5 Best Drug Rehab Centers For Teens And Young Adults

Teens can face specific issues which make successful addiction treatment more difficult. Teen-only alcohol and drug rehab centers offering targeted inpatient treatment can identify and treat these issues, helping teens achieve lasting recovery results.

Teen-Only Drug And Alcohol Rehab Centers

Teen-Only Alcohol And Drug Rehab Centers

Teens seeking addiction treatment experience unique issues, including barriers to treatment and factors that affect how they experience substance abuse and addiction.

Teens’ developing brains and bodies require a specialized alcohol and drug rehab program to ensure they reach sobriety, work toward lasting recovery goals, and heal from the damage caused by addiction.

Teen rehab centers can provide customized, teen-only programs that afford youth the safe and welcoming environment they need to heal.

Teen-only rehab centers also provide treatment from professionals with experience in treating the addiction-related issues unique to teens, as well as teen-specific treatment methods.

Finding a teen-only rehab center for addiction treatment can help ensure teens are given the best opportunity to enter addiction recovery and get their lives back on track.

Top 5 Teen-Only Alcohol And Drug Rehab Centers

If a teen is experiencing addiction, the idea of seeking treatment may be intimidating. Treatment professionals at teen-only alcohol and drug rehab centers can help ease the process and allay any fears.

The following top 5 teen-only alcohol and drug rehab centers were selected based on:

  • facility accreditation
  • teen-only program excellence
  • positive reviews from past teen alumni
  • variation of treatment methods for teens

This list has been ordered alphabetically.

1. Caron, Wernersville, Pennsylvania

Caron in Pennsylvania offers CARF-accredited, gender-specific rehab programs for teens.

Treatment at Caron is for teens ages 13 to 18. Caron can treat addiction, mental health, and a host of other issues, such as anger, family conflict, and self-esteem or self-loathing issues. Caron uses a multidisciplinary approach for a well-rounded recovery.

Addiction treatment programs for teens here may include:

  • peer counseling
  • adventure and recreational therapy
  • wilderness therapy
  • a continuing care plan

All teens may undergo detox when needed or receive medication-assisted treatment. Caron also places a large emphasis on involving family and helping teens continue studies with on-site schooling.

Caron accepts private pay and major private insurance plans and works with individuals and their families to connect them with scholarships, grants, and zero-interest financing.

Location and contact information:

243 N. Galen Hall Rd.
Wernersville, Pennsylvania 19565
(844) 260-1324

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2. Elk River, Huntsville, Alabama

Elk River Treatment Program is a facet of Pinnacle Behavioral Health and accredited by the Joint Commission. This rehab center offers residential treatment and mental health treatment for youth ages 12 to 18.

Placing a large emphasis on mental health wellness, Elk River helps treat teens for a variety of mental health issues from anxiety and depression to video gaming addiction and eating disorders.

Elk River offers medication-assisted detox, inpatient treatment, a transitional living program, and educational programs throughout treatment.

Elk River provides a full clinical assessment upon admission to determine each teen’s treatment needs.

Treatments in each rehab program may include:

  • individual, group, and family therapy
  • counseling
  • medication management
  • on-site parenting coaching/workshops
  • 24/7 medical care

In addition, Elk River also provides teens with courses on life skills, nutrition, fitness, and equine therapy.

Elk River is in-network with Cigna, United Behavioral Health, and Optum and also accepts private pay.

Location and contact information:

4812 Commercial Dr. NW
Huntsville, Alabama 35816
(866) 906-8336

3. Gateway Foundation, Carbondale, Illinois

The Gateway Foundation offers addiction and mental health treatment accredited by the Joint Commission at multiple rehab locations throughout the U.S.

Its Carbondale location provides residential treatment for adolescents, as well as outpatient rehab and day program options.

The Gateway Foundation also provides medication-assisted treatment for teens who need it with buprenorphine (Suboxone) and naltrexone (Vivitrol).

Gateway recognizes that all adolescents are at different points in the recovery process and may benefit from various treatment options. Full- and half-day treatment programs are available as well as recovery home living.

Gateway integrates a number of traditional and evidence-based treatments from counseling and medical care to education and recreational therapy.

Payments accepted at the Gateway Foundation Carbondale include major commercial insurance carriers and private pay plans.

Location and contact information:

1080 E. Park St.
Carbondale, Illinois 62901
(877) 381-6538

4. Newport Academy, San Francisco, California

Newport Academy is a residential addiction treatment center for teens, with rehab locations in southern and northern California, New York, and Connecticut.

All Newport Academy teen programs are accredited by both CARF and the Joint Commission. Drug rehab programs here offer a different approach, with 30 hours of experiential and clinical therapy and 20 or more hours of academic study.

Treatment professionals at Newport come with a range of experience in addiction treatment and work to treat a range of co-occurring mental health and personal issues faced by teens with addiction.

Male residential and female residential rehab facilities at Newport are gender-separate, allowing for complete focus on healing and a safe environment for recovery.

Just a few methods incorporated into individual programs here include:

  • individual and family therapy
  • body image group
  • dialectical behavioral therapy
  • recovery lifestyle program
  • gender-specific therapy
  • acceptance-commitment therapy

Newport Academy will accept all major insurance providers, private pay, and work with individuals for the best-fit payment plan.

Location and contact information:

San Francisco, California
(855) 404-9816

5. Teen Challenge USA, Multiple Locations

Teen Challenge USA is a non-profit organization offering free or low-cost addiction and mental health treatment for teens at various rehab locations throughout the U.S.

Treatment centers follow a Christian, faith-based approach. Inpatient treatment is provided usually free of charge, due to many in-kind donations, and only asks that program participants adhere to program guidelines.

Teen-only rehab centers are available through Teen Challenge in the following states:

  • Alabama
  • Arizona
  • Arkansas
  • California
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Idaho
  • Indiana
  • Kansas
  • Massachusetts
  • Minnesota
  • Missouri
  • Nevada
  • North Carolina
  • Oklahoma
  • Texas
  • Utah
  • Virginia

Residential rehab programs through Teen Challenge are gender-separate and long-term. Length of programs varies by the rehab center, but can last anywhere from three months to a year or more.

Students in the programs learn new, sober ways of living, while surrendering to a higher power. Some methods are similar to those of other programs, such as counseling and therapy, while others vary greatly.

Treatment methods used in Teen Challenge rehab programs may involve:

  • Christian community
  • work therapy
  • chapel courses
  • Christian growth classes
  • church attendance
  • Christian mentoring
  • sober living environment
  • strong support system

Payments and costs vary by rehab location, but each Teen Challenge rehab center works to make treatment as affordable as possible, not turning away participants due to the inability to pay.

Location and contact information:

Adult & Teen Challenge USA
(417) 581-2181

Teen-Only Addiction And Mental Health Treatment

Teens may begin abusing substances for different reasons than adults. For instance, many adults begin abusing prescription opioids due to chronic pain issues, eventually resulting in addiction.

Teens may abuse drugs for the following reasons, as well as other:

  • to fit in socially
  • to experience perceived positive side effects
  • to feel better (from stress, anxiety, depression, etc.)
  • to perform better (mood-enhancing drugs, etc.)
  • to experiment with something new

Teen-only rehab programs must address not only addiction and mental health disorders, but also the factors which lend to them, such as the reasons teens began abusing drugs.

This means alcohol and drug rehab programs for teens must be comprehensive, working to treat all aspects of a teen’s health.

Some issues teens may face which need to be addressed in a rehab program include:

  • mental health disorders
  • substance use disorders
  • fitness
  • nutrition wellness
  • co-occurring disorders
  • trauma and other issues
  • home problems
  • school problems
  • divorce

These are just a few of the teen-specific problems many adolescents face when heading to addiction treatment.

Rehab programs must recognize these problems and treat them all at the same time to ensure the teen has the best chance at learning to manage addiction long-term.

Individualized Teen-Only Treatment Programs

Individualized teen-only addiction treatment programs are the best way to guarantee a teen gets the care they need for addiction.

A customized teen-only program begins with an initial assessment to identify:

  • substance of abuse
  • duration and frequency of abuse
  • co-occurring mental health disorders
  • any nutrition issues, such as dehydration or vitamin deficiencies
  • whether the teen needs to detox
  • any medications that may be needed
  • trauma and other issues which will need to be addressed

After this, the teen and his/her family work with a counselor, clinician, and other treatment professionals to design a rehab program that will address all of these needs. Inpatient treatment typically begins with detox when necessary and moves immediately to residential treatment.

Locating A Teen-Only Rehab Program

With all the unique issues teens face, it’s important that teen-only addiction treatment programs work to identify and properly treat these issues.

Research on teens and substance abuse reveals that teens who begin abusing substances at a young age are more likely to have an addiction later in life.

Teen substance abuse can also contribute to lasting and damaging effects to teens’ health, such as damage to brain development and lending to a co-occurring mental health disorder.

Finding a teen-only rehab center that works with your teen to design a treatment plan that best fits their specific needs can help reverse or prevent the effects of substance abuse. Teens will learn to manage addiction long-term and enter recovery.

Updated on July 16, 2020

This page does not provide medical advice. See more

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