Depression, anxiety, trauma, ADHD, substance use, and other conditions need early intervention so your teen can transition into adulthood with the skills they need to cope with their mental health. Our psychiatric care provides diagnosis and medication management services from experts in the field so that your teen’s symptoms can be accurately recognized and managed.

Is Your Teen’s Mental Health At Risk?

Mental health continues to be an increasing concern for teens. Parents and teens alike are more aware of the long-lasting issues that can stem from unmanaged mental health during adolescence. Not all teens will experience mental health challenges, but many will. Some teens are more at risk than others, including those who:

• Survive a traumatic experience, including neglect or abuse
• Have close relatives with mental health concerns
• Grow up in unstable families or institutionalized care like foster programs
• Are exposed to community or domestic violence
• Have neurodevelopmental issues, like autism or ADHD
• Are perfectionists or have low self-esteem, among other extreme personality traits
• Don’t have social support or friends and deal with chronic loneliness

Even if your teen doesn’t fit neatly into being “at-risk,” they can still develop mental health conditions that need treatment.

Signs that Your Teen Needs Help

Reaching out for help is hard. As a parent, you might feel like you’ve done something wrong—and your teen might feel like it’s impossible that something is wrong with the way they think, feel, or behave. But it’s impossible to prevent all mental health issues, and psychiatric care might be the right first step to figuring out what is going on so that your family can get the support needed to move forward more healthily.

It’s time to get help if your teen:

• Has consistent issues with their sleep
• Has an unhealthy relationship with food
• Self-harms or has suicidal ideation
• Drinks, uses drugs, or engages in other risky behavior
• Is falling behind in school beyond another explanation
• Has run-ins with authorities like police or school administrators
• Goes through severe depressive episodes
• Gets extremely stressed or panics in certain situations

During adolescence, psychiatric care might be one of the best first steps—especially if your teen is dealing with severe symptoms that get in the way of their school, family, or social lives. Psychiatrists are qualified to diagnose mental health conditions and prescribe FDA-approved medications that can help your teen manage their symptoms more easily.

Psychiatric Care in Florida at Family First

Psychiatric care at Family First helps your family to find out exactly what is going on with your teen’s mental health. After a diagnostic assessment, we’ll help develop a personalized treatment plan to help your child succeed.

A Comprehensive Model of Care

Adolescent psychiatry care brings our multidisciplinary team together. Psychiatric providers diagnose and prescribe medication, therapists and counselors lead teens through therapy sessions, and our support staff helps them stay safe and comfortable along the way. Plus, while your teen is in treatment, we’ll work with your family to create a safer home environment.

Customized Treatment Plans

Each teen we help has different needs. Your teen needs an individual plan, including specific medications and dosages if appropriate, therapy methods that are meaningful, and experiences that they’ll find engaging and supportive.

Evidence-Based Approach

Accurate diagnosis and individualized treatment make the biggest differences in your teen’s progress. When paired with our evidence-based therapeutic approach, you can be sure that our team is making informed decisions when we suggest specific treatment methods for your teen.

Medication Management

Medication can be a safe, effective part of treatment—and is recommended as a first-line approach for certain mental health conditions. Our team of psychiatric providers will determine if medication is right for your teen. If so, they’ll develop a plan for prescribing, adherence, and monitoring side effects. We’ll never prescribe or modify medications without your knowledge and consent.

Aftercare Support

We provide at least one year of aftercare support once your teen completes treatment. Progress shouldn’t end when treatment does, and your teen and family will need to continue to practice the skills learned.

Safe and Secure Environment

While your teen is in treatment at Family First, they’ll be in a safe space where they can explore their mental health. We never punish teens for behaviors. Instead, we work with them to identify what’s going on so they can better handle their mental health and find new outlets while learning new behavioral skills.