Substance Abuse and Mental Health Treatment Program and Curriculum

Treatment program

Our treatment program includes:

• Expert evaluation: A licensed clinical therapist and psychiatrist will work with your teen to learn more about their current situation and what has led them to drugs and alcohol.
• Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP): This program includes three group meetings per week, where your teen does group therapy with others in the program. Families participate once weekly in our multifamily group sessions. We offer individual therapy, family therapy and group therapy. Our goal is to give patients and families the support and resources they need to live healthy, successful lives.
• Continued encouragement: We offer ongoing support for your teen and family after IOP.

We use the latest treatments to help teens overcome mental health and substance abuse issues, including:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy: This goal-oriented therapy helps your teen express and understand their feelings and cope with difficult emotions. We also help them replace negative behaviors (such as using substances) with positive ones (like sports or art).
• Contingency management: Also known as “motivational incentives,” this type of treatment provides incentives for things like a clean drug screen or achieving other treatment goals.
• Medication management: If teens need medication for conditions like ADHD, depression or anxiety, we’ll help them take these medications safely, and they will be monitored closely by our psychiatrist and staff.
• Motivational enhancement therapy: This therapy aims to help teens motivate themselves to change their behavior. It’s a much faster approach than traditional, 12-step programs. Geared for youth who are using drugs, we typically do about five sessions to create a plan for positive change.

Treatment curriculum

Phase 1: This phase includes individual and family therapy sessions. It lasts for two to four weeks, depending on your teen’s progress and readiness to address substance abuse or behavioral concerns.

Phase 2: This phase includes IOP in the form of group sessions. Group sessions focus on learning skills such as:

• Managing anger and expressing how they’re feeling
• Ways to cope with difficult situations without using substances
• Acting socially appropriate with peers and friends without using drugs and alcohol

For five weeks, group sessions are held three days per week for three hours in the evenings. Families are encouraged to attend group sessions with their teen each Thursday to participate in multifamily education and group therapy. Individual and family therapy continues during this phase, as well as one-on-one therapy sessions with Dr. Atkinson.

Phase 3: This phase begins when your teen has shown progress avoiding using substances while gaining the necessary skills to move toward a healthier lifestyle. Your teen will complete their IOP and begin to transition to aftercare. During this phase, we’ll make plans for follow-up care after discharge from the program. We’ll stay in touch with your teen, offer support and be available to answer any questions.