Creative Expression & Emotional Wellness Program
Summer Intensive Program
This isn’t your typical summer program. At Simply Bee, we meet teens where they are—whether it’s behind a canvas, in a journal, or on a gaming console. Our Creative Expression Program helps teens explore their emotions, connect with others, and use creativity as a path to confidence and resilience.
Schedule Initial Assessment
What We Treat
This is an Intensive Outpatient Program for Experiential Practices to Overcome Anxiety and Depression For Teens Ages 13-17.
We Do Not Treat:
- Primary Substance Use Disorders
- History of threat and/or acting on physical or sexual threat to others
6 Week Session June 9th-July 17th:
- 3 Days/Week | Mondays, Tuesdays & Thursdays
- 10:00am-1:00pm
How We Do It
Our trained therapists and administration approach mental health with a trauma informed lens. We use the Growth & Resiliency Model© to organize our curriculum & treatment plans which include:
- Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
- Radically Open Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (RO-DBT)
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Emotionally Focused Family Therapy (EFFT)
- Exposure Response Prevention (ERP)
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- GARM Parent Support Group
Why We Do It
The teens years are a pivotal life stage that comes with new academic, social, and personal challenges. Our goal through this program is to empower teens with the tools to navigate these changes successfully, developing confidence, learning to manage stress and establishing healthful habits.
This is a dynamic summer program designed to help teens explore emotions, strengthen identity, and build resilience through expressive arts and therapeutic media—including visual art, music, writing, movement and video games. Grounded in evidence-based practices and facilitated by licensed professionals, this program empowers teens to find their voice, process emotions, and connect with others in a supportive, creative environment.
Is This Program Right For Your Teen?
Why Parents Love This Program
Schedule IOP Assessment
If you are looking to schedule an assessment, please set up a 15 minute call with our Intake team below.
If this is an emergency and you need to speak with our on-call staff (available Monday-Friday from 9am-5pm) about scheduling a PHP/IOP assessment, please call 224-424-0808.
About The Growth & Resiliency Model©
The Growth & Resiliency Model© is a thought leader model that was created and copyrighted in 2021 by Simply Bee CEO Audrey Grunst, LCSW. It is the foundation of the work we do in this program. This comprehensive five-step model is designed to fuse theory, skill, and knowledge into people's understanding of their wellbeing and emotional development. Through this model, we provide adolescents with a toolbox of strategies and skills to overcome challenges and set themselves up for success.
The theory behind this model is that a growth mindset occurs when you are aware of your internal world, can observe it without judgment, know how to respond instead of react, and can integrate all that information into the external world effectively. The final step is to reflect on the process, celebrate what went well and learn from what didn't. Through the use of this model, we believe all people can learn to intuitively overcome life's daily challenges, while appreciating them as opportunities for positive change.
Learn More
Simply Bee has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® by demonstrating continuous compliance with its performance standards. The Gold Seal is a symbol of quality that reflects a health care organization’s commitment to providing safe and quality patient care.
Quality ReportAvailable Programs
Creative Expression & Emotional Wellness Intensive Outpatient Program
An intensive outpatient program (IOP) is a step above the traditional outpatient therapy setting. These programs are considered "intensive" due to the treatment time involved. With this increased treatment time, clients have access to more support and guidance in the forms of individual and group therapy along with a family component.
Details:
- Serving Teens Ages 13-17
- Vernon Hills Office
- June 9th-July 17th | 3 Days/Week | 10:00AM-1:00PM
-
Wednesday | 12:00-1:00pm Virtual Growth & Resiliency Model© Parent Group (Required)
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if IOP is right?
What makes your programs unique?
What is the length of the program?
What does a typical day in treatment look like?
Do you accept insurance?
What do I do if my insurance is not in network?
How are parents and families involved in your programs?
What happens after the program is over?
Treatment Modalities
Here at Simply Bee, we utilize a variety of evidence-based treatment modalities in order to provide clients with the type of treatment that works best for their specific needs. We combine the principles of all of the following treatment methods with our Growth & Resiliency Model© to create consistency and build a unique approach to healing and growth.
DBT
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) is an evidence-based type of talk therapy. DBT is adapted out of cognitive behavioral therapy, which helps people understand the interaction between thoughts, feelings and actions. DBT more specifically focuses on teaching people its four main modules: mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, distress tolerance, and emotional regulation.
RO-DBT
Radically Open Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (RO-DBT) is another evidence-based practice that has been developed out of DBT. The main focus of RO-DBT is to treat overcontrol, or excessive self-control. RO-DBT teaches people how to be mindfully aware of their overcontrolled thoughts and behaviors in order to promote openness, flexibility, and social connectedness in their lives.
ACT
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a mindfulness based therapy that promotes nonjudgemental acceptance of difficult emotions and commitment to value and goal-based behaviors. ACT helps people be more flexible and emotionally open as they commit to taking concrete actions towards positive change. The goal is to encourage clients to redefine their relationship with challenging emotions.
CBT
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a common, evidence-based type of talk therapy. A central goal of CBT is helping clients become aware of negative or unhelpful thinking patterns and the way they influence emotions and behaviors. Through thought reframing and problem-solving skills, individuals will learn how to build confidence and more effectively cope with challenges.
EFFT
Emotionally Focused Family Therapy (EFFT) is a treatment approach designed to foster trust, emotional security, healthy attachment and strong and open communication among all members of a family. EFFT seeks to teach families the skills they need to create safe, emotionally aware and accepting environments that promote healing and shared growth for all.
ERP
Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy (ERP) is a type of therapy in which individuals are, in a controlled environment, intentionally exposed to the situations that make them feel anxious. By systematically building their tolerance to uncomfortable stimuli, the goal of this type of treatment is to help clients learn how to cope with their anxiety in more adaptive ways.
Our Facility
We are located at 175 E Hawthorn Parkway, Suite 325, Vernon Hills, IL 60061
Meet The Program Directors
Audrey Grunst, LCSW
CEO & Therapist
Jennifer McAdams, MA, LCPC, CEDS-S
Executive Clinical Director & Therapist
Meet The IOP/PHP Treatment Team
Rebecca Cho, M.D.
Medical Director
Dena L. Hinkle, DNP, APRN, PMHNP-BC
Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
Bryan Simmon, LCPC
IOP/PHP Manager
Let's Connect
Are you a treatment provider looking to learn more about our programs & facility? Our Director Of Business Development, Cindy Brom, looks forward to sharing more about us & learning more about your services! Schedule a tour below.
Learn From Our Experts
Values Exercise
This activity and tutorial video is one of our most requested resources at Simply Bee. You will get an opportunity to establish your core values and learn the importance of using them to guide you through your life.
School Refusal & Levels Of Care Blog
Check out this blog post to learn more about supporting students through school refusal and the different levels of care available to aid in treatment. This blog provides both education and free resoures!
Mindful Body Image E-Book
Therapists Olivia Ritter, LPC & Kelli Segerson, MS created this resource to provide tools, strategies and a compassionate framework for adults to nurture positive body image and self-esteem in the young people in their lives.
Be In The Know
Receive our latest events & resources.
