Clients who admit to Skyland Trail in Atlanta, one of the best primary psychiatric residential treatment centers for adults 18 and older, become part of our healing community. They are assigned to an evidence-based specialized treatment team and peer group and a structured daily schedule tailored to their symptoms and goals. By engaging fully in treatment and working in partnership with their multidisciplinary treatment team, our clients recover, reset, and reclaim their lives.
Programs for Adults
Our continuum of care is one of the things that makes us unique. People who enter psychiatric treatment programs often find that transitions are abrupt and they have to change from a very supported environment to an unsupported environment too quickly. Our continuum of care helps people step from one level of care to another level of care gradually.
Clients who actively engage in treatment, get involved in the Skyland Trail community, and complete each level of care in the continuum experience the best outcomes.
Residential Treatment
Residential Treatment
Most clients admit to our most intensive level of care. Located in Atlanta, our residential campuses are unlocked, voluntary facilities. Clients receive 24/7 staff support and private client rooms with private bathrooms.
Clients who admit to residential treatment typically participate in the residential level of care for 4 to 8 weeks before stepping down to the day treatment program program.
Day Treatment (PHP)
Day Treatment
Day treatment, sometimes called Partial Hospitalization or PHP, is offered as a step-down from residential treatment. Some clients may admit directly to day treatment if clinically appropriate.
Clients live at home and come to our adult campus Monday through Friday for therapeutic activities 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
Transitional housing is available to eligible clients stepping down from residential treatment.
Clients typically participate in the day treatment program for about 4 to 6 weeks and then step down to the intensive outpatient program (IOP).
Intensive Outpatient Program
Intensive Outpatient Program
Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) is the next step after clients make progress in day treatment. Clients may not admit directly to IOP.
IOP offers a slightly shorter day, five or three days a week, from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM.
Transitional Housing with Independence Coaching may be available to eligible IOP clients.
Clients typically complete another 3 to 6 weeks in IOP before graduating.
Transitional Housing
Transitional Housing Program
Skyland Trail offers transitional housing apartments on the Skyland Trail North Transitional Living campus where clients live on their own with moderate support from our staff. Transitional clients have a private bedroom, and share a bathroom and living area with another client.
Eligible clients may live in transitional housing while in the day treatment or intensive outpatient programs and for up to one year after they graduate from Skyland Trail intensive programs with clinical approval.
Outpatient Programs
Outpatient Programs
A variety of outpatient programs provide support after graduating, including vocational services, a social club, and an alumni program.
Length of Stay
Clients complete a psychiatric assessment as part of the admissions process. The admissions team uses results from the assessment to determine whether the client is appropriate to admit to residential or day treatment (PHP).
Admit to Residential
Admit to Day Treatment
Estimated total length of stay:
3 to 4 months
Including an estimated 4 to 8 weeks in residential, 4 to 6 weeks in day treatment (PHP), and 3 to 6 weeks in IOP.
Total length of stay depends on clinical progress in treatment.
A Healing Community
Specialized and respectful mental health residential treatment facilities offer socialization and support. All our adult psychiatric residential treatment facilities offer private bedrooms and bathrooms and are:
- voluntary, unlocked facilities
- accredited by The Joint Commission
- licensed by the State of Georgia
- staffed 24/7 with nurses and residential counselors
- surrounded by gardens
Major Insurance Plans Accepted
Most client families use a combination of private insurance, private pay, and financial aid (if eligible) to cover the full costs of treatment. Medicare and Medicaid do not cover our services at any level of care.
Mental health adult programs at Skyland Trail are in-network with many plans offered by:
- Aetna
- Blue Cross Blue Shield
- Carelon Behavioral Health
- Cigna
- ComPsych
- Magellan
- Optum/United Behavioral Health/Oscar Health
- Humana Military / TRICARE East*
*TRICARE plans are in-network for adult residential treatment for adults ages 18-20 only. TRICARE plans cover adult day treatment and IOP program for adults ages 18 to 26 who are covered dependents and adults 18+ who are primary beneficiaries.
| Adult Program Level of Care | |
|---|---|
| Residential Treatment | $1,300/day |
| Day Treatment (PHP) | $625/day |
| Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) | $450/day |
Holistic Approach to Treatment
We treat each individual, individually, tailoring an approach that includes a broad mix of evidence-based one-on-one and group therapies that help our clients make real and sustainable progress.
Our holistic treatment model integrates strategies to help clients improve mental health, physical wellness, and relationships with family and friends.
- In addition to helping our clients through effective medications and evidence-based psychotherapy, we offer art, music, horticultural and recreation therapies; interfaith spiritual counseling; and family therapy.
- In classroom-like settings, we educate clients about their mental illness and teach strategies they can use to cope with stress and prevent relapse.
- Our vocational services program helps clients prepare to return to school, enter the workforce, or make career changes to support their mental health.
- We are one of only a few programs in the country to integrate medical care and mental health treatment, and our Glenn Family Wellness Clinic earned certification as a Behavioral Health Home from The Joint Commission.
Disorders & Symptoms We Treat
Adult clients in our residential treatment for depression and day treatment for depression programs benefit from a powerful mix of evidence-based treatment strategies, including medication, psychotherapy, exercise, and sleep regulation. When medication therapy for depression does not improve symptoms, our treatment team may recommend transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), which is offered at Skyland Trail. Most adult clients with depression participate in our cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) recovery community. Specialized treatment is available for adults with depression and anxiety, depression and psychosis, depression and substance use, depression and PTSD, or depression and borderline personality disorder.
Medications are essential and effective in controlling bipolar disorder, including bipolar I, bipolar II, rapid cycling, or cyclothymia. As our clients' active symptoms are resolved through medication and psychotherapy, they can focus on developing the skills they need to manage mood episodes and prevent crises. In addition to applying specialized evidence-based therapies like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), we provide support to help clients address their symptoms through proven strategies like routinely getting eight hours of sleep each night, engaging in cardiovascular exercise, improving nutrition, and participating in positive leisure and social activities.
Our first priority is to identify a medication strategy to control hallucinations and delusions. But medication is only the first step. We then help clients develop skills they need to manage their illness and feel safe and healthy in the world. As part of our residential treatment program for schizophrenia, clients receive support to manage their own hygiene and nutrition. A significant focus of individual and group therapy sessions is social integration, relationship building and emotional coping skills. Clients experiencing their first episode of psychosis likely will be part of our cognition and first episode specialized recovery community, while older adults seeking to manage ongoing symptoms will likely join our social integration recovery community. All clients with psychosis participate in computer-based cognitive remediation training, and additional dual diagnosis programs are available for clients with schizophrenia and substance use.
Our residential treatment program for anxiety and our day treatment program for anxiety in Atlanta help clients adopt new strategies to cope with stress. Through personalized psychotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) groups, clients gradually learn to reframe their thoughts and adjust behaviors to prevent the disabling responses to stress that were causing them pain and disability. As part of a structured daily structure, clients with anxiety primarily participate in groups focused on CBT skills and also benefit from DBT groups focused on mindfulness and distress tolerance.
Adults with borderline personality disorder (BPD) likely will be assigned to our dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) program. Our DBT clients have symptoms that include impulsivity, self-injurious behaviors or frequent suicide attempts. Client who admit to our residential DBT program have not developed healthy coping skills for handling stress or emotional discomfort. Medications are generally ineffective for treating borderline personality disorder. DBT has been proven an effective therapeutic approach for helping individuals who struggle with BPD or emotional dysregulation manage their symptoms, feel validated and accepted, improve relationships, and live a life worth living.
The dual diagnosis program at Skyland Trail is designed to treat clients with a primary mood, thought, or anxiety disorder who have a co-occurring substance use issue. Research shows that treating both problems at the same time leads to the best results. Skyland Trail is not appropriate for individuals with a primary substance use disorder and is not a detoxification facility. Dual Diagnosis clients meet in an additional daily group focused on understanding the addictive process, managing cravings, utilizing community supports and preventing relapse. Individual work with a primary counselor and a psychiatrist addresses both psychiatric and substance use challenges. Our experts give our clients the best chance for recovery through effective medications, therapy and connections to 12-step recovery programs. Recovery is not just about "giving things up." It is also about constructing a life that supports health and happiness in a sustainable way.
The model of care practiced at the Skyland Trail adult and adolescent treatment programs is “trauma-informed.” By helping trauma survivors first address symptoms of depression, anxiety, or borderline personality disorder, trauma-informed psychiatric treatment allows patients to develop insight and adopt healthy coping skills to handle difficult emotions before beginning the challenging work of processing their specific trauma.
Individuals who cut themselves or engage in other self-injurious behaviors often are using this unhealthy coping strategy to deal with emotional pain or confusion that they do not know how to process in any other way. Self harm behaviors can be successfully treated with evidence-based therapy.
Residential treatment may be the right level of care for someone with chronic suicidal thought or behavior patterns.
