Featuring Dr. Nicole Bishop, Clinical Director at SunCloud Health
Nicole Bishop, PsyD, is the Clinical Director at SunCloud Health. She is a licensed clinical psychologist with extensive experience treating individuals, families, and groups across levels of care. Her clinical expertise includes eating disorders, trauma, and co-occurring mental health conditions. She is especially passionate about integrative, relational treatment that supports long-term healing. At SunCloud, Dr. Bishop leads the clinical vision and supervises the adolescent programming, ensuring each teen receives individualized, high-touch, trauma-informed care.
Q: What sets SunCloud Health’s Adolescent Program apart from other treatment centers?
Dr. Bishop: At SunCloud, we care for adolescents ages 12–18 who are often struggling with more than just one diagnosis. In fact, 88% of our teen patients are managing three or more co-occurring conditions. We specialize in treating complex mental health challenges, including:
- Mood disorders
- Anxiety disorders
- Eating disorders (ED)
- Trauma and PTSD
- Substance use disorder (SUD)
- OCD
- Process addictions, such as screen or technology dependence
- Adjustment disorders
Our treatment approach stands out because it’s deeply personalized, integrative, and kid-centered with an essential family therapy component. We don’t just treat symptoms—we work to understand the whole person: their story, their environment, and the root causes driving their distress.
Q: What does “treating the whole person” really mean?
Dr. Bishop: It means looking beyond behaviors and diagnoses to understand what’s underneath. We help adolescents explore the emotional, relational, and systemic patterns that influence their mental health. Our care team is trained to support the teen’s internal world, while also addressing the external systems around them—especially the family and school.
We incorporate a variety of evidence-based therapies, but it’s our curiosity and compassion for the whole person that guide how we deliver them. In addition to therapies, our team also provides weekly involvement with a child and adolescent psychiatrist. Whether a teen is struggling with panic attacks, restrictive eating, or school avoidance, we want to know: What has happened in their life that brought them here? That’s where real healing begins.
Q: Why is it so important for teens to receive care during the summer?
Dr. Bishop: Summer can be an ideal time for treatment. Without the daily pressures of school, teens have more space to focus fully on their mental health—and that often leads to accelerated progress. It’s also a time when symptoms may worsen due to lack of structure or social connection. For teens who are already struggling, the absence of routine can increase isolation, anxiety, or mood instability.
That’s why our Summer Transitions Program is so impactful. We provide structure, therapeutic support, academic coordination, and peer connection—all while preparing teens for a smoother return to school. Families tell us time and again that this summer investment makes a lasting difference in their teen’s confidence and emotional resilience.
Q: What does a typical treatment plan look like for a teen?
Dr. Bishop: There’s no one-size-fits-all plan, but most teens receive a combination of:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): To explore thought patterns and how they impact emotions and behaviors.
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Radically Open DBT (RO-DBT): To build emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness.
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): To help teens define their values and build meaningful, purpose-driven change.
- Psychiatrist Involvement: Every week, the kids in our program meet with a child and adolescent psychiatrist.
- Experiential and Creative Therapies: Including art, movement, recreational therapy, and curated outings that allow for healing and self-expression outside traditional talk therapy.
For teens struggling with OCD or severe anxiety, we also offer ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention) in our adolescent track.
Q: Can you speak to the importance of small group size and peer community?
Dr. Bishop: Absolutely. Our adolescent program is intentionally small—just one group of 12 teens at a time. That allows for greater safety, trust, and individualized attention.
Peer support is powerful, especially during adolescence. Our recovery-focused peer community helps teens feel understood and less alone in their struggles. It’s an environment built on mutual accountability, shared growth, and emotional safety.
Q: Families often ask, “Will we be involved in our child’s treatment?” What does family work look like at SunCloud?
Dr. Bishop: We believe that families heal together. Every teen in our program is supported not only by their therapist and psychiatrist but also through a robust family program, including:
- Weekly family therapy sessions
- Parent consults with our adolescent psychiatrist
- Multi-family psychoeducation and support groups
- Parent coaching when appropriate
Families learn alongside their teen—gaining insight into diagnoses, building healthier communication, and creating a roadmap for sustainable healing. This collaborative work is essential to long-term success.
Q: How do you coordinate care with schools?
Dr. Bishop: Academic progress is important, but so is mental health. We partner with schools and homeschool providers throughout treatment to ensure a coordinated approach to learning and well-being. We provide weekly updates to school staff, support reintegration plans, and advocate for accommodations when needed.
Our goal is to help teens return to school with the tools, confidence, and emotional regulation they need to thrive—not just academically, but socially and emotionally too.
Q: What do your outcomes say about the types of teens you serve?
Dr. Bishop:
Our program is designed for adolescents facing complex, layered mental health challenges. Consider this:
- 88% of our patients are diagnosed with three or more conditions
- 68% have generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
- 89% have a mood disorder
- 39% are diagnosed with an eating disorder
- 35% have trauma-related disorders
- 35% have a substance use disorder
- And a significant number are dealing with overlapping challenges—like trauma plus an ED or SUD
This level of complexity requires a high-touch, trauma-informed approach. That’s what we offer.
Q: What’s the most important thing you want families to know?
Dr. Bishop: That healing is possible. Even when things feel overwhelming or chaotic, even when your teen is struggling in multiple areas at once—there is a path forward.
At SunCloud Health, we walk that path with families every day. We don’t just treat symptoms—we help teens and families rediscover connection, clarity, and hope.
Learn More
To speak with our team or refer a teen to SunCloud Health’s adolescent program, visit suncloudhealth.com or call (866) 729-1012.
We offer both in-person and virtual care options in Illinois, including IOP and PHP levels of care for teens ages 12-18.
