What Are Types of Adolescent Mental Health Services?

When most parents think of therapy for mental illness or addiction, they think of medication management. While it’s true that medications do have a place in the teen treatment program for some mental illnesses, a study published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine suggests that only 14 percent of teens with a mental illness take medications in order to soothe their distress. Many others heal with the help of therapy alone, and even those who take medication tend to do best when they’re provided with therapy as an adjunct to their pharmacological treatments.

Many types of teen mental health concerns can be treated with cognitive behavioral therapy techniques. Here, the teen is asked to come up with a list of people, situations, or circumstances that seem to make symptoms worse. Then, the teen is asked to come up with a series of steps that could be used to help the teen either avoid those triggers in the future or deal with them differently when they arise. It’s a problem-solving approach, designed to help teens become both more aware and more capable. Teens tend to respond well to this therapy, and the lessons they learn can stick with them for the rest of their lives.

Some specific types of mental illness might benefit from targeted therapies. For example, teens with addictions might benefit from therapies in which they’re provided with small prizes when they can produce urine tests that are free of drugs. The prizes serve to reinforce the sobriety the teen is striving for, and they can help the teen to stay motivated to participate in therapy. Teens with anxiety disorders might benefit from specialized therapies in which they’re slowly reintroduced to the situations that bring out their fearful symptoms. This approach allows them to remember how to deal with fear in a healthy and strong way.

Therapists might also choose to include the family in a therapy program for a teen. The entire group can come together to learn more about the mental health issue, and they can resolve some of the damage that the mental health issue might have caused.

Families like this tend to stick together, no matter what might come their way, and they tend to deal with problems as a unified group, rather than a set of individuals who just happen to live together. For families in crisis, this can be an excellent help.

Anytime a teen feels overwhelmed by negative feelings or feels as though life is difficult or challenging, therapy might be an excellent way to assist. Even teens who don’t feel as though they would benefit from therapy might find that the skills they develop through this work can help them for the rest of their lives. Therapy might also be an excellent choice for teens who abuse drugs and/or alcohol. According to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics, one in eight teenagers have abused an illicit substance in the last year.

Substance abuse might seem like a phase that a teen might grow out of in time, but teens can also develop persistent brain changes due to adolescent drug abuse. This can serve to lock the drug use in place and make it almost permanent. The National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics has found that 9 out of 10 adults that abuse or are addicted to substances began using them before the age of 18. Without help, teens might take their addictions with them into adulthood, and they might face reduced opportunities as a result.