By Arnab Dey
Dealing with mental health can be an overwhelming and almost impossible task in some cases.
Especially during your teenage years, there are a lot of fluctuating emotions, rapid changes, and pressure from society to become one thing or another. It’s often hard for adolescents in teenage rehabilitation to address their specific mental health needs and know where to seek help.
There are certain rehabilitation centers for teenagers that can be utilized if a problem isn’t solved by easier means, such as therapy sessions or medication. But how do you know if your teen needs a rehab center, and what do centers even provide? Before making the expensive decision to send your child to residential treatment facilities, it’s important to understand what they offer and if it would be beneficial for your teen’s specific condition or issues
What Are The Requirments Of Teenage Rehabilitation?
The good news is your child is not alone in their problems. In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, an estimated 49.5 percent of adolescents have had a mental health disorder at some point in their lives.
That’s about half of all teenagers, meaning it’s an epidemic among adolescents in the United States. At such alarming numbers, these statistics can’t be ignored.
Whether it’s attending regular telehealth or therapy sessions, experimenting with mental illness prescription medications, or prioritizing mental health in other personal ways, it’s important to react and respond to issues that arise. If you don’t it could make the condition worse, or even lead to death.
Keep reading to see what these long-term treatment centers offer.
Who Do These Centers Treat?
Residential treatment centers cover a wide variety of mental health issues and conditions. Not all mental health patients are the same, so coordinated, specified treatment plans need to be tailored for each patient. Below is a breakdown of some of the teenage rehabilitation conditions commonly treated in these centers.
Patients with psychological disorders
Patients with behavioral issues or disorders
Patients with substance abuse disorders
Patients will have social or mental issues, including:
- Major depressive disorder
- Bipolar disorder
- Anxiety and panic disorder
- Trauma-related disorders or lasting conditions
- Self-harm or self-injury disorders
- Emerging personality disorders
- Autism spectrum disorders
- Gender dysmorphia
- Attachment related issues
- Grief and loss issues
- And more
How Do They Treat These Conditions?
While every condition and patient is different, as we mentioned, there are some developed programs that aim to improve a wide variety of the above-listed disorders and conditions. These evidence-based treatment programs are run by mental health experts and are handled with extreme care to the patient.
Common teenage rehabilitation treatment options used in mental health treatment centers include:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
- Post Induction Therapy
- Family Systems Therapy
- Group Therapy Sessions
- Individual Therapy Sessions
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy
- And more
There are also a number of experimental therapy options that are more commonly used as the years go on, including music therapy, creative writing, art therapy, sound therapy, service-oriented treatment options, and more.
Being more active is proven to help with mental health as well, so you might see offerings like group yoga, hiking sessions, sporting events offered, swimming, surfing, and others.
How Do I Know If My Teen Needs Long-Term, Residential Treatment?
First, you and your teen should have constructive conversations about their feelings, conditions, and headspace. They should also have a say in how they want to proceed. No child, teen, or adult should be forced to attend residential treatment without their consent.
Also, it’s important to explore other options before turning to residential rehabilitation centers. Many people receive numerous benefits from regular teenage rehabilitation therapy sessions or after the introduction of some anxiety or depression medications. But again, this doesn’t work for everyone, and if you’ve already explored these options with little to no success, it’s time to consider longer-term treatment options.
Even if you’re on the fence, and hesitant about residential treatment options, many of these centers provide meetings and consultations for little to no charge. You can have collaborative discussions with professionals about your case, and gather information and recommendations about the best path forward for your teen.
Are There Downsides to Teenage Rehabilitation Centers?
They are called residential treatment centers for any reason; your teen would live in there for an extended period of time while they address their mental health issues. This means they don’t get to go home when the day is over or see friends and family regularly. There are visits, to be sure, but this is a much bigger commitment than going to teenage rehabilitation therapy once a week or so.
While it could be good for your teen, they will be cut off from the world to some degree, and this could be seen as a negative in many people’s eyes. Plus, these centers and programs are costly due to their long-term nature and slew of services offered. It’s not cheap to send your teen to one of these centers.
It’s also possible that the sudden change in environment could make your teen’s conditions worsen. There’s no proof that these centers work for every single patient they take in. Make sure it’s the right move for you before diving in.
Conclusion – What Is Offered at Teenage Rehabilitation Centers?
In short, teenage rehabilitation centers provide a wide range of holistic, individualized, evidence-based programs for struggling adolescents. These treatments range from individual therapy sessions to creative, active, or service-based activities.
They can treat a variety of health issues, from depression and anxiety to self-harm and post-traumatic disorders. However, they are costly and require a great deal of time and commitment before your teen can be considered treated in teenage rehabilitation.
It’s all about having productive conversations with your teen and mental health professionals to diagnose the best course of action to treat their condition or disease. It’s not an easy fix, but residential treatment programs are just another option to improve the life of your teen and get them past the worst of their mental health issues.
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