Teen Mental Health Treatment in Los Angeles, CA

Our evidence-based and individualized treatment approach is designed to treat the modern teen in this digital age who is struggling with mental health issues related to depression, anxiety, trauma, and more. Our teen mental health treatment program in the South Bay of Los Angeles offers a safe environment in which teens and young adults can explore the origins of dysfunctional coping mechanisms such as self-harm, disordered eating, suicidal ideations, and/or substance abuse, and learn healthier and more adaptable coping mechanisms.

Our teen outpatient program begins with an initial assessment. After this, each teen is assigned their own case manager and therapist who will mentor them from the time they walk through the door to when they graduate the program. Clients and families receive multi-family therapy, peer group therapy, experiential therapy, academic counseling, individual case management, and individual therapy. Our holistic approach addresses all aspects of life, and teaches the tools necessary for sustaining ongoing mental health.

Clear’s teen outpatient program is designed to address young adult’s individualized needs with an adequate amount of support. For this, we offer several levels of care at our Los Angeles treatment center.

Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP): Clear’s PHP program is five days a week for six hours a day. Clients can expect to be at this level of care for 2-3 weeks, or until stabilization is reached, at which point they step down to the IOP lower level of care. A letter of medical necessity is provided to the teenager’s school excusing them from class and academic tutoring is offered onsite in order to ensure that they do not fall behind in classes. In PHP, clients participate in groups related to process and emotional regulation, coping skills, anxiety/depression management, and goal setting, as well as experiential groups such as art, music, acting, mindfulness, and writing. We recognize that in order to feel comfortable sharing vulnerably, clients must first connect with their peers whom they will be navigating the remainder of the program with.

Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP): Clear’s IOP program is three days a week, three hours a day when clients participate in the same groups as the PHP level of care. Each client meets with their individual therapist and their individual case manager once per week. Families will receive a weekly phone call with an update on their child’s progress from the case manager. 

Outpatient Program (OP): Clients who graduate the IOP program are invited to continue treatment at the outpatient level. Our outpatient programs include: once a week case management and group session, or once a week case management and two group sessions. This is based on your teenager’s mental health needs and your family’s preference.  

Alumni Program: Clients who complete the full course of our teen outpatient program are also invited to attend an alumni group offered once a week in order to stay connected with their peers and the treatment team.

Our Team

Our team of mental health professionals are skilled and passionate about working with teens and understand the intricacies and challenges inherent in treating this population. Our staff have proven to be reliable and dedicated through their strong connections with teens, even well after they complete our program. Authenticity, mentorship, and community are what each one of our staff aim to achieve with our clients.

Individualized Care

Each of our clients is assigned a personal therapist who works directly with them through the duration of their treatment to support them in achieving their treatment goals. Additionally, every client receives support and guidance from a dedicated case manager so they may reenter the world more confident and prepared to tackle life’s challenges. Case managers support each client in building life skills and assisting them in all logistical aspects of their daily life while in treatment. This role is not only auxiliary support for the client, but also preserves the therapeutic integrity of the client’s relationship with their therapist. Case management also plays a critical role in facilitating family correspondence once the necessary releases have been obtained to ensure each client has a supportive primary support system that understands their diagnosis and is learning how to better support them. When necessary, family members will be welcomed in for a family session if such an intervention would be productive and supportive to the client’s treatment goals.

​​Life Skills Development

Each client will acquire healthy coping skills to confidently overcome mental health issues, life challenges, and stressors. Some of the skills-based groups offered in Clear’s teen outpatient program include:

Stress Management focuses on the psychological and physiological reactions to the demands of everyday life. Clients who struggle with mental health issues are often pushed beyond their ability to cope with daily stressors, often contributing to unhealthy choices in attempts to cope and tax their nervous systems, often exacerbating diagnostic symptoms. Giving clients stress management techniques promotes resilience and adaptability.

Coping Skills groups draw from evidence-based therapeutic modalities (i.e. CBT, DBT) to assist individuals in building new, positive, and healthy ways to reduce emotional overwhelm, handle states of panic, and manage their moods. The more clients become able to use adaptive coping skills regularly, the more improved functioning is possible.

Building Boundaries groups help clients gain insight and build self-awareness. Interpersonal relationships can be difficult to navigate and are often a great source of stress for individuals struggling with mental health. Assisting clients with psychoeducation about different types of healthy boundaries and why they are necessary promotes positive interpersonal dynamics which reduce feelings of loneliness and allows individuals to care for themselves psychologically.

Anxiety Management is a group that provides psychoeducation on the “window of tolerance” which is a term that is used to describe the zone of stimulation in which a client is able to function most effectively. Teaching clients how to integrate and utilize basic emotional regulation techniques when they are not triggered allows them to widen their window of tolerance. 

Fostering Community and Connection

Each client engages in group therapy for the establishment of stable relationships in a safe environment and to positively reinforce a commitment to change. Clear understands that engagement in community and inter-personal connections are important for sustaining a meaningful and joyful way of life.

Family Involvement

Although we are treating the individual client, we recognize that the entire family system needs support and guidance. To address this, we offer the following:

Multi-family therapy groups: A weekly 2 hour multi-family group led by two licensed therapists and case managers. The first hour consists of a structured group session with both parents and teenagers in order to foster connection and understanding of one another. During the second hour, the teenagers will participate in a process group with one of the therapists, while the parents participate in a separate support group with the other therapist. This group has created an invaluable sense of community not only among our teenage clients, but their families as well.

Monthly family sessions: Once per month, parents are invited to participate in a session with their teenager’s individual therapist. This is to assist the treatment team in recognizing each family’s unique needs as well as increasing effective communication across the family unit.

Weekly family updates: Each week, parents receive a phone call from the client’s case manager with an update on progress. The case manager will also remain accessible throughout the week to address any concern as they arise. 

Academic Counseling

In order for clients to attend the program and not fall behind in school, our academic counselors work with each student individually to make sure they stay on top of their school work and support them as needed. Our tutor works with each student in helping them to keep organized in order achieve their full potential in school while advising them on their post-secondary plan.

Clear Recovery Center uses a comprehensive approach. Each level of care employs a combination of individual therapy, group therapy, case management, multi-family therapy, monthly family sessions, and psychiatry. Some of the evidence-based modalities offered in our teen outpatient program include:

EMDR

EMDR is a method that utilizes specific eye movements or other physical processes to help alleviate the ongoing stress that accompanies previous trauma and the memories of trauma. EMDR often provides immediate results for patients struggling with difficult childhood and early experiences.

Psychiatry

Clients benefit significantly from a multidisciplinary team approach that includes psychiatry to cater adequately to medication management. The collaborative nature of our team allows our psychiatrists to benefit from the complementary skills of the therapists, case managers, and group facilitators who provide critical observational assessments and insight for each client so they can better formulate more effective treatment planning in regards to prescription medication. We are mindful to not disrupt the progression of ongoing treatment plans and our team will coordinate care with their current prescribing psychiatrist.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive behavior therapy is a form of psychotherapy that helps patients understand the thoughts and feelings that influence behavior. CBT has been scientifically tested and proven to be an effective treatment modality for many disorders. This modality is focused on the present and is problem-solving-oriented. We utilize CBT to assist our clients in learning applicable skills that they can benefit from for the rest of their lives. These skills include identifying misperceptions and distorted thinking, changing behavioral patterns, and modifying beliefs about themselves, others, and the world.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

DBT is a cognitive-behavioral treatment initially developed to treat chronically suicidal individuals diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and is recognized as the gold standard psychological treatment for this population. In addition, research has shown dialectical behavior therapy to be an effective model for treating a wide range of other disorders such as substance dependence, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and eating disorders. DBT is actively woven into our curriculum to assist all clients in learning distress tolerance for difficult emotions more effectively.

Psychodynamic Therapy

The goals of psychodynamic therapy are to promote self- awareness and to increase insight regarding how past experiences shape current beliefs. Psychodynamic therapy focuses on the unconscious processes as they manifest in the client’s present behaviors. This form of therapy is also known as “insight-oriented” therapy. Psychodynamic therapy is based in a highly developed and multifaceted theory of human development and interaction. The approach for this form of therapy has evolved from psychoanalytical theory and has been applied to a wide range of disorders.

Somatic Therapy

Somatic Experiencing was developed to address the effects of trauma. After experiencing a traumatic event, our nervous systems are triggered into action. Humans, though, have a tendency to override our natural way of regulating our nervous system with self-defeating feelings (i.e., shame, doubt, fear, and judgments) that cause many to be stuck in this traumatic event and unable to move past it. Somatic experiencing practitioners (SEPs) work with the client to restore the body’s ability to self-regulate and achieve balance. By addressing the somatic sensations that the client experiences, a SEP works to help the client fully process the trauma safely.

Art Therapy

Art therapy, a form of psychotherapy, is a modality in which the client uses art media, the creative process and the resulting artwork to process various feelings, emotions and learn about themselves. The goal of art therapy is for the client to improve or restore functioning and develop a sense of well-being. Art therapists are knowledgeable in visual art (i.e. drawing, painting, sculpture), the creative process, human development and counseling theories and techniques. Art therapy helps others resolve conflicts, improve interpersonal skills and manage problematic behavior.

Dance/Movement therapy

Dance and Movement therapy is the psychotherapeutic use of dance and movement to promote the emotional, social, cognitive, and physical integration of the individual. Dance/Movement therapy acknowledges nonverbal language is as important as verbal language and uses both forms of communication in the therapeutic process. Dance/Movement therapy creates an opportunity for clients to explore their movement capabilities and find an emotional connection through dance expression.

Gestalt Therapy

Gestalt therapy places emphasis on the moment and the present context. Gestalt therapists and their clients use creative and experiential techniques to enhance awareness, freedom, and self-direction while focusing on the “here and now”. The concept is to avoid dwelling on the past and not anxiously awaiting the future. Clients use this therapy to learn to stay in the present moment and discover feelings and emotions that may have been suppressed in the past. In turn, they learn to trust and accept their true emotions and their overall sense of awareness increases.

Sound Therapy and Meditation

Sound Therapy, also known as Sound Healing, is a holistic treatment method that uses vibrations to encourage relaxation and restore health. Sound Healing works to synchronize our brainwaves with a stable frequency, leading to relaxed consciousness, a meditative state, or even sleep. This place of stillness encourages slowed breath, a greater state of awareness & released physical tension. In this state, the listener can tune into their “subtle body,” which harbors imbalances and traumas, bringing forth blockages and regions in the mind, body, and spirit that must be addressed for holistic healing.

Clear Recovery Center firmly believes that change takes place in the context of relationships and community. By fostering a strong sense of connection and attunement in a safe space to experience all of the emotions associated with health and mental wellbeing, we are able to assist individuals to overcome their unique struggles. Our staff practices an attachment-based approach; we are always considering how the past is present in the relationship with each client. Located in the South Bay of Los Angeles, Clear has fostered an environment of non-judgment and encouragement that allows individuals to experience themselves wholly and return to their previous level of functioning.

Clear’s teen mental health outpatient program provides specialized treatment to individuals navigating struggles unique to their age group. If you or a loved one is a teenager battling addiction or mental health issues, please contact our Los Angeles-based facility today.