Residential Treatment Centers for Troubled Teens

Residential Treatment Centers

There are plenty of residential treatment centers options for troubled teens, but knowing this does not help actually help parents of struggling children. It's undoubtedly obvious to point out that being a parent of a troubled teen is one of the most difficult challenges any parent will face during their lifetime. Equally as obvious, the process of picking the right treatment program adds to the parent's sense of being "overwhelmed."

Needless to say, having a long list of the top residential treatment options for troubled teens isn't as helpful as one would think. In fact, having too many good options can be detrimental. What parents really need is professional help in choosing the best option for their troubled child. This is where MyTroubledTeen can help.

Fortunately, we are here to help parents find the perfect residential treatment center specifically equipped to meet the unique mental health needs of your child. We strongly recommend that you utilize the information offered here, and allow us to help you carefully consider your many choices. By exploring the many proactive options available in residential treatment programs you are taking your teen's future seriously and on the right track toward success.

Different Types of Residential Treatment Centers (RTC's)

Locked Down RTC: Out of an abundance of caution and a focus on the teen's physical safety, locked down residential treatment facilities restrict a teen's physical movements and are under constant direct adult supervision. Essentially, the teen admitted to a locked down facility cannot move about without adult supervision.

In a locked down treatment facility, teens are typically provided with a comfortable single bedroom, cafeteria style dining, spacious recreational areas, physical fitness activities, but their freedom to move about in the facility on their own without supervision is restricted.Helpful information for parents of troubled teens seeking residential treatment centers

Unlocked RTC: Unlocked treatment facilities typically have all of the amenities provided by the locked down version, but allow the admitted teen with more freedom to roam around the facility without direct supervision and are able to leave the grounds under specified conditions.

Long-Term RTC: Long-term residential treatment provides 24/7 therapeutic care in a safe and secure facility or home. Patients in a long-term RTC are provided around the clock care for 90-days to 2 years. The top long-term residential treatment programs have "lengths of stay" not less than 6 months and not more than 12 months.

The best long-term programs use a "therapeutic community" approach (home-style environment) and utilize everyone in the community to support the therapeutic intervention. The therapeutic community includes peers, staff, and clinicians, where the atmosphere is more like a family than it is an institution. 

Short-Term RTC: Short-term residential treatment centers programs offer brief intensive therapeutic intervention in a safe and secure institutional setting. Short-term treatment programs are designed to treat acute emotional and mental health issues and bring about stabilization.

The short-term residential treatment is typical 1 to 6 weeks in duration utilizing a hospital-based inpatient treatment approach. Short-term RTC programs are typically followed up with an outpatient therapy program, individual therapy, group therapy, and various self-help groups. 

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Residential Treatment Centers for Adolescent with Eating Disorders

Teenage eating disorders tend to start out as a strong desire to lose weight by controlling appetite and food intake. In some boys and girls, however, the need to control gets out of hand and can lead to the development of various types of eating disorders. Adolescent eating disorders are extremely serious and can be fatal.

Recent studies have shown that there has been a dramatic rise in teenage eating disorders among both boys and girls. What's worse is the fact that is not enough treatment programs to meet the huge number of afflicted adolescents.

Further surveys have shown that depression is typically a factor related to eating disorders, and, as such both disorders (eating disorders and depression) must be treated together in order to get to the root cause.

MyTroubledTeen has a long list of different types of treatment programs available to help teenage boys and girls battling depression and/or eating disorders.

Co-Ed Residential Treatment Programs vs. Single Sex RTC's for Adolescents

Co-educational residential treatment programs serve both genders simultaneously, boys and girls. However, it is the opinion of most clinicians and therapeutic professionals that troubled teens are better served in a unisex program environment.

Placing troubled boys and troubled girls together in the therapeutic setting is not always wise. Many believe it is better to allow teenage boys and girls to deal with their emotional and mental problems without dealing with the issues that normally and typically arise when living 24/7 with members of the opposite sex.

When teens are able to reflect upon their life and open up about their struggles, they can then work with other teens dealing with the same types of underlying emotional and mental issues. The majority opinion is, without members of the opposite sex troubled teens, both boys and girls are less distracted, they experience less stress, and more willing to take personal responsibility for their emotional growth.

Contrarily, it is believed that teens working with members of the opposite sex are less likely to take an emotional deep dive into their issues, even though both genders are dealing with similar trials and tribulations. The bottom line... unnecessary and avoidable complications arise when members of the opposite sex are forced to work together.

The residential treatment centers that we represent provide therapy, treatment, and recovery designed for teens and adolescents. Some of the RTC's we represent are located in cities (suburban), while other top residential treatment centers are located in rural areas surrounded by quiet and majestic mountains, crystal clear lakes, and meandering rivers.

Do Residential Treatment Centers Work for Troubled Teenagers?

It is believed that a residential treatment center can be an effective therapeutic environment for troubled and at-risk teenagers dealing with moderate to severe mental and emotional health problems. According to studies, there's a significant improvement of the majority of the adolescents observed and measured in residential treatment.

Plenty of RTC studies show that a larger number of troubled adolescents experienced improved behavior, improved mental health, and improved ability to handle normal teenage emotional stress. This improvement qualifies struggling teens to be considered as being "in recovery." More importantly, backing the positive outcome of the studies have been the positive growth observations reported by the parents.

Throughout the United States, there are numerous residential treatment centers for struggling and at-risk children and adolescents including those from private and non-profit organizations. If you are a parent needing help with your struggling teenage child, allow our professional admissions counselors to coach you through making the best RTC choice for your family. Please take your best first step now and call 800-845-1342.