severe anxieth disorderalong with a number of comorbid disorders. One provider also diagnosed PTSD. She's been under therapy and she is on Paxil and Seroquil. We are not going anywhere; so anyone with any experience with DBT and treatment at a at a residential treatment center, We need your input. Thank you

[lil-rose]

I don't have experience with the things you are asking for but since there were no replies, I wanted to suggest EMDR into the mix. The EMDR institute is the best place to find trained professionals for EMDR. If you read about the gal who developed EMDR it's very interesting, it was used for Vietnam vets and is gaining popularity among modern day vets for PTSD too.

[KARAKAYA in reply to lil-rose]

Hi Thank you for your reply. I began doing my homework on EMDR. Thanks again.

[Katzenjammer82]

I have been in a treatment center and for me it was terrifying. The nursing staff was mean and the doctor was overwhelmed with the amount of patients and seemed disinterested.

However it’s not like that at all places. (Or so I’ve heard.)

What did help me was after I was released from treatment I went to an intensive outpatient program. It was 8 hours a day 5 days a week for 6 weeks. I didn’t feel so confined and trapped and the others in my group were really nice and supportive. The group therapist was great at teaching ways to deal with anxiety and depression.

So if you have a program like that in your country I would suggest that before a treatment center.

[KARAKAYA in reply to Katzenjammer82]

Hi and thank you for sharing your experience. Most residential DBT programs are long term programs, some also provide high school level classes, so that is a plus for us since she has stopped attending school. However, the lenght and the cost really intimidates us. There are a few intensive outpatient programs but the region we live is not particularly known for best treatment providers. I have one question, that is, if you don't mind. Some people report that most symptoms come back after a certain time; has that been the case for you; or are you copingh much better now? Thank you for your insight.

[Katzenjammer82 in reply to KARAKAYA]

I wish I could say that I was better. But I can only blame myself for not being better. Like many people, when I started feeling better I stopped my meds and therapy. Not the smartest thing, but it’s what I did and I’m being stubborn about going back to therapy as I was not happy with my therapist outside of the outpatient program.

I also had to leave my outpatient treatment early because of a new job.

I do believe that outpatient was working for me very well. I mostly enjoyed the company of the others who were attending outpatient in the same group as me. Being around others who understand and had their own struggles was oddly comforting and I wish I could find a group therapy that worked with my schedule.

[KARAKAYA]

Hi and thank you for your reply. We have been trying a number of combinations for over two years now. What happens with her is after a few weeks she feels much better and we think it is working. Then, she says, it stops working and the Psychiatrist prescribes another one. That's why we have begun looking into treatment centers, residential or otherwise.

If you don't mind me asking, have you been practicing breathing, mindfullnes, NLP at all and have they helped you? Once again thank you so much.

[Klbtc]

I have experienced severe anxiety since I was about 11/12 years old. (I am now 26) I wish I would have had someone like me who had experienced all of the sensations/symptoms/thoughts I have experienced or had at that time in my life talk to me and relate and give me advice Bc I needed that. I wish I had a letter from future me with all the knowledge I obtain now to the younger me.

You are seeking advice on thoughts regarding dbt or treatment/ residential treatment?

Well, first off, after my first test of college, I came home and group therapy (IOP, intensive outpatient program) combined with Cbt (cognitive behavioral therapy) and DBT (Dialectical behavioral therapy) helped me so much. I took to it quickly and my anxiety attacks and general sense of well being improved dramatically. I suggest 6-8 weeks of am IOP with her age group. A lot of parents are opposed to meds however medications combined with the IOP group therapy changed my life and I believe saved it. I was put on lexapro (an SSRI’s) and lorazepam , the generic version of Ativan. Some people are incredibly opposed to going to meds for anxiety and maybe it isnt for long term however the Ativan and lexapro literally saved my life. It wasn’t until I turned 17 that I finally got help and I cried so hard after three weeks of being on lexapro Bc I felt a giant relief and life was just easier. I felt like I had been robbed of my life when I recognized this is how people live. I had never experienced life so easy without the “edge” making everything even a simple decision so difficult. The Ativan was the only thing that made me feel safe enough to go to school. So yes I highly recommend it and I do recommend meds at the beginning to give your daughter relief because it stressed out the body all this anxiety. And it gave me chronic fatigue syndrome as a secondary disorder Bc my body was exhausted of fighting with itself.

However I wasn’t taking care of little things and my anxiety got so bad a couple years ago I ended up moving back into my moms st the age of 24. She owned her own company and she ended up so I g to work from home Bc I was so scared to be alone. I ended up in urgent cares or hospitals when I tried to go do things with anxiety occurring. She said it was like having an infant all over again. If she moved to a diff room I would freak and say Mom where are you going when she was getting up to get food or the phone or go to the restroom. I couldn’t leave my house no was having panic attacks through the day everyday.

I got a psychiatric evaluation. Which told us what we already knew but the clarity for me knowing it wasn’t a health concern helped. They suggest a place called Menningers clinic in Houston Texas (where I lived and grew up, I moved to LA afrer going to a diff residential treatment which I’m ab to explain)

After talking with our insurance, luckily the head of the psychiatric department of my insurance provider ended up seeing my case and was very empathetic and particularly concerned in the way I was living my life so he suggested a residential rehab called The Meadows in Arizona. A lot of people associate drugs with rehab but it’s not just about drugs. Yes there are people with addiction that go there but there were so many people there that were there because of PTSD , Bi polar disorder, mood disorders, personality disorders, schizophrenia, ocd, generalized anxiety disorder, agoraphobia, panic disorder, all realms of mental illness. They have a program for young adults cslled the Claudia black center. If your daughter had t already experienced a psychiatrist and been out of medications for relief (which I highly recommend) along with group therapy then I suggest group therapy, and intense one like IOP that is seen at least three to four times a week combined with one on one therapy and a psychiatrist then I recommend that first. However if that’s been done then I suggest residential. I went for 55 days although you can find places for two weeks, for a month, 45 days, whatever is best suited for your daughter. It changed my life. I still go through anxiety loop relapsed but I have all the resources I need. After rehab residential treatment I was able to move to a new state by myself. It was the second thing to save my life second to medications and therapy. I hope this helps. Feel free to message me or respond and ask any questions. I know my mom needed any type of info from any experienced person Bc it was new to her and new to me and it’s hard to know what’s best for your child without knowledge of all the options. So I’m here for you and like I said I hope this helped. Best of luck.

Kirby

[Klbtc]

The tension exercises help so much. And practicing all of those things, the deep breathing in particular, when you have no anxiety at all is really good for you. Not even if it’s a little anxiety. Making it routine to practice it when you’re feeling st your best is highly recommended Bc if you only do it at the signs/sight of anxiety you’re correlating those exercises with panic and that ends up after a while being not so great. If you practice it when you’re not anxious it’s easier to do when you are and if you practice it when you’re feeling calm then your body will correlate it with feeling calm and balanced so when you implement it when you’re anxious it could help you go calm. I also suggest inciting anxiety in when you don’t feel it at all. Showing it your not scared. Not distracting yourself. Saying “I accept and allow these anxious feelings, I accept and allow these anxious thoughts” whatever you resist persists. I recommend getting the app called the calm and doing the daily meditation it helped me 100% as well as downloading the audible book like right this second for anyone suffering from anxiety or panic attacks. To buy the best friend you didn’t knoe you had called, “DARE - the new way to end anxiety and stop panic attacks” by Barry McDonagh, best-selling author of panic away. He will help so so so much. And wittle purchase of his book or maybe without it you can get his app the dare app dare response to panic. It helps so much I highly recommend it like now. Haha I hope this helps. Xo