Teen Summer Treatment
When school ends, so does the structure many teens have been quietly leaning on all year. The friends they saw without trying. The schedule that kept the day moving. The places to be and people who noticed if they weren’t there. For a teen who’s been struggling, summer can be when things slip — not because anything new happens, but because the scaffolding is gone.
Our Summer Intensive Outpatient Program is built for that window. Three to four afternoons a week, from 4:00 to 7:00 PM, your teen joins a small group of peers working on the same things they are — with clinical support from a team that specializes in adolescent mental health and substance use. Mornings and early afternoons remain theirs. What changes is what comes next.
If you feel that your teen requires more help than can be provided by the time allotted during one of our intensive outpatient programs, we also offer residential treatment. We offer compassionate mental health and substance use care in safe, home-like settings across California. Our program provides professional care personalized to each teen’s needs, in a structured environment, providing the support they need to heal and thrive.
In-Network With Most Commercial Insurers
*Please note that at this time, we are not in network with Medicaid/Medi-Cal
Clinically reviewed by Dr. Ian Wolds Psy.D.
— Updated on May 6, 2026
What Is an Intensive Outpatient Program for Teens?
An Intensive Outpatient Program — IOP — is a structured level of teen mental health and substance use treatment that sits between weekly outpatient therapy and full-time residential care. For a teen who needs more than a one-hour session with a therapist once a week, but who can safely remain at home and doesn’t require 24/7 supervision, IOP is often the right next step. Teens attend three to four afternoons a week for several hours of clinical work — group therapy, individual therapy, family therapy, and skills practice — then return home each night.
At Muir Wood, our adolescent IOP is the same clinical model we run year-round, with a schedule shaped around summer life. It’s built specifically for teens ages 12–17, led by clinicians who specialize in adolescents, and integrates family programming from the first week. We don’t separate “the teen’s work” from “the family’s work” — both happen in parallel, because the home a teen returns to each evening shapes how much of the clinical work sticks.
What is a Residential Treatment Program for Teens?
Residential treatment is the highest level of outpatient-free care available for adolescents. It is a structured, immersive program where teens live on campus and receive clinical support around the clock. It’s the right level of care when a teen’s needs have outpaced what weekly therapy or even intensive outpatient can safely hold. When symptoms are severe, the home environment makes healing difficult, and a teen needs full removal from the patterns and pressures driving the crisis, residential treatment may be the right course of action. The distance residential provides isn’t punitive; it’s clinical. It gives teens the space to do deep work without the daily friction that’s been getting in the way.
At Muir Wood, residential treatment is built exclusively for teens ages 12–17, with separate campuses for boys and girls across Northern, Central, and Southern California. Every teen receives an individualized treatment plan developed by a team that includes licensed therapists, board-certified adolescent psychiatrists, and medical staff, all of whom specialize in this age group. Family programming is integrated from the first week, because what a teen returns to after treatment matters as much as the work done inside it. We don’t treat teens in isolation from their families; we treat the whole system, in parallel.
If you’re still triangulating between levels of care — residential versus IOP versus continuing weekly therapy — our admissions team can help you sort it out. The full IOP overview covers the standard year-round program; the page below focuses on what summer specifically changes.
Why Summer Is the Right Time to Start Treatment
Summer is one of the most clinically practical windows to step a struggling teen into a higher level of care. The barriers that exist during the school year fall away. There’s no class to miss, no fall-behind anxiety, no balancing act with extracurriculars. Family schedules tend to be more flexible. Therapists and clinicians have more bandwidth. And teens, freed from the daily structure of school, have the focus to actually do the work in front of them.
For a teen who needs more than weekly therapy but doesn’t require around-the-clock care, summer is when the math gets easier. A full 12-week IOP arc, started in summer, can shift how a teen enters the school year — not just in terms of symptoms, but in how they understand themselves, how they relate to their family, and what tools they have when things get hard. Teens who start IOP in summer arrive at September in a fundamentally different position than teens who wait.
For teens who need residential care, summer carries its own advantages. A teen who enters residential in June has the full arc of summer to work undistracted by the social pressures, academic stress, and environmental triggers that the school year brings with it. There’s no countdown to finals, no social fallout to manage from missing school, and no fragmented attention split between treatment and keeping up. Families can engage more fully in the weekly therapy and parent programming without the competing demands of the school-year schedule. A teen who completes residential treatment over the summer can step down into IOP or outpatient care before September, arriving at the new school year with a clinical team already in place, skills already practiced, and a family that has done its own work alongside them.
“The single most powerful tool we have is early intervention. It’s not just about treating what’s wrong — it’s about protecting what’s right. The sooner we start, the stronger the outcome.”
— Dr. David E. Smith, Chair of Addiction Medicine
What Happens When School Ends and the Structure Goes With It
For a lot of teens, school is doing more than they realize. Class schedules give the day shape. Friends are nearby without anyone having to plan it. Coaches and teachers are watching the small signs. Even when the year is hard, school provides a kind of scaffolding that holds a struggling teen up. When summer arrives, that scaffolding disappears — and what was being held up has to hold itself up.
Parents often describe noticing the change a few weeks in. The teen who was managing during the school year starts sleeping later, withdrawing more, spending hours alone, drinking or using more, snapping at siblings, and refusing to leave the house. None of it is dramatic in any single moment. It’s the slow accumulation. By August, the family is more exhausted than they were in June, and the teen is in a worse place than when school ended.
IOP specifically is built to interrupt this. Not by overhauling summer — the mornings and early afternoons remain free — but by adding back the structure, the peer connection, and the clinical attention that holds a teen steady during the window when their usual supports are gone.
Staying On Track Academically
One of the advantages of starting treatment in summer is that there’s no school calendar to work around. For families who have been waiting for the right moment to get their teen help, summer removes the academic friction entirely. There are no classes to pull them from, no teachers to loop in mid-semester, no concern about falling behind while doing the hard work of getting better. Teens in our Summer IOP attend sessions from 4:00 to 7:00 PM, so mornings stay free for summer courses, jobs, or simply being a teenager. Teens in residential treatment attend Muir Wood’s on-campus Learning Centers every weekday for up to three hours of supervised instruction, with teachers experienced across core subjects including English, math, science, and social science; so healing and learning happen side by side.
Muir Wood’s Learning Centers are accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) as a supplementary education program. Our first priority is always continuity with your teen’s school of record. Under both California law and federal regulations, a teen’s home school can continue providing services during treatment, and our academic coordinators work closely with families to make that happen. For teens whose school or district isn’t able to continue services during treatment, we help families find accredited alternatives so nothing falls through the cracks. Whether your teen is stepping into summer IOP or beginning residential treatment, the goal is the same: that they return to school in September not only recovered, but ready. Learn more about Muir Wood’s academic services.
Conditions We Treat
Muir Wood specializes in the mental health and substance use challenges most common in adolescents, and in the situations where those challenges overlap. Every teen receives an individualized treatment plan built around the full picture of what they’re experiencing.
Substance Use and Dual Diagnosis
For adolescents, substance use rarely exists in isolation. We treat substance use alongside the underlying mental health conditions driving it, because addressing only one limits how far recovery can go. Our integrated clinical model is built for this overlap.
Depression and Mood Disorders
From persistent sadness and hopelessness to bipolar presentations and emotional dysregulation, our team provides evidence-based treatment for the full spectrum of adolescent mood conditions — often in combination with the anxiety, trauma, or substance use that accompanies them.
Trauma and PTSD
Our trauma-informed approach recognizes that behaviors adults sometimes label as defiance, withdrawal, or acting out are often protective responses to past pain. We treat the teen — not just the symptom.
Self-Harm and Suicidal Ideation
For teens who have stabilized after residential treatment, or for milder ideation in the context of depression with a safe home environment, IOP supports the ongoing work. Teens with active safety concerns typically benefit from residential care as the starting point. Our admissions team can help you sort out the right level of care.
ADHD and Co-Occurring Challenges
ADHD rarely shows up alone in adolescence. We address the attention and self-regulation challenges alongside the anxiety, depression, or substance use that often travels with them.
For a full view of what Muir Wood treats across our residential and IOP programs, see our complete list of conditions we treat.
Call Us To Learn More
What to Expect in Our Summer Treatment Programs
Intensive Outpatient
Muir Wood’s Summer Intensive Outpatient Program is the same clinically rigorous model we run year-round, scheduled around summer life. Teens attend three to four days a week, 4:00 to 7:00 PM, at our Petaluma or Fresno locations. The work happens in a small peer group, led by licensed clinicians who specialize in adolescent mental health and substance use.
A typical week includes
Group therapy three to four afternoons a week, covering emotional regulation (DBT), trauma recovery (Seeking Safety), values-based decision-making (ACT), relapse prevention when relevant, healthy relationships, and planning for real-life challenges.
Weekly individual therapy with the teen’s primary therapist.
Weekly family therapy — not optional, not bolted on. Built into how IOP works at Muir Wood.
Weekly parent education and a parent support group, so parents are doing their own work alongside their teen rather than waiting on the sidelines.
Coordinated care planning that starts early and connects with school counselors, outside providers, and aftercare supports.
Each week ends with goal-setting and safety planning, so what gets built in the room moves with the teen into the days between sessions. Our clinical model draws on a range of evidence-based therapies — DBT, CBT, ACT, motivational interviewing, Seeking Safety — selected for the teen in front of us rather than applied as a one-size protocol.
“Our IOP creates a safe, supportive space where teens can gain insight, build coping skills, and keep growing — without stepping away from daily life.”
— Dr. Ian Wolds, PsyD — Chief Clinical Officer
Residential Treatment
Daytime
Mornings begin with meditation and intention-setting, helping teens start the day with focus and calm. They then take part in our accredited academic program, where teachers provide individualized support to keep learning on track. Afternoons are dedicated to group therapy, recreation, and life-skill activities that build confidence, self-awareness, and connection with peers.
Evenings
After dinner, the pace slows. Teens participate in an evening group before returning to their residences for downtime and reflection. Evenings are designed to feel safe and restorative—encouraging healthy routines, rest, and a sense of home.
Weekends
Weekends bring opportunities for adventure and community. Teens take part in experiential outings like hiking or other outdoor activities that encourage teamwork, self-discovery, and joy in recovery.
Every part of the day is intentional—helping teens rebuild structure, rediscover motivation, and experience what healthy, balanced living feels like.
How We Approach Treatment
Muir Wood treats teens — only teens, ages 12 to 17. That focus shapes everything we do. Our team includes board-certified adolescent psychiatrists, licensed therapists, and recovery counselors who specialize exclusively in this age group. We don’t adapt adult models for younger people; we build for adolescents from the ground up.
We work from a single premise: all behaviors exist for a reason. The patterns that bring teens and families to us — the shutting down, the substance use, the explosive arguments, the school avoidance — are almost always attempts to cope with something underneath. Our job is to understand what’s underneath, and to help the teen build better tools than the ones they’ve been using. This is the heart of our clinical approach.
“Our goal is always to understand the full picture — not just the symptoms, but the story behind them. That’s how we ensure treatment is truly personalized and effective for each teen we serve.”
— Dr. Ian Wolds, PsyD — Chief Clinical Officer
When mental health and substance use show up together — as they often do in adolescence — we treat them together. Separating them, in our experience, tends to leave the underlying patterns intact. Co-occurring conditions are the rule rather than the exception in adolescent treatment, and our integrated model is built for that reality.
What Makes Muir Wood Different
Specialists in Adolescent Care
Everything we do is built for teens ages 12–17 — not adapted from adult models. Our entire team specializes in adolescent mental health and substance use treatment, working as an integrated unit around each teen.
Depth in Both Mental Health and Substance Use
We’re one of the few programs in California built to treat primary mental health and co-occurring substance use with equal clinical depth. Trauma-informed, integrated, designed to address the root rather than the surface.
Weekly family therapy. Weekly parent education. Weekly parent support groups. Weekly huddles with the primary therapist. Four weekly touchpoints for parents while the teen is in IOP — because the home a teen returns to matters as much as the work they do in session.
Coverage That Doesn’t Get in the Way
In-network with most major commercial insurance. The insurance verification process is fast and free — you don’t commit to anything to find out what your plan covers.
Continuity and Collaboration with Your Team
We believe strong outcomes depend on continuity and collaboration. From admission through discharge, we coordinate closely with your teen’s existing providers and aftercare programs — whether that’s a longstanding therapist, a psychiatrist, a school counselor, or another outpatient partner. Our team stays in regular communication with the broader care network to support timely transitions, shared understanding, and a clear path forward.
For teens stepping down from residential treatment, IOP is part of a deliberate continuum. For teens whose outpatient provider referred them in, we treat that provider as part of the care team and stay in close contact throughout treatment. The goal is never to disrupt what’s already working; it’s to add what’s needed for as long as it’s needed, and then to hand back a teen who’s ready for the next phase.
Programs & Locations
With beautiful campuses across California, we offer residential treatment and intensive outpatient programs in Petaluma and Penngrove in Sonoma County, Clovis in the Central Valley, and the historic Orange Grove District of Riverside County.
Residential Treatment
For adolescents with primary mental health and co-occurring substance use needs, days are structured around therapy, education, and restorative outdoor experiences. Evenings in supportive, home-like residences allow teens to reset and integrate what they’re learning—building consistency and trust across the entire treatment experience.
Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP)
An after-school program offered 3–4 days per week in Petaluma and Clovis for teens with primary mental health needs or dual diagnosis. Designed for those stepping down from residential treatment or stepping up from weekly outpatient therapy, it includes group therapy, weekly individual sessions, and family involvement to support stability at home, in school, and in daily life.
What Families Say
Nothing speaks to what a teen treatment center is like more than reviews from parents who have lived the experience.
“I can’t say enough positive details of how Muir Wood is there for your child and also there to keep the families informed along the way. It is very emotional at times, but there is always someone you can call if questions arise and you are supported by attending online parenting classes while your child is in residential. They help give you as much information as possible to help you have a healthy and successful road in the future. I would recommend 110%.”
— Malinda C., Jan 2026
“I am so grateful Muir Wood exists. We were in crisis and didn’t know where to send our son to keep him safe — Muir Wood was the answer to our prayers. His therapist was loving, kind, and non-judgmental, and the Zoom parent sessions helped us, too. The evaluation and diagnosis he received have been life-changing, getting him set up with accommodations after discharge. Thank you, Muir Wood, for being a safe place for these boys when there’s nowhere else to turn. We needed you.”
— Adele K., May 2026
“An amazing experience for both my daughter in treatment and us as parents. We had an amazing team helping us from day 1. She was living in beautiful facilities, and I knew from the beginning she would be there with a group of trusted, positive, and helpful staff. The communication weekly has been amazing, and I highly recommend this to anyone who needs help for their child.”
— Carrie M., Feb 2026
“Ruby had a very positive experience overall both times. Many programs make lots of promises and don’t deliver. Muir wood was a transformational experience for Ruby and I think the experience of being part of a community of peers was especially helpful. I’m a mental health professional myself and have already recommended Muir Wood to friends with teens who are struggling.”
Sasha A. Blum – September 2023
“There really are other families that are struggling in more or less the same ways that we are,” she shares in the video below. “I think there’s a way that addiction can make people feel like it’s only happening to them, and it’s really not. It’s behind so many closed doors. And I only wish that more people would come out and get the help that they deserve and that is there to be had. I’m really grateful we found it.”
Katie F. – June 2024
What to Expect When You Call
We know reaching out for teen treatment is one of the hardest things a parent can do. Here’s exactly what happens when you call Muir Wood.
1. Speak with an admissions coordinator
A real person answers, not a call center. You’ll have space to share what’s happening with your teen, ask questions, and get honest information. There’s no pressure and no obligation to move forward.
2. A brief clinical consultation
Our admissions team will help you understand what level of care is right for your teen, whether IOP or residential treatment fits, and — if it doesn’t — point you toward a better option, even if that means a different program. The goal of the first call is honest information, not enrollment.
3. Insurance verification and next steps
We verify your insurance coverage directly with your carrier, usually on the same call. You’ll know your benefits, your out-of-pocket responsibility, and any prior authorization requirements before you make any decisions.
4. Scheduling and orientation
Once you’ve decided to proceed, our team coordinates the treatment start date, the first family therapy appointment, and the parent education schedule.
2 Simple Ways to Get Started Today
Speak With an
Admissions Coordinator
Verify Your
Insurance Coverage
Frequently Asked Treatment Questions
Length of stay in our residential and IOP programs is individualized based on clinical need, safety, progress, and school/home factors.
Length of stay in our residential and IOP programs is individualized based on clinical need, safety, progress, and school/home factors.
Length of stay in our residential and IOP programs is individualized based on clinical need, safety, progress, and school/home factors.
Length of stay in our residential and IOP programs is individualized based on clinical need, safety, progress, and school/home factors.
Length of stay in our residential and IOP programs is individualized based on clinical need, safety, progress, and school/home factors.
Length of stay in our residential and IOP programs is individualized based on clinical need, safety, progress, and school/home factors.
Length of stay in our residential and IOP programs is individualized based on clinical need, safety, progress, and school/home factors.
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