How Does Residential Therapy for Teens Work?

Is your teen experiencing serious behavioral issues that you can’t deal with at home? Is your home actually an unsafe environment for your teen?  Does your teen have mental health problems such as depression or anxiety, drug abuse, or a combination of these?

Then residential inpatient treatment is designed to help, if you’ve exhausted other avenues. Yet this can be a devastating decision for parents or guardians to make, often for a teen who appeared well-adjusted at home and was doing well at school.

In this article I explain what residential treatment is, how to know when itt may help or be required, and what to expect.

What’s Teen Residential Treatment?

Residential treatment facilities (group homes), where teenagers live away from home, provide a structured program in a substance-free environment. They offer intense therapy, treatment, counseling, and learning. They are staffed by licensed mental health professionals and educators. Good facilities offer 24-hour supervision.

Residences offer a supportive environment with:

• Enhanced help for dealing with emotional problems
• Psychological education to develop life skills and coping techniques
• Opportunities to make positive changes in behavior and attitude
• Educational programs to develop academic skills
• Disconnection from their previous friends with negative influences
• Opportunity to live in a calm and supportive environment
• Focus on healing themselves without the distraction of their devices

This is supported by:

• Individual therapy
• Group therapy
• Family therapy and workshops
• Medical care
• Educational programs tailored to the needs of each teenager
• Outings in the community (exposure therapy)
• Adventure programs (where offered)

“Milieu treatment” is often a core part of the environment to help teens build self-confidence, develop daily living skills and living independently. This may include:

• Helping to cook dinner
• Cleaning their rooms
• Doing chores around the residence
• Self-care routines

How Do You Know When Teen Residential Treatment Is Needed?

Deciding to enroll your child in a residential treatment center is one of the most difficult decisions a parent or guardian has to make. It can feel like a failure in their role in the family. Others worry they will be viewed by outsiders as unfit to raise their own children if they seek professional help.

The main question parents need to ask is if they can keep their teens physically and emotionally safe without residential treatment.

Key Issues Needing Treatment

Your teen may be in need of treatment if they are experiencing one or more of the following problems:

• Been diagnosed with one or more mental health issues
• Have experienced parental divorce, death of a family member, neglect, sexual abuse, or other forms of violence, trauma, or family conflict
• Are coping with genetic or other inherent conditions such as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder)
• Behave in ways that are dangerous to self or others, such as:
  • Self-harm
  • Setting fires
  • Violent or aggressive behaviors
  • Suicidal thoughts and behaviors
  • Eating disorders
  • Running away

Teens struggling with substance use may display the following signs, indicating they may benefit from residential treatment:

• A sudden change in their behavior patterns
• Changes in appearance or hygiene
• Poor performance or absences from school
• Increase in hostility or aggression
• Loss of interest in activities they once enjoyed
• Frequent mood changes
• Lying about how much they use or their addiction
• Risky behavior such as unprotected sex with multiple partners when under the influence
• Dilated pupils
• Inability to meet responsibilities
• Persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to cut down on alcohol or other drug use
• Withdrawal symptoms such as irritability, anxiety, depression and cravings

How Do I Decide If My Teen Needs Residential Treatment?

• Does your teen show awareness of the consequences of their choices?
  • If they have no concern for others, they may be dangerous to themselves and those around them

• Does your teen act in a way that places themselves or others at risk of physical, mental or emotional harm?
  • Your obligation is to protect your child. Residential treatment may be the answer
  • You also have a responsibility to protect others from the consequences of your teen’s behavior

• Are your teen’s actions harming other members of your family?
  • This may require separating your teen from their siblings for a time in residential treatment

• Does your teen show no willingness to correct their behavior?
  • When you reach the limit of bargaining with your child and nothing works, treatment can help

What is Residential Treatment Like?

Residential treatment for teens provide stability for them to focus on their recovery without the distraction of problems in school or with friends.

Residential treatment works because of the supportive environment, length of stay and ability to continue schooling with academic support. In the process, teens can improve their self-esteem, develop social skills and build healthy support networks of family, friends and peers.

Treatment also helps teenagers:

• Identify the problems they’re having with their substance use
• Deal with substance abuse issues
  

  

• Learn how to make healthy decisions in the future
• Develop life skills such as coping skills
• Receive counseling to help them with their substance abuse and related mental health issues

What To Expect From Teen Residential Treatment?

Often there are separate facilities for boys and girls to minimize issues and distractions of a co-ed setting. Teens may have private or shared rooms. Staff are on-site 24/7 to provide support as needed. Nutritious meals are provided. Recreational and sports activities are available.

Residential programs have a full balanced schedule of activities. A typical day may look like this:

Morning

6:45:   Wake-up and morning routine

7:30:   Breakfast and medication administration

8:30:   Group therapy or individual counseling

10:00  Skill-building activities or workshops

12:00: Lunch

Afternoon

1:00:   Academic sessions

3:00:   Outdoor activities and physical fitness

5:30:   Free time

6:00:   Dinner

Evening

7:00:   Group therapy, individual counseling, educational activities

9:00:   Wind-down and bedtime routine

10:00: Bedtime

Depending on your teen’s needs, if they are struggling with substance abuse, then the first step before beginning treatment is medically supervised detoxification from drugs or alcohol.

Once they are ready for the residential program, they are monitored 24/7 while receiving therapy and learning new strategies for coping. This program may include:

• Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy to help identify triggers
• Dialectical Behavioral Therapy: To manage emotional regulation
• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy: To work with trauma in the body
• Educational counseling to help teens avoid triggering situations that lead to relapse
• Learning positive coping skills that will allow teens to manage their lives and recovery successfully
• Aftercare services that assist post-treatment adjustments, such as follow-on therapy support groups, and academic support
• Parental involvement is key, including attending family therapy and doing the readings and watching videos assigned in family workshops.

Choosing the right residential treatment center can take time and persistence. Nonetheless, as a life-changing opportunity for your teen and your family, it merits the work involved. It’s for your teen’s future. .