Families experience mental health crises with their teens every day and many don’t know who to turn to for help. Pediatricians may not have the necessary credentials to properly diagnose or treat your teen. Furthermore, when a teen has been to many therapists and psychologists, diagnoses can get confused and muddled together. Parents need a bridge to reach their distressed teen and get them the treatment they so desperately need. Teen diagnostic centers are the best place to receive a correct diagnosis of your teen’s mental health issues.
What is a teen diagnostic center?
Teen diagnostic centers are mental health facilities that specialize in the short-term treatment of teens in crisis. They employ specialists who help teens ages 13-17 through a psychiatric or crisis. They provide an individualized, comprehensive treatment plan to determine if an individual needs long-term treatment. Sometimes, a teen diagnostic center can serve as the bridge between assessment and long-term treatment.
What do they do?
Where do you turn when your teen and your family are experiencing a mental health crisis? Teen diagnostic centers provide the treatment necessary to identify the source of the crisis. Several centers provide short-term diagnostic treatment teens need. They treat teens who have mental disorders that may or may not be combined with drug addiction. Teens stay in a facility for up to 90 days where they receive a comprehensive diagnostic that include psychiatric, social, and scholastic assessments.
Many teen diagnostic centers utilize evidence-based assessments to stabilize teens and determine both long-term and short-term treatment plans. By identifying specific issues, experts can create a treatment plan that may include medication, therapy, and possible long-term treatment options. Teen diagnostic centers can also be used as a second opinion for psychiatric diagnosis. They employ highly qualified doctors and therapist to determine your teen’s needs.
How do they help?
Teen diagnostic centers help rebuild families after a mental health crisis particularly with teens who suffer from mental disorders, long-term abuse, and/or addiction. A teen’s family is the strongest support system a teen has when leaving treatment. Teen diagnostic centers use family therapy to help rebuild familial relationships so a teen can return home to a stable environment.
Diagnostic centers also have experts that focus on the holistic, comprehensive healing of the teens in their care. This includes caring for teens with mental health issues and possible co-occurring problems, such as drug and alcohol abuse. They approach a teen’s needs using cognitive behavior therapy as well as necessary medical treatment.
The general goal for a teen diagnostic center is to reunite the family unit to continue to work in outpatient treatment. However, some teens require a more intense treatment program. If a teen needs long-term residential care, a teen diagnostic center will search for an appropriate program that will fit your teen’s needs.
Why should you seek care from a teen diagnostic center?
It can be difficult for parents to determine what their teen needs when they don’t know where to turn. Teen diagnostic centers are a stepping stone for parents to use. Their teen can get a proper diagnosis from a licensed doctor and receive initial treatment for any issues they may have. Experts perform a comprehensive assessment that addresses mental diagnosis, addiction, and the sources of a teen’s struggles.
Teen diagnostic centers provide secure, round the clock care that includes family therapy, group therapy, academic support, and possible medical intervention. Teens can succeed in their treatment in a consistent supportive environment. If returning home is not a possibility, teen diagnostic centers also build wellness plans that create a roadmap for future intervention.
To learn more about the assessment capabilities and other services teen diagnostic centers provide, click here.
