Every teen’s recovery journey is unique, but regardless of situation, Muir Wood paves an unwavering, hopeful path forward. Guided by compassion and integrity, our teen treatment programs provide adolescent mental health and substance use treatment for boys and girls, ages 12–17, empowering teens with the tools and skills they need for lifelong well-being.
Muir Wood was founded to walk beside your family every step of the healing journey. We use evidence-based treatment approaches and modalities, with empathy and kindness as our guiding principles.
Our Story
Muir Wood emerged from the founding team’s vision to advocate for the underserved and began as a specialized program dedicated to boys adolescent treatment in northern California. Drawing from over three decades of experience in mental health and substance use treatment, that team envisioned a program that would address the unique challenges faced by teens and their families. More than a decade since its founding, Muir Wood stands as a testament to that original vision, providing residential and outpatient treatment programming specifically for teen boys and girls experiencing mental health and substance use issues.
Muir Wood operates 16 residential treatment campuses in Petaluma, Penngrove, Clovis, and Riverside, California, and provides intensive outpatient services in our founding city of Petaluma, accommodating fewer than 100 teens state-wide.
Meet the Muir Wood leadership team.
Tailored Teen Treatment Programs
With a compassionate staff who emphasize kindness and compassion over confrontation and control, Muir Wood helps teens thrive in an increasingly complex world. We guide our young clients and their loved ones through mental health and substance use challenges. Our work aims to facilitate emotional self-regulation, proactive health management, and personal growth.
Our teen treatment programs include:
- Dual-Diagnosis Treatment for Teen Boys
- Dual-Diagnosis Treatment for Teen Girls
- Primary Mental Health Treatment for Teen Girls
- Boys and Girls Intensive Outpatient Treatment
In comfortable, supervised, and structured environments, teens explore and process sensitive issues and learn to manage mental health and substance use disorders. The Muir Wood environment fosters strong peer relationships essential for recovery, many of which develop into enduring friendships. Our full-time psychiatrists and nursing team enhance our program’s ability to accurately assess and diagnose client conditions, continuously adapt treatment plans, and manage medications when applicable.
Learn more about the conditions we treat.
Comprehensive Residential Treatment
Our residential treatment programs integrate many evidence-based clinical modalities and support programs, including:
- Individual therapy
- Group therapy
- Family therapy
- Adolescent psychiatry
- Nursing support
- Multiple psychotherapeutic approaches
- Experiential therapies
- Academic support
- Aftercare programming for parents and teens
Family involvement is a critical component in Muir Wood’s programming. Participation in weekly family education, counseling, and therapeutic sessions is required. Learn more here.
Muir Wood Learning Centers
We integrate academic support into treatment through the Muir Wood Learning Centers—on-campus supplemental education programs for grades 7 to 12. Accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), our programs employ experienced, credentialed educational professionals. We offer flexible academic options that allow our teen clients to maintain continuity with their home schools while they focus on healing. For clients who have finished high school or are not currently enrolled, we can provide career choice support, education in music and the arts, or support preparing for college, community college, or trade school admission.
Accreditation and Accessibility
Muir Wood is accredited by The Joint Commission, long considered the gold standard in healthcare provider accreditation.
We’re also committed to making teen substance use and mental health treatment accessible to as many families as is possible. We strive to remove financial barriers to quality care by being an in-network provider for most major insurance companies including these:
- Aetna
- Anthem
- Blue Cross/Blue Shield
- Blue Shield of CA
- Cigna
- Halcyon/Simple Behavioral
- Kaiser Permanente
- Magellan
- MHN
- Optum/UHC
- TRICARE
Tailored Therapeutic Modalities
At Muir Wood, we believe in treating the whole teen, not just addressing symptoms. Our individualized approach allows us to provide personalized attention to each client, which has proven highly effective for many behavioral health conditions. We utilize a variety of evidence-based therapeutic modalities. Based on our initial and ongoing assessments, we are able to provide services that include:
- Psychotherapy: Our results-focused psychotherapy sessions (CBT, DBT, etc.), both group, individual, and family, offer vital coping skills, mindfulness-based practices, and social support.
- Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT): When appropriate, and with parental approval, we offer medications used in conjunction with psychotherapeutic sessions as a way to stabilize and support clients through full recovery.
- Psychiatry and Medication Management: Though our experienced medical team prefers to avoid medical intervention whenever possible, closely monitored medication management is a valid tool in some instances. All teens on medication management programs do so in tandem with other therapeutic approaches, and with parental involvement.
- Comprehensive Family Programming: A wide range of support for teens and their families during and after treatment.
- Experiential Activities: Creative activities such as music, meditation, and yoga to facilitate expression and connection. These practices boost self-esteem and provide a sense of accomplishment.
- Adventure Therapy: Supervised adventures instill a sense of belonging and enhance problem-solving, communication, leadership, and healthy social skills.
- Fitness and Nutrition: Healthy fitness activities and on-site chef-prepared meals nourish teens from the inside out.
- 12-Step Program Exposure: For teens recovering from substance use, introduction to young people’s 12-Step groups provides structure and social support for managing life challenges.
Get Started Today at Muir Wood
Muir Wood is uniquely qualified to effectively treat mental health and substance use issues in teens. Our teen treatment approach has been transforming the lives of young people and family “systems” for over a decade. We consistently make every effort to provide families and their teens with the best possible care and support.
Let us show you how your teen and family can live happy, purposeful, and fulfilling lives. Contact us here or call 866-705-0828 to speak with an admissions specialist to learn if Muir Wood is a good fit for your teen.