Teens at Family First Adolescent Services receive psychiatric support when they need it. Our team of professionals includes licensed psychiatrists who provide specialized care for adolescents in our treatment programs.
Our commitment to comprehensive care
Treatment starts before teens ever sit down with a therapist. We provide psychiatric assessments to diagnose any mental health conditions and how they affect each teen’s life. This allows us to create completely individualized treatment for every teen who walks through our doors.
Teens in treatment at Family First have weekly check-ins with a psychiatric provider, and parents are always informed about treatment and progress. Plus, our psychiatric providers help bring our multidisciplinary team together. Psychiatric providers diagnose and prescribe medication, they inform the therapeutic methods that therapists and counselors use, and work with our support staff to keep teens safe and comfortable along the way.
Teen psychiatric care in Florida at Family First
Assessment and diagnosis
Accurate diagnosis and individualized treatment make the biggest differences in your teen’s progress. Our psychiatric providers use reliable, evidence-based assessment methods and bring years of experience in the field to identify what’s really going on with your teen.
Assessments allow us to gather information about your teen so we can have a better picture of their behaviors and experiences, including:
- Present behaviors and symptoms
- Historic health issues and treatments
- Family mental health history
- How your child developed
- Issues at school
- Relationships with friends and family
Customized treatment plans
Each teen we help has different needs, and some therapeutic methods will work better for them than others. 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.
We offer a range of both evidence-based and experiential therapies and approaches to keep teens engaged while they make progress, including:
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 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. During treatment at Family First, teens will check-in with a nurse daily and psychiatric provider weekly to receive any prescribed medications and monitor any side effects.
We know that while medications can be extremely helpful in helping many teens manage their symptoms so they can learn to cope with their mental health, it’s not an easy decision. We’ll never prescribe or modify medications without your knowledge and consent.
When teens need psychiatry support
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.
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/alcohol, 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
Reaching out for help is hard. As a parent, you might feel like you’ve done something wrong. Your teen might feel like it’s impossible that something is wrong with the way they think, feel, or behave. But nothing wrong with getting support from the experienced professionals at Family First.
Part of these programs
Frequently asked questions
What is an adolescent psychiatrist?
An adolescent psychiatrist is a medical provider who specializes in adolescent mental health. They differ from psychologists because they have more education—including med school, residency, and specialized training—and can prescribe medications for mental health conditions. Psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners (PMHNPs) can also diagnose conditions and prescribe medications.
When should an adolescent see a psychiatrist?
Your teen should see a psychiatrist if they’re showing symptoms of a serious mental health condition. Self-harming, fighting with or threatening others, being aggressive, or having regular issues sleeping or eating are all reasons for seeing a psychiatrist.
At what age do mental health issues get diagnosed?
A lot of mental health conditions are diagnosed from the mid-teens to early twenties. Depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, conduct disorder, ADHD, and eating disorders can all start during adolescence. The earlier treatment is started, the better teens can learn to manage their mental health as they transition to adulthood.
Is psychiatric care covered by insurance?
It depends on your insurance coverage. You can contact your plan’s administrator and the provider you’re considering for your teen to find out. Many providers and programs do accept self-pay and major insurance plans.
Get help today from Family First Adolescent Services
Family First Adolescent Services offers comprehensive adolescent psychiatric care that caters to the specific needs of teens facing the most common and complex mental health problems. Our team of experts has more than 120 years of combined clinical experience and provides comprehensive care in a safe, secure environment.
If your teen needs help, don’t wait. Contact us today at 888.904.5947 or online. Our dedicated team is here to help them achieve long-lasting recovery, stability, and improved well-being.