Adolescent residential treatment centers provide specialized assistance to teenage boys and girls requiring professional clinical support to facilitate emotional and behavioral change and growth. Offered in a wide variety of milieus, adolescent residential treatment programs serve to remove adolescents from the home setting, and place them in a structured, supervised, therapeutic environment. Depending on need, adolescent residential treatment centers may work expressly with adolescents struggling with specific issues including chemical dependency, eating disorders, and/or self-esteem and behavioral issues, or serve as transitional programs for adolescents graduating into “real world” environments. Residential treatment programs often include both individual and group counseling, structured physical activities, vocational training for the older student, social skills training, education support, family support, as well as 12-step substance abuse programs. Residential treatment settings are excellent choices for adolescents and teens who have been unwilling or unable to commit to a healthier lifestyle, and who need intensive support and/or interventions to cultivate new, more appropriate methods of coping and behaving.
Residential treatment centers include clinical hospital settings, as well as school and home-based environments. Hospitalization is effective for adolescents in need of a more protective, secure environment, while home or school-based environments allow residents to practice functioning in community settings. Additionally, hospitalization is comparatively short-term, while other programs accept students for extended lengths of stay.
When considering an adolescent residential treatment center, it is important to ensure the child’s needs are compatible with the residential treatment program’s format and setting. Thoroughly assessing the value of different approaches, models, and therapies available can help ensure that an adolescent receives the most effective treatment possible.