 Mycelia MonasteryIf Your Teen is Struggling, You’re Not Alone
Discovering your teenager is using drugs or alcohol feels like the ground just fell out from under you. Maybe you’ve spent months or even years trying everything you can think of. Grounding didn’t work. Taking away their phone didn’t work. Talking, pleading, threatening consequences. Nothing has worked, and you’re terrified of what comes next.
The fear is overwhelming. The guilt is crushing. And the question keeps you up at night: what do I do now?
If that’s where you are right now, take a breath. You’re not alone, and there is help. This guide will help you understand when your teen needs professional treatment, what actually works, and how to avoid programs that do more harm than good.
This guide focuses on adolescents ages 13 to 17. For adult treatment, see our main addiction treatment guide.
Does My Teen Actually Need Treatment?
Not every teen who experiments needs rehab. But certain signs mean you need professional help immediately.
Your teen needs treatment if:
They’ve tried to stop but can’t. They’re using alone or hiding it from everyone. You’re seeing physical withdrawal symptoms like shaking, sweating, or nausea when they’re not using. They need more and more to get the same effect. Everything else in their life is falling apart. Grades are tanking, they’ve quit activities they used to love, old friends are gone. They’re taking serious risks like driving impaired, stealing to get money for drugs, or putting themselves in dangerous situations. You’re seeing severe mental health issues alongside the substance use, like deep depression, panic attacks, or talk of suicide. Or they’ve already overdosed or had a close call.
If you’re seeing these signs, waiting won’t make it better. Teen addiction progresses faster than adult addiction because their brains are still developing. What starts as experimentation can become life threatening much more quickly.
Why Teens Need Different Treatment Than Adults
Your teen’s brain isn’t a smaller version of an adult brain. It’s fundamentally different. The prefrontal cortex, the part responsible for impulse control and good decision making, isn’t fully developed until around age 25. That’s why teens are more vulnerable to addiction, why it progresses faster, and why they need specialized care.
Adult treatment programs aren’t designed for this. They don’t address school issues, teen social dynamics, or the critical role of family. They talk to teens like they’re adults, which doesn’t work. Teens need therapists who understand adolescent psychology, peer influence, and identity development during these crucial years.
Putting your teen in an adult program is like sending them to a mechanic when they need a doctor. The tools are all wrong.
Bottom line: your teen needs a program specifically designed for teenagers, with staff who actually understand how adolescent minds work.
What We Learned From 600+ Parent and Teen Reviews
We analyzed over 600 reviews from parents and teens who’ve been through treatment at facilities across the United States, including programs like Newport Academy, Caron, Teen Challenge, and dozens of others. Here’s what they told us.
The Numbers Tell a Story
About half of all reviews (52%) are positive, describing life saving transformations and families restored. Another 40% are mixed, praising clinical care but expressing frustration with administrative chaos, billing nightmares, or facility management issues. The remaining 8% are deeply negative, raising serious safety concerns about unqualified staff, dangerous environments, or programs that caused more trauma than healing.
The themes that came up most frequently paint a clear picture. Family dynamics and rebuilding the parent child relationship showed up in 60% of reviews. Staff quality, particularly front line Care Coordinators who spend daily time with teens, was mentioned in 40%. Facility quality, academic support, and even food quality came up in about a quarter of reviews. And a small but critical 6% raised alarms about safety and the presence of contraband like vapes or drugs inside supposedly secure facilities.
The Desperation Parents Feel Before Finding Help
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Parents describe being at their absolute breaking point.
The common thread across hundreds of reviews is the phrase “I didn’t know what else to do.” Parents talk about crisis exhaustion after searching for the right support for three years or more. Not three months. Three years. Some families tried five or six outpatient therapists, multiple psychiatrists, wilderness programs, and therapeutic boarding schools before finally finding something that worked.
One mother wrote: “We were completely at a loss. My son’s anxiety and depression were overwhelming our entire family. His behavior was out of control and I felt helpless watching him destroy his life.”
Another parent described the emotional toll: “We tried everything. Therapy, punishments, rewards, changing schools. Nothing worked. I was emotionally exhausted and terrified I was going to lose my child. Every day felt like a crisis.”
The trauma isn’t just the addiction. It’s often layered with other issues. Parents describe trying to manage their teen’s overwhelming anxiety, depression, trauma from accidents or abuse, and what some call “life controlling issues” without adequate professional support. One father mentioned his son’s survivor’s guilt after a car accident that killed a friend, combined with substance use, nearly broke their entire family.
Financial terror compounds the emotional crisis.
Parents describe the panic of needing help immediately but not knowing how to pay for it. Some desperately searched for free or donor supported programs, knowing their child’s life was in danger but unable to afford the $20,000 to $30,000 monthly price tags. Others faced nightmare billing situations. One parent reported being billed nearly half a million dollars after insurance disputes and coverage denials they knew nothing about until collections agencies started calling.
The financial exploitation feels like being kicked when you’re already down. You’re trying to save your child’s life and suddenly you’re facing bankruptcy.
Then comes the communication blackout that breaks parents’ hearts.
Once their teen is admitted, many parents face a new kind of torture: severely restricted contact. Some facilities enforce “blackout periods” where parents can’t talk to their child at all for the first week or two. Others limit phone calls to 5, 7, or 10 minutes once or twice a week. Parents describe this as agonizing.
One mother wrote about sobbing after getting off a 7 minute call with her daughter, knowing she wouldn’t hear her voice again for five more days. Another parent described the anxiety of not getting updates on their child’s progress, feeling completely shut out of their own child’s treatment while paying tens of thousands of dollars.
Several reviews mention the agony of unreturned phone calls from facility administrators. Parents trying to get information about their teen’s wellbeing, leaving messages that go unanswered for days. The feeling of being ignored and dismissed during the most frightening time of your life.
And finally, the admissions promises that don’t match reality.
This came up repeatedly and with significant anger. Parents feel misled by the high pressure sales tactics during admissions. They’re told about robust academic programs with certified teachers, highly qualified clinical staff with specialized training, comprehensive therapy schedules, and beautiful therapeutic environments.
Then their teen arrives and reality sets in. The “credentialed therapists” turn out to be recent college graduates with no clinical training, just supervising activities. The “strong academic program” is worksheets and basic online modules that don’t coordinate with their home school at all. The “beautiful facility” shown in photos is actually run down with broken furniture and poor maintenance. The daily schedule promised during admissions doesn’t match what actually happens.
This betrayal of trust, on top of the desperation and fear parents already feel, is devastating. You trusted these people with your child’s life and they lied to you.
What Actually Works: The Success Stories
When treatment works, families use words like “life changing,” “saved our family,” and “gave us our child back.”
The programs that parents praise most consistently are the ones that treat the whole family, not just the teen. Integrated family therapy gets the highest ratings across the board. Parents describe breakthrough moments in family sessions where, for the first time in years, they actually understood what their child was going through. Where their teen finally felt heard and validated by mom and dad.
One father wrote: “They didn’t just fix my daughter. They taught us how to communicate again. How to listen. How to be a family. We learned as much as she did.”
Another parent said: “Family therapy was hard. We had to look at our own issues, not just hers. But that’s what made the difference. We changed too.”
The transformation stories often mention specific staff members who became lifelines.
Not the clinical director who the family met once during intake. Not the therapist assigned on paper. The front line Care Coordinators who showed up every single day. Who remembered the teens’ stories. Who texted them on birthdays months after discharge. Who genuinely cared beyond their job description.
Review after review mentions specific counselors by name. “My Care Coordinator, Sarah, is the reason I’m alive today. She saw me when I felt invisible.” “Marcus understood me in a way no adult ever had. He’s the one who got through to me.” “Emily saved my life. I still email her two years later when I’m struggling.”
These aren’t generic praise for facilities. These are love letters to individuals who made the difference between life and death for these kids.
Long term sobriety is built on connection.
Multiple reviews from young adults sober for 5, 10, even 25 years credit their teen treatment program with giving them not just sobriety, but a life worth living. They talk about learning tools they still use decades later. About friendships formed in treatment that are still strong. About finally understanding they weren’t bad kids, just sick kids who needed help.
One man wrote: “I went through the program 25 years ago. I’m married now with three kids. I have a career I love. I’m still sober. That place gave me my entire life.”
For teens, finding their people is everything.
The peer community in treatment consistently ranks as the most transformative element. Teens describe their “pod” or therapy group as the first place they ever felt truly safe to be vulnerable. Where they weren’t judged. Where everyone understood without explanation. Where they could cry or rage or laugh and it was okay.
“I thought I was the only one who felt this way. Finding other kids who got it changed everything.”
“My group became like family. We kept each other alive in there. Some of us still talk.”
This sense of belonging, of not being alone, of being seen and accepted, is what breaks through the isolation that feeds addiction.
Faith based programs work powerfully for some families.
Multiple reviews mention that building a relationship with God, learning about the Gospel, and having a spiritual foundation was the key to their teen’s recovery. These families, who already had strong faith, found that integrating religious practice with clinical treatment created lasting transformation.
This isn’t right for every family, but for those with deep faith, it can be a powerful component of healing.
Beautiful, peaceful environments help teens feel safe enough to heal.
Parents appreciate facilities that don’t feel institutional. That feel more like a home or retreat center than a hospital. Natural settings, comfortable spaces, and what one parent called “a place that felt like rest, not punishment” matter more than you might think.
When teens feel safe in their physical environment, they’re more willing to open up emotionally.
The Red Flags: What Can Go Terribly Wrong
Not all teen treatment is safe. Some of it is dangerous. Some of it causes more trauma than the addiction itself.
The most alarming finding from our analysis: contraband is getting into facilities that are supposed to be secure. Multiple reviews mention vapes, drugs, or even alcohol being smuggled in by teens or being accessible during off site trips to NA meetings or court mandated activities. Parents are paying $20,000 to $30,000 per month for a safe, controlled environment, and their kids are getting high inside the facility.
One parent discovered their son had been vaping THC cartridges the entire 60 days he was in treatment. Staff either didn’t know or didn’t care. Another family found out their daughter had access to drugs at NA meetings the facility required her to attend. The irony is crushing.
Unqualified staff is one of the most frequent complaints.
Reviews repeatedly describe staff as “just supervisors” or “babysitters” rather than trained therapeutic professionals. Some facilities hire recent college graduates with no clinical background, give them a weekend of training, and put them in charge of group therapy sessions with severely traumatized teens. Other programs use peer mentors, people who graduated the program themselves, as the primary therapeutic staff without any actual licensure.
Teens can tell immediately when someone doesn’t know what they’re doing. It destroys trust in the entire program.
“The staff were nice enough people, but they had absolutely no idea how to help us. It felt like summer camp supervision, not addiction treatment.”
“My therapist was 23 years old and had never worked in mental health before. How was she supposed to help me process sexual trauma?”
Some environments are described as cult like or abusive.
This is where reviews get truly disturbing. Multiple families describe programs that replaced professional medical and psychological care with purely religious indoctrination. Where teens with serious mental health conditions were told their problems were spiritual failings and they just needed to pray harder. Where depression wasn’t treated with therapy or medication but with Bible study and submission to authority.
While faith can be part of healing, substituting it for actual clinical care is dangerous and sometimes deadly.
Other reviews describe what can only be called institutional abuse. Teens being allowed to physically fight each other without staff intervention, described as “animal like treatment.” Kids being punished with isolation, food deprivation, or public humiliation. One review mentioned teens being forced to wear signs describing their infractions.
Several former residents said the program traumatized them worse than their addiction ever did.
The blame the victim mentality destroys kids.
Some facilities create cultures where teens are blamed for their own trauma and struggles. Where sexual abuse survivors are told they “brought it on themselves.” Where kids with clinical depression are called “lazy” or “manipulative.” Where normal teenage emotional reactions are framed as character defects requiring punishment.
“They treated my son like he was choosing to be sick. Like his depression was a moral failing. The lack of empathy from management was appalling.”
Money driven facilities put profits over patients.
Multiple families report being lied to about their teen’s readiness for discharge. Therapists tell the teen privately they’re ready to go home. But facility administrators tell parents the teen needs “just a few more weeks” to maximize insurance billing.
Some programs deliberately drag out treatment regardless of clinical need. Others discharge teens the second insurance stops paying, even if the teen isn’t stable. The message is clear: you’re a revenue stream, not a person.
Insurance fraud came up in several reviews, with facilities billing for services never provided or inflating the level of care to get higher reimbursement rates.
Physical environment and basic care failures.
Poor food quality came up surprisingly often. Teens describe meals as “barely edible,” “punishment food,” or “the same five things rotated forever.” Some facilities clearly spend their budget elsewhere and feed kids as cheaply as possible. For teenagers already struggling, bad food is one more indignity.
Others mention facilities that look beautiful in marketing photos but are actually falling apart. Broken furniture nobody fixes. Mold in bathrooms. Insufficient heating or cooling. Overcrowded sleeping arrangements. “Dorm room conditions” when parents were promised “home like environment.”
The medication without consent issue is terrifying.
Several parents discovered their teens were given psychiatric medications without parental knowledge or authorization. Antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, or sedatives prescribed and administered without the legally required parental consent. This is not only unethical, it’s illegal. But some facilities do it anyway and hide it from parents.
And finally, the aftercare failure that sets families up to fail.
Many programs do good work during the 60 or 90 days a teen is in residence. But then discharge day comes and families get a binder of phone numbers, maybe some referrals to therapists, and “good luck, call if you need anything.”
No real transition plan. No ongoing support. No help integrating back into school and home life. No continued family therapy to maintain the progress made. Just a bill and a handshake.
Within weeks, many teens relapse. And parents are left thinking the treatment failed when really the aftercare never existed.
Types of Teen Treatment Programs
Residential Treatment
Your teen lives at the facility full time, typically for 30 to 90 days but sometimes longer. Everything is structured. Therapy, school, meals, recreation, sleep. It’s intensive and removes them completely from their current environment.
Best for: moderate to severe addiction, unsafe home situations, co occurring mental health issues like depression or trauma, or teens who’ve already tried outpatient and relapsed.
Intensive Outpatient (IOP) for Teens
Your teen comes to treatment several days a week for a few hours but lives at home and continues school. It’s less disruptive but requires strong family support and a relatively stable home environment.
Best for: mild addiction, teens with good family support, situations where leaving home isn’t practical or necessary.
Wilderness Therapy
Treatment happens outdoors, typically for 6 to 12 weeks. Teens disconnect from technology, negative peer influences, and their old lives while working through therapeutic issues in nature.
Best for: teens who haven’t responded to traditional treatment or who need a complete reset.
Therapeutic Boarding School
Long term residential treatment, often 6 to 24 months, that combines academics with therapy. Teens earn high school credits while working on recovery.
Best for:Â teens who need extended time in a structured, therapeutic environment.
The 5 Questions That Matter Most
Before you commit to any teen treatment center, ask these questions. The answers will tell you almost everything you need to know.
1. Are you specifically licensed for adolescent treatment?
Many states require separate licensing for teen programs. If they treat “ages 12 and up” or mix teens with adults, walk away. Teens need teen specific care.
2. What credentials do your clinical staff actually have, and how long have they been working here?
You want licensed therapists (LCSW, LPC, LMFT, psychologists) with adolescent specialization and experience. Not recent graduates. Not “mentors” or “supervisors.” Ask about staff turnover rates. If they’re vague about credentials or people don’t stay long, that’s a red flag.
3. How do you involve parents and family in treatment, and does it continue after discharge?
Teen treatment without family involvement doesn’t work. Period. Look for weekly family therapy sessions, parent education, communication training, and discharge planning that includes the whole family. Ask specifically about continued family support after your teen comes home.
4. How do you handle academics, and will my teen fall behind?
Your teen can’t lose a year of school. Ask if they have certified teachers on staff, how they coordinate with your teen’s home school, and whether your teen will earn actual credits or just complete busy work.
5. What does aftercare actually look like beyond just giving us referrals?
This is the most important question. Look for real ongoing support. Step down care programs. Continued family therapy after discharge. Help finding quality local therapists. Alumni groups and check ins. If they say “we give them a comprehensive discharge plan” but don’t mention actual continued support, that’s not enough.
What Happens During Treatment
A typical day in residential teen treatment starts with breakfast together, building that sense of community right from the morning. Then academic time where teens work with teachers to keep up with schoolwork or earn credits. Individual therapy happens two or three times per week, sometimes more if needed.
Group therapy with peers is usually daily. This is where a lot of the real work happens, teens opening up to each other in ways they never could before. Lunch and some structured free time come next.
Afternoons include life skills workshops. Learning practical things like how to identify and communicate feelings, how to set and maintain boundaries, what to do when triggers hit, how to ask for help. There’s recreational therapy too, sports, art, music, whatever helps teens express themselves and blow off steam in healthy ways.
Family therapy happens weekly, either in person if you’re local or via video call if you’re far away. These sessions work on communication patterns, rebuilding trust, addressing family dynamics that may have contributed to the addiction.
Evenings wind down with reflection time, journaling, and hanging out with peers in a structured, supervised setting. Lights out is usually around 10.
The focus isn’t just on stopping the drug or alcohol use. It’s on understanding the why underneath it all. What pain were they trying to numb? What trauma needs healing? What skills were they missing? How do they build an identity and a life worth staying sober for?
The Money Reality
Teen treatment is expensive. There’s no way around that truth. Residential programs typically cost $10,000 to $30,000 per month depending on location, reputation, and amenities. Wilderness therapy programs run about $500 to $600 per day, so a two month program can easily hit $30,000 to $36,000. Therapeutic boarding schools cost $6,000 to $10,000 monthly, and stays often last a year or longer.
Most insurance plans cover addiction treatment for teens, at least partially. The Affordable Care Act requires mental health and substance abuse coverage as essential health benefits. But you’ll need pre authorization, and insurers typically approve 30 to 60 days initially. You can request extensions with medical justification, but be prepared to fight for it.
Ask about in network versus out of network coverage. In network might cover 80 to 100 percent after your deductible. Out of network could leave you paying 50 percent or more. Know your deductible, your out of pocket maximum, and exactly what your financial responsibility will be before your teen is admitted.
If you can’t afford treatment, don’t give up. Look into state funded programs that are free or very low cost, though they often have waitlists. Some facilities offer sliding scale fees based on income. Donor supported programs exist specifically to help families who couldn’t otherwise afford care. Payment plans, medical loans, even crowdfunding through sites like GoFundMe have helped families raise tens of thousands when their child’s life was on the line.
Need help navigating the financial maze? Talk to us and we’ll help you find quality care you can actually afford.
Life After Treatment: What Your Teen Actually Needs
Treatment is just the beginning. The real test comes when your teen steps back into their regular life. What happens in those first 90 days after discharge often determines whether recovery sticks or not.
Your teen needs weekly ongoing therapy with someone who specializes in adolescents and addiction. They need teen specific support groups, not adult AA meetings where they’re the only 16 year old in a room full of 40 year olds. They need a sober peer group, friends who support their recovery instead of pulling them back into using.
Family therapy should continue. Rebuilding trust takes months, sometimes years. The patterns that developed during active addiction don’t disappear overnight. You all need continued support learning new ways of communicating and relating to each other.
Clear structure and boundaries at home matter enormously. Your teen needs to know what the expectations are and what the consequences are if they slip. But the boundaries need to be loving, not punitive. You’re creating safety, not prison.
Many therapists recommend continued drug testing during the first year. Not as punishment, but as accountability and early warning if your teen is struggling before it becomes a full relapse.
And you need a crisis plan. What do you do if your teen is having cravings? If they’re depressed? If they’ve used? Having the plan in place before you need it can be the difference between a slip and a catastrophe.
Some teens need to step down slowly rather than coming straight home. Sober living houses for adolescents provide structure and support while giving them more independence than residential treatment. Therapeutic boarding schools can serve as a bridge, combining continued therapy with normal school life.
Your role as a parent determines so much of what happens next.
What helps recovery: learning about addiction as a disease of the brain, not a moral failure or bad choice. Understanding that your teen’s brain is literally different now and healing takes time. Setting clear, consistent boundaries but enforcing them with love, not rage. Rebuilding trust slowly as your teen earns it back through consistent actions over time. Getting your own therapy to work through your pain, fear, and maybe guilt. Joining a parent support group where you can talk to other parents who understand. Being patient with setbacks because recovery is never a straight line up.
What hurts recovery: enabling, which means protecting your teen from the natural consequences of their choices. Trying to control every detail of their life because you’re terrified of losing them. Constantly bringing up past mistakes and holding their addiction over their head. Refusing to look at your own issues and how the family dynamic might need to change. Expecting perfection immediately and treating any slip as complete failure.
Your teen is still your teen. They’re healing. You’re all healing together.
How We Support Families Through This Journey
We don’t just help you find a teen treatment center, hand you a phone number, and disappear. We walk alongside your family through this entire journey because we understand that treatment is just the beginning, not the end.
Before treatment, we spend real time understanding your teen’s specific situation. What substances? What mental health issues? What’s the family dynamic? What’s been tried before? Then we research facilities that specialize in exactly what your teen needs. We verify credentials, check state licensing databases, read reviews, and even talk to alumni when possible. We help you understand your insurance coverage and what your financial responsibility will actually be. And we support you emotionally through the admission process because we know how terrifying it is to put your child on a plane to a place you’ve never been.
During treatment, we don’t vanish. We check in periodically to see how things are going. Not because we’re getting paid to, but because we care. We’re here to support you as a parent during what may be the hardest 90 days of your life. We help you think through discharge planning early, not wait until the last week. We start identifying resources in your area, therapists who specialize in teen addiction, support groups your teen can plug into, maybe sober living options if that makes sense.
After treatment, and this is where we’re truly different, we provide ongoing support for both your teen and your entire family. We help you find excellent adolescent therapists in your area, not just names from a referral list but people we’ve vetted. We connect your teen to sober peer communities where they can build friendships that support recovery. We work with your family on the deeper issues, the trauma, the spiritual disconnection, the family patterns that need healing. We provide regular check ins and accountability, someone your teen can text at 2am when they’re struggling and considering using.
We’re not here for 90 days. We’re here for as long as you need us.
Learn more about our family support approach
How We Support Families Through This Journey
If you’re reading this right now, you already know deep down that something has to change. Your teen is struggling and maybe spiraling. Your family is in crisis. You’re scared. You feel alone. You don’t know what to do next and you’re terrified of making the wrong choice.
Here’s your next step, right now.
If your teen is in immediate danger, if they’re talking about suicide or you think they might overdose tonight, don’t wait. Call 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Or call 911. This is not the time to figure out which treatment center to call. This is the time to keep your child alive.
If you need guidance on what to do next, schedule a free parent consultation with us. We’ll spend real time understanding your situation and help you figure out what level of care makes sense and which programs are worth considering. No pressure, no sales pitch. Just honest guidance from people who care.
Start learning about options by reading our comprehensive addiction treatment guide. Understanding the landscape helps you make better choices.
And talk to your teen. Not with anger or accusations. With love. Tell them you see they’re struggling. You’re worried. You love them. You want to help. That conversation is hard. It might not go well the first time. But it’s where healing starts.
Keep Learning
Related guides:
Resources for parents:
- Partnership to End Addiction
- SAMHSA Parent Resources
- Teen Addiction Helpline: 1-877-695-3566
- Al-Anon for Families
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988
Mycelia Monastery helps families find quality teen addiction treatment and provides ongoing support throughout recovery. We are not a treatment facility. All treatment is provided by licensed third-party facilities specializing in adolescent care.