https://skywaybehavioralhealth.com
Skyway Behavioral Health is a mental health treatment center outside of Chicago, IL. It treats adults of all genders who have experienced trauma (including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Complex Trauma, and Systemic Trauma) and who also have mood disorders, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and personality disorders. They offer a specialized eating disorder treatment track called “Traumatic Stress and Eating Disorders” that is based on principles of Health at Every Size® (HAES) and Body Liberation. Treatment scholarships are available for those without commercial/private insurance through their financial assistance program called “Skyway Scholars.”
Skyway has multiple levels of outpatient care using Full-Fidelity Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) as a foundation, ranging from once a week outpatient sessions to 5 days a week partial hospitalization programming:
Any reviews? Please post in comments below. You can check out the FAQ and Guidelines for suggested questions. Thank you!
When were you there? 2025
What level(s) of care did you do (e.g., inpatient, residential, PHP, IOP)? PHP
If applicable: Is it wheelchair accessible? Yes
How many patients are there on average? Another recent review has explained how the different tracks work, but total patients with eating disorder services (everyone would eat breakfast together) ranged from about 10-17 patients.
What genders does it treat? All
If applicable: Do they support the gender identities of transgender and nonbinary people? Very much. There is a separate process group called queer process.
How often do you see a medical doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist (therapist), nutritionist, nurse, etc? Medical doctor only during intake unless your labs are really off. Psychiatrist or psych nurse practitioner once a week. Dietitian once a week, therapist twice a week, nurse twice a week for vitals.
What is the staff-to-patient ratio? Depends on if it is meals or group. Group it’s typically 2 staff to about 16 patients. Meals is higher ratio of staff.
What sort of therapies are used (e.g., DBT, CBT, EMDR, ACT, exposure therapy, somatic experiencing, etc.)? DBT, DBT PE, CPT, RO DBT, ACT, ERP
Describe the average day:
Typical schedule: breakfast, group, snack/vitals, 15 minute break, group, lunch, and then another group. The day is from 9AM-3:15PM 5 times a week.
What were meals like? Breakfast was with everyone with eating disorder services and it was chaotic everyday because they would let everyone prep at once, not in waves. Things were placed out on the counters and you were able to choose what you wanted as long as they hit your exchanges. However if you keep picking the exact same thing everyday your dietitian will definitely try and challenge you. Lunch and snack were smaller and only with people with EDS that you were in a subgroup with (complex trauma or mood and anxiety, which each have 2 tracks). My lunch was around 5-9 people. People were pulled from snack a lot of different reasons though and came in at different times.
What sorts of food were available or served? Breakfast was items like waffles, cereal, oatmeal, bagels, toast, English muffins, yogurt, sausage, nuts, and fruit such as apples and tangerines. Sometimes they would have berries or grapes which people enjoyed. Twice a week there is exposure breakfast which is catered from places like Panera, IHOP, or local bakeries. Snacks were lots of single serve snack items like bags of chips, rice Krispie treats, goldfish, granola bars, or gummies. There was also fruit and sometimes naked smoothies or juice.
Lunch was catered food that was on a rotating menu. The food was very mediocre and inconsistent. Sometimes sides were oversalted to the point I had to choke it down or leave it and sometimes it was super bland. However, there were never horribly shocking things like uncooked food or something like I’ve experienced at ERC Chicago. Some lunches were wraps with sides, curry rice and naan, baked chicken with rice and veggies, lasagna with rolls, fried chicken, pulled pork sandwiches, burgers, and tacos. Lunches that didn’t have a veggie as a side came with salad and dressing.
Did they supplement? How did that system work? Yes they did with ensure – all 3 flavors. Plus you could ask your dietitian for breeze or bars. However, ever since the competent dietitians left, the amount they supplement is completely random and sometimes they’ll even have therapists with 0 eating disorder experience doing supplements (they were just assigned to sit with us for lunch that day).
What is the policy of not complying with meals? They will have you sit till the end of meals with your supplement. If you are still early in weight restoration they will recommend a step up pretty instantly after refusing a few times. If not they will try to work with you and maybe put you on a contract.
If applicable: Do they treat ARFID? If so, do they have a separate approach to meals for ARFID? They do, but the dietitian that seemed to understand ARFID the most has left. When she was here she accommodated a patient and allowed them to have the same lunch everyday due to their ARFID. Hopefully someone has been able to take her place.
Are you able to eat vegetarian? Vegan? Yes to vegetarian
What privileges are allowed? It’s a PHP level of care so really almost anything. However, if you are severely restricting they will make it so you can’t have coffee at breakfast.
Does it work on a level system? No
How do you earn privileges? No
What sort of groups do they have? DBT skills, trauma and the body, yoga, attachment, RO DBT, art therapy, process, nutrition experiential, exposure, becoming embodied, and DBT experiential. The groups for the mood and anxiety track are a bit different.
What was your favorite group? Attachment or DBT skills
If applicable: Is the program trauma-informed? Yes their specialty is treating trauma
What did you like the most? They are amazing at teaching DBT and I truly found it so helpful for mood regulation and deescalation. The groups are also run by therapists instead of techs and they are great at checking on people and showing care when they are having a hard time. They have a place called the zen room where you can go if you are breaking down.
What did you like the least? There is only ONE Ed group a week (nutrition experiential) which was mainly just cooking or getting science facts about nutrition read to us. Every 3 weeks that group was a process group for Ed’s. It does not actually treat Ed’s as a main issue. There are zero groups addressing body image, social media, or other Ed struggles (other than the process group). Further, you were pulled out of many groups that the rest of your track was on, meaning people bonded while you were gone and got closer faster than those with ED services on top of a track. It could feel very isolating.
Would you recommend this program? Unfortunately no. They are great at treating trauma and depression and are very caring, but with how they have restructured their eating disorder services they no longer provide enough therapeutic support for those struggling with Ed’s and needing a PHP level of care. To be blunt, the only people I have seen succeed in this new structure are people whose eating disorders are directly related primarily only to trauma or people that have been to so many centers they’ve done every group and just need meal support. I have also heard that the meal support has become very bad recently and people are regularly getting away with many behaviors. Overall, it truly is not an ED PHP anymore and I think Skyway needs to be truthful about this. It is a complex trauma or mood/anxiety treatment center that can support disordered eating as a secondary comorbidity.
It’s just too bad because again, if depression or trauma is your main issue I highly recommend this program.
What level of activity or exercise was allowed? Yoga in program
What did people do on weekends? Anything they want
Do you get to know your weight? Not from program
If applicable: How fast is the weight gain process? They are pretty aggressive for a PHP and will quickly recommend residential if you don’t meet their expectations
What was the average length of stay? Very dependent on insurance and the person’s job/income situation. I’ve seen anywhere from 4 weeks to 5 months.
What was the average age range? 18-70
How do visits/phone calls work? It’s a PHP
What is the electronics policy (e.g., cell phones, iPods, Kindles, laptops, tablets)? Just no phones at meals or groups
For PHP/IOP: What support do they provide outside of programming hours? In PHP there is a phone number you can call for “phone coaching.” They will ask you what’s going on and then try to offer dbt skills that could help with the situation. Not super helpful but at least there is some support. Also, before you go home you go around the group and say what you are doing at home as a “valued activity.”
What kind of aftercare do they provide? Do they help you set up an outpatient treatment team? They technically do but are not very good at it.
Are there any resources for people who come from out of state/country? No housing
Were you at the Skokie location? From what I’ve heard, the Skokie branch has gone downhill since they opened their Downer’s Grove location. Many of the good dieticians moved their (except Gia, who moved on to open her own practice). For future patients, I reccommend going to Downer’s Grove if possible as of November 2025. Skokie is messy right now.
Yes I was at Skokie. I would not recommend either location for primary ed treatment though.
Seconding all of this… (Hi, we overlapped). It sucks because like you said, for complex trauma or mood/anxiety, I still would recommend them, but I can’t in good conscience recommend them for primary ED. Which is such a shame , but if you need more support on that end, it’s just not it right now- meal support doesn’t really exist.
I’m still hopeful that they’re taking feedback and working to change things, but as of now, it’s rough.
• When were you there? March-April 2023
• What level(s) of care did you do (e.g., inpatient, residential, PHP, IOP)? PHP
• If applicable: Is it wheelchair accessible? Yes
• How many patients are there on average? Up to 18 in the ED track
Does it treat both males and females? If so, is treatment separate or combined? Yes and yes
• If applicable: Do they support the gender identities of transgender and nonbinary people? They are very supportive and inclusive!
• How often do you see a medical doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist (therapist), nutritionist, nurse, etc? You see a therapist 2x a week, dietician 1x a week, nurse 3x a week for vitals
• What sort of therapies are used (e.g., DBT, CBT, EMDR, ACT, exposure therapy, somatic experiencing, etc.)?Basically all DBT (no CBT or ACT). DBT is every single day, you go through the DBT workbook. They do ERP 2x a week, 1 process group, 2 body image related groups, and a nutrition group 1x a week
Describe the average day:
• What were meals like? Breakfast MWF was make your own, T/TH they would get take out for breakfast from Panera, iHop, etc. The lunches were from a catering company and on a three week rotation
• What sorts of food were available or served? Breakfast was things like waffles, pancakes, muffins, omelets. Lunches were pasta and chicken, Caesar wraps, tacos, lasagna, mashed potatoes and meatloaf, lots of dinner-like foods
• Did they supplement? How did that system work? Yes, if you did not complete a meal you would be given a supplement based off the percentage that you did not complete. They would give it to you in the last 5ish minutes of the meal, and if you did not drink it, it was marked down as an incomplete. They used Ensure for supplementing
• What is the policy of not complying with meals? If you do not comply, they will present you with a supplement. If you are not completing the supplement, they will begin to talk with you about a higher level of care
• Are you able to eat vegetarian? Vegan? Not too sure about vegan, but many people were vegetarian or kosher
• If applicable: Is the program trauma-informed? Yes- they do have a complex trauma track, so a lot of the staff are well informed
• What did you like the most? The people that I met there and also having the ability to choose my own breakfast 3x a week. I also liked nutrition group where we would go to the grocery store, or cook a meal all together
• What did you like the least? My therapist was not very ED informed and I felt like they did not support me well when they recommended a HLOC
• Would you recommend this program? Yes and no. Yes if you are stepping down from residential and need some structure still in order to get back to life at home. I do not think it is the best if you are really struggling with fear foods and weight restoration.
• What was the average length of stay? Most people were in PHP for 8 weeks or longer, and IOP for 3-4 weeks
• What was the average age range? Anywhere from 18 to 70!
• For PHP/IOP: What support do they provide outside of programming hours? They have a phone line (crisis line) that you can call for extra support. Nothing on the weekends though
• Are there any resources for people who come from out of state/country? No, they dont provide housing which makes it hard if you are from out of state or even the city.
• If applicable: How is the program responding to COVID? (Less patients, virtual programming, no visitors, masks, social distancing, etc) They just changed their mask policy to masks optional!
• When were you there? Summer 2022
What level(s) of care did you do (e.g., inpatient, residential, PHP, IOP)? PHP/IOP
• If applicable: Is it wheelchair accessible? Yes it is
• How many patients are there on average? 12-16 in the ED track
• Does it treat both males and females? If so, is treatment separate or combined? Yes they do and it is combined
• If applicable: Do they support the gender identities of transgender and nonbinary people? Yes, there were multiple clients of varying identities and the staff always seemed very respectful. There are also NB people on staff and various other LGBT people.
• How often do you see a medical doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist (therapist), nutritionist, nurse, etc? Doctor- once upon admission then by request, psych- 2/week, therapist- 3/week, nurse- on admission, 3/week for vitals and by request
• What is the staff-to-patient ratio?
• What sort of therapies are used (e.g., DBT, CBT, EMDR, ACT, exposure therapy, somatic experiencing, etc.)? DBT, exposure therapy, RO DBT, EMDR potentially depending on your case, polyvagal theory, art, movement, yoga
Describe the average day:
• What were meals like? Meals were on a 3 week rotation for lunch. Breakfast you prepped yourself and they had a lot of snack options available. We did a weekly challenge snack, 2 challenge breakfasts, and a weekly nutrition group where sometimes we’d cook lunch for group.
• What sorts of food were available or served? For breakfast they had a variety of normal breakfast foods like oatmeal, cereal, waffles, breakfast sandwiches, yogurt, fruit, etc. For snacks there were things like babybells, crackers, chips, trail mix, cheezits, fruit and peanut butter, etc. Lunch was on a 3 week rotation and was catered with meals like meatloaf, tacos, Italian beef sandwiches, and fried chicken. Challenge breakfast was usually Panera, a local bagel place, iHOP or Denny’s, etc. We voted on challenge snack sometimes but it was usually stuff like ice cream or cookies.
• Did they supplement? How did that system work? They did portion supplements based on a percentage system towards the end of each meal if a person seemed like/said they weren’t going to complete. They never forced you to drink it but would strongly recommend it.
• What is the policy of not complying with meals? They’d recommend drinking a supplement then discuss in session privately or after the meal to find a solution.
• Are you able to eat vegetarian? Vegan? I know there were vegetarians and each day they had a veg option but I’m not sure about vegans.
• What privileges are allowed? N/A- it’s a very casual day treatment situation
• Does it work on a level system? No
• How do you earn privileges? N/A
• What sort of groups do they have? A lot of DBT but it was actually way better than I’ve had at other facilities and more impactful, Trauma and the body, process group, art, yoga, exposure therapy, body image, mindfulness, nutrition, radically open DBT
• What was your favorite group? Trauma and the body was an amazing group for me
• If applicable: Is the program trauma-informed? Very much so
• What did you like the most? Staff and other clients were amazing, groups were actually helpful, everything was so thoughtful and they really know what they’re doing.
What did you like the least? The lunches were eh but otherwise it was all really great
• Would you recommend this program? Yes 100%
• What level of activity or exercise was allowed? Yoga and dance, outside of programming was based on your personal situation
• What did people do on weekends? Whatever you want- programming is M-F around 9-4
• Do you get to know your weight? No
• If applicable: How fast is the weight gain process? N/A for me
• What was the average length of stay? 3-6 months probably? For IOP they taper you down to a couple days per week though and they have evening options so it’s very doable with work
• What was the average age range? Older than I have experienced in the past, some in their 20s all the way up to 50s and higher
• How do visits/phone calls work? N/A
• What is the electronics policy (e.g., cell phones, iPods, Kindles, laptops, tablets)? No phones during group but otherwise they didn’t care
• For inpatient/residential: Are you able to go on outings/passes? N/A
• For PHP/IOP: What support do they provide outside of programming hours? They have an on call line into the evening. You also do Recovery Record every day and a DBT diary card to report on urges/behaviors/skills which is super helpful and you go over everything in session.
• What kind of aftercare do they provide? Do they help you set up an outpatient treatment team? I already had a team but they have a case worker who was extremely helpful with helping with whatever aftercare you might need.
• Are there any resources for people who come from out of state/country? There isn’t housing available and you do have to find an Airbnb or hotel.
• If applicable: How is the program responding to COVID? (Less patients, virtual programming, no visitors, masks, social distancing, etc) Masks during group last summer
• Other? N/A
Hi, I was at Skyway in 2022 and again in the past few months, and wanted to update, as their ED programming has changed.
They no longer have a separate ED track in PHP- you are either in the complex trauma track or the mood/anxiety track along with those without EDs, and are part of EDS (eating disorder services). There are 4 groups in PHP- CT (complex trauma)1, CT2, MA (mood and anxiety) 1 and MA2, so you spend half your time with your general track, and half the time with those in EDS at meals/snack.
IOP still has a separate ED track.
Describe the average day:
IOP: bring your own breakfast three days a week, you write down on a slip of paper how it meets your meal plan (just listing out the starches, fats, protein, etc), and once a week is ordered in.
PHP snack is with your track, CT has snack before lunch and a later lunch, MA has earlier lunch and snack right before going home. There are multiple snack options that you choose from.
IOP snack is bring your own and put it in recovery record, it’s during a group so if you’re having snack you have it, and if not…not.
Thank you so much for sharing this!! I’ve been considering them for a long time…not sure if I’ll end up going, but it’s really helpful for me to know more about how their program has changed. If you have a chance, could you answer a few questions?
I’m so sorry, I’m just seeing this now!
*There are about 15-18 in each sub-group- ie CT1 has 18, and CT track as a whole has 40 (making those numbers up, but you get the idea). You’re spending most of your time with your sub-group, so generally the same 20 people, aside from meals.
*In terms of milieu percentage- that does shift, and because there are always people stepping down/up, it’s hard to quantify. When I came in, there were more EDS clients in MA than CT, and more in one group over the other, but as people come in and out, you generally have 3-4 people in your track (ie the smaller 15-18 group) who are also in EDS, the most I’ve seen is 6 and the least was 3.
*In terms of schedule, it’s as you understood-
Sample schedule: (this would be CT and EDS) 9-10 breakfast, 10-11:15 group (DBT/attachment), 11:15-11:30 snack, break 11:45-1:00 group (exposure/trauma and the body/art), 1-2 lunch, 2-3:15ish group (yoga/embodiment/community)
All of those groups are with your general track, except on Wednesdays when all of EDS has a group together during the 12-1 slot
*You are allowed to drink water or anything. It’s a little confusing because you’re with the general milieu, so since they can have coffee, water, etc, EDS is allowed to as well, if there are issues, your dietitian will bring them up with you.
*They do not have a bathroom protocol. That being said, if you do struggle, you can ask for support/let them know during your intake sessions that that’s something that you might need added accountability for. Otherwise, aside from during meals, you’re free to go in and out, which y’know, pros and cons 😉
*I think working with outpatient is dependent on insurance- In IOP the expectation is that you’re working with your outpatient team, in PHP it’s just going to depend on your needs- I know there were people who did see their outpatient therapists in PHP, so I’d bring that up during intake/first session with your team
*Ooof. I feel ya friend, it’s a rough cycle. I love Skyway, and they have helped me tremendously with both the ED and PTSD. And, you do have to be somewhat self-motivated re ED treatment; it’s fairly easy to get away with things, and if you’ve been in treatment with higher levels of accountability (regardless of LOC, even other PHP/IOPs), it can be a little jarring. I know I’ve struggled with pushing the limits and wanting to test and kind of feeling like well, I can get away with things, AND when I’ve brought up some of these things and asked for extra accountability, they did do things to try to make sure I felt more supported. I think the balance is pretty good, but it’s going to depend on where you’re at in recovery and what other experiences have been. They won’t let you do a specific trauma protocol until you have a certain level of stability ED wise, but they’re reasonable about it and you’re doing general trauma work with your track as a whole and with your individual therapist. I think they’re pretty good about taking each individual and making those decisions as a team, and in my experience there’s always been room for discussion when I didn’t agree with not being allowed to do certain trauma work because of the ED. They didn’t let me do what I wanted, but they did listen and adjust expectations so that I could get the most out of both ED support and trauma work. I’m sorry if that wasn’t the most articulate way of saying things.
I’ll try to remember to check back in case you have more questions, and I turned on notifications for this thread, so fingers crossed 🙂
And good luck, whatever happens. It’s hard stuff….
Thank you so much for this detailed response!!! I really appreciate it 🙂 my only other question is whether the vibe in the milieu was super different from ED HLOCs? I’m not sure even how to phrase this, but I’ve only gone to HLOCs for pure ED treatment before. Were none-EDS folks supportive/sensitive, generally?
Of course!
I think I know what you mean- they’re generally supportive, there are many people who have had EDs in the past who are in the general milieu, and even those that aren’t tend to be supportive/understanding. There are those people who will say things that are triggering without understanding, but staff is pretty good about setting guidelines and boundaries and providing education as needed. There is a general rule in every group about no numbers in terms of calories, size, weight, etc, and they enforce that.
I actually prefer having people talk about things that are off limits in pure ED treatment just because it normalizes life, as well as what you hear out and about.
IE people will name movement as a form of regulation, and I find it helpful to hear how that can be done in a healthy way, even though it’s hard to hear about it some days, or talking about favorite foods as a source of comfort, which is off limits in ED tracks.
I hope that made sense!
I talked to one of the CEO’s at skyway to clarify about their Ed track. They don’t “officially” have a separate ed track anymore, but they still offer the exact same support as when they did. Now, instead you’ll be put on their mood/anxiety or complex trauma track and then you’ll get additional Ed services on top of that including 2 meals and 2 snacks a day, nutrition exposure groups, Ed process groups, a dietician, and an Ed specialist therapist.
Does anyone know the hours for iop/ if they have evening hours?
I was just there for IOP! It’s in the evenings from 5-8pm. They were only doing Mon-Wed but they have recently added Thursdays back in the schedule as well. Feel free to ask any other questions about the program, it’s truly an incredible program in my opinion
RB, not sure if you’ll see this, but if you do, could you give an overview of the program? What was it like, groups, schedule, etc.? Could you share how you feel like it was helpful for you? The website looks good (but almost too good to be true!).
I have been to several treatment facilities, and I can honestly say Skyway was the best by a longshot. The staff is incredibly well-trained, with continued training often. The care is trauma-informed and the DBT groups are much better than any I’ve experienced elsewhere with a DBT specialist onsite. The sessions with therapists and psych are more frequent than most PHPs. They actually listen to client feedback in regards to challenges, programming content, etc. I was one of the first ED clients last summer and my entire team was incredible. The clinical director (formerly from ERC) took her personal time to call me for my admission and was incredible all-around. The clients were on the older side when I was there which was really conducive to my recovery as someone in my 20s. I will not stop raving about this place and have sent multiple clients there in different tracks. They have a cooking group, do meal challenges regularly, are extremely HAES-oriented, do exposure groups, polyvagal theory, mirror exposures, etc. It’s truly an incredible center that is so thoughtful in every way I experienced. The only thing I didn’t love was the food, which is only a 3 week rotation and for lunch lacked common lunch foods imo (like sandwiches, salads, etc). You make your own breakfast every day though and there was a ton of variety for breakfast and snacks. They also have a Bevvy which has flavored water on tap lol. I would 100% recommend to anyone in Chicago and beyond.
Hi D, would you be willing to answer a few more specific questions I have about this program so I can see if it would be a good fit for me?
Sure!
can you do a review with all the questions suggested?
Describe the average day: