Professional treatment can help improve your teen’s mental health. There are many types of mental health services for teens, so you should know what you’re looking for when your child needs help.
Talk with their pediatrician and see if they have a provider, level of care, or specific treatment they recommend based on what they know about your teen. They might have suggestions for outpatient or residential programs for teenagers that use evidence-based practices and therapies.
Choosing the Best Mental Health Care for Your Teen
Even if your teen’s pediatrician has treatment recommendations, take some time to review their suggestion. Your teen’s mental health is just as important as their physical health, so finding the right services will help them have a better experience, which can lead to better outcomes.
Therapy Types Matter
Talk and behavioral therapies are the most common forms of treatment for teens. Evidence-based methods like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and motivational interviewing (MI) are common across many programs. Some offer specialized therapy services like the NeuroAffective Relational Model® (NARM), interpersonal neurobiology (IPNB), and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR).
Make Sure They Won’t Fall Behind
School doesn’t stop while your teen is in treatment, even if they’re in a residential program. They should have academic support while they’re away from school so they don’t fall behind. When looking at residential programs for teenagers, ask about their education support services and if they offer credit transfers back to their home school. You may find a program that helps with graduation, college, and/or career readiness.
Communication Should Be Easy
Making the choice to enroll your teen in mental health treatment is hard enough; you shouldn’t feel like you can’t get in touch with them or their counselors. Look for a program that makes it easy to contact them via text, email, or phone and provides consistent updates about your teen’s progress.
You and Your Family Can Be Involved
You want the best for your teen, and that continues after treatment when they’re back at home. Knowing how to support them more effectively might take working on your own mental health, learning about their mental health needs, or even interacting with other parents with similar experiences. A good treatment program will keep you and your family involved in the entire process.
Find an Engaging Program
Talking in a classroom setting doesn’t keep teens engaged for long. Experiential therapy and activities like expressive arts, music therapy, working with horses, or getting outside can help your teen engage and heal in ways they might not have known were possible. Ask about the types of activities available at the program you’re considering.
Think About Life After Treatment
After treatment is over, you want your teen to be set up for success. Look for programs that offer aftercare or have resources available if they need support in the future. The first year after treatment is especially important, and the right program will help guide your teen and family through the transition.
Family First’s Comprehensive Program
Our program is built on a foundation of therapy, academics, experiential methods, communication, family support, and aftercare. With more than 120 years of combined clinical experience and expertise treating teen trauma, anxiety, depression, behavioral conditions, and neurodevelopmental disorders like ADHD, you can trust that your teen will receive the right care at Family First.
We offer residential treatment for boys 13–18 and a partial hospitalization program for boys and girls of the same age in South Florida. Talk with one of our team members today by calling 888.904.5947 or completing our online form.