What is Willow Healing Center?

At Willow Healing Center, our residential treatment center helps women heal from trauma, addiction, intimacy disorders, eating disorders, mood and anxiety disorders, and co-occurring conditions.

Our mission is to provide a clinically sophisticated, trauma-focused, and holistic healing environment where women can rediscover safety, reclaim personal agency, and rebuild meaningful connections with themselves, others, and the world.

How do I know if I need treatment?

At Willow Healing Center, many women come to us feeling overwhelmed, stuck in patterns they can’t seem to change, or disconnected from themselves and their relationships. You don’t need to have everything figured out to reach out.

If your thoughts, emotions, or behaviors feel difficult to manage, or if patterns related to relationships, trauma, substance use, eating, or mental health are impacting your daily life, it may be time to seek support. Often, these patterns continue even when you recognize their impact on your well-being, relationships, work, or sense of self. You may find yourself trying to change, but returning to the same cycles.

Working with a licensed clinician can help you better understand what’s happening beneath the surface and identify a path forward that supports lasting healing.

What Types of Patterns May Signal a Need for Support?

Every woman’s experience is different, but some common patterns we see include:

Relational & Intimacy Patterns

• Repeatedly finding yourself in unhealthy, unavailable, or toxic relationships
• Difficulty leaving relationships that feel harmful, unsafe, or misaligned
• Confusing intensity, chemistry, or attention with genuine intimacy
• Struggling with boundaries in romantic, sexual, or interpersonal relationships
• Feeling anxious, empty, or overwhelmed when not in a relationship

Emotional & Mental Health Challenges

• Persistent anxiety, depression, mood swings, or emotional overwhelm
• Difficulty regulating emotions or feeling easily triggered
• Ongoing shame, guilt, or confusion about your thoughts, behaviors, or experiences
• Feeling disconnected from yourself, your body, or your sense of identity

Trauma-Related Experiences

• A history of childhood trauma, relational trauma, or other overwhelming experiences
• Feeling stuck in survival patterns like hypervigilance, avoidance, or emotional numbing
• Reacting strongly to situations that seem disproportionate or hard to explain

Substance Use & Coping Behaviors

• Using alcohol, drugs, food, shopping, or other behaviors to cope with emotions
• Feeling unable to stop or reduce certain behaviors despite wanting to
• Turning to compulsive or numbing behaviors to manage distress

Secrecy, Shame, or Loss of Control

• Living in ways that feel inconsistent with your values
• Keeping secrets or feeling like you’re living a double life
• Experiencing cycles of behavior followed by guilt, shame, or regret

Life Impact & Consequences

• Struggles in relationships, work, or daily functioning
• Repeated patterns that lead to emotional pain or instability
• Escalating consequences, including legal, financial, or health concerns
• Thoughts of self-harm or feeling like things are becoming unmanageable

How long will I have to be in treatment?

Our general treatment course is set at 45 days, but we recognize that every woman is different and what fits one may not fit another. Programs are customized for each woman, allowing for the most effective treatment for the relationship or intimacy issues that they are struggling with. When you enter Willow Healing Center, it’s important to stay for the duration of the treatment. In some cases, detox may be included if you are addicted to substances or if you display compulsive behaviors.

Can I leave treatment once admitted?

To ensure that treatment is successful, most treatment facilities don’t allow patients to leave unless accompanied by staff. In most cases, facilities are unlocked, however, locked facilities do exist for patients who need to be secured (those who try to escape, become hostile, threaten the safety of staff or other patients, etc.).

What exactly is inpatient treatment?

Sometimes it is better to be taken out of your home environment in order to focus on healing and recovery. Inpatient treatment provides that care 24 hours a day. After an extensive evaluation, a group of therapists, counselors, and psychologists come up with a unique, personalized treatment plan. This plan is based on the patient’s diagnoses, interests, and personality, and usually consists of group meetings and trauma work along with specific therapies such as expressive arts or equine therapy.

Do you treat transgender women?

At Willow Healing Center at The Meadows, we offer a safe environment for female-identifying transgender people to explore their gender identity, address issues related to social transitioning and its impact on relationships, and work through mental health issues that may be unrelated to gender identity like depression, anxiety, PTSD, and substance misuse. We recognize that transgender people are often reluctant to seek mental health treatment due to the unfortunate pathologization of transgender identities in some treatment circles, and we endeavor to make our program a truly safe place

How do I know if I need an outpatient or inpatient rehab program?

If you have tried to change your patterns, choices, and outcomes on your own, or with the help of a therapist, yet continue to struggle with negative consequences due to intimacy or relationship issues around love or sex, you would benefit from inpatient treatment. If you aren’t showing any progress in an outpatient program, or if it becomes unsafe to be in outpatient care, you should be admitted to an inpatient facility. If you would benefit from a gender-specific program in order to focus solely on you, then Willow Healing Center would be in your best interest. If your addiction or issue is more severe, or if you need to undergo detox, it is also recommended that you be admitted to an inpatient program.

Should my family be involved in my treatment?

Family involvement is crucial for the recovery process. Most treatment facilities have a set period of time for the family to come visit and take part in workshops or lectures. Many times, ineffective behaviors stem from issues within the family, so it’s essential to understand family dynamics and provide a space for the family to communicate and heal. Not only does this heal the patient, but it brings freedom and peace for the rest of the family. For more info, visit our Family Engagment page

What is the goal of treatment at Willow Healing Center? Will I be “cured”?

Our goal is to help women become empowered, confident, and healthy with clarity about her value and worth. Our hope is that, by redefining core wounds and beliefs as well as gaining practical skills and tools, women will begin to live the life they never thought possible. Most disorders or addictions, no matter what kind, have no definite “cure” – only ongoing healing and recovery. At Willow Healing Center, we base our reputable success rate on three factors: the number of alumni who recommend our program to friends and relatives, the number of referrals we get from other treatment facilities, and the number of patients referred to us by therapists and other medical practitioners (especially those who have been working with The Meadows for nearly four decades).

What are Senior Fellows?

Our Senior Fellows are industry experts with decades of research and experience who help the executive team refine The Meadows Model of treatment and our unique treatment program at Willow Healing Center. The Senior Fellows also provide specialized education to staff members, health care professionals, clients, family members, and alumni through The Meadows’ workshops. Read more about our current Meadows Senior Fellows.

Is Willow Healing Center covered by my insurance?

As with any medical facility, it depends on your insurance plan. You can check with your insurance provider for information or our intake specialists can work with you to determine coverage. If your plan doesn’t cover the cost of our program, we will be happy to help arrange financing options. For more information, visit our Paying for Treatment page.

What is individualized care or personalized treatment?

Individualized care means our multidisciplinary team reviews each patient’s case to tailor treatment to their specific needs. This process begins with a thorough assessment to understand her unique challenges and how they affect daily life, relationships, and sense of self. Based on this, our multidisciplinary clinical team creates a tailored treatment plan, selecting interventions and modalities that best support needs within our specialized program. This may include an intensive trauma workshop for childhood or adult trauma, as well as evidence-based approaches such as psychodrama, Somatic Experiencing®, EMDR, DBT, Post-Induction Therapy (PIT), small groups, 12-Step work, and other evidence-based approaches chosen to help achieve meaningful, lasting recovery.