Among the oldest youth-focused mental health treatment centers in the US are those in Connecticut (CT). Founded in 1822, the Institute of Living (which merged in 1994 with another entity) was one of this country’s very first mental “hospitals”. Inpatient and outpatient treatment in the mid-1900s to adolescents was a primary focus besides treatment aimed at adults. Historically, both shock therapy and lobotomy were utilized on its campus. Due to the presence of an Ivy League university with a renowned medical school that opened in 1810, early mental health professionals were especially attracted to practicing in CT.
Below are five of the best residential and outpatient mental health treatment centers for teens and young adults in CT:
1) Yale-New Haven Psychiatric Hospital (New Haven, CT)
This mental health facility provides brief, acute inpatient care to adolescents (and young adults) experiencing a wide range of psychological problems. The disorders treated include mood disorders (such as clinical depression), psychotic disorders, substance abuse, eating disorders, PTSD, developmental disorders, and disruptive behavior disorders. Outpatient treatment is also offered. A team approach – involving psychiatrists, social workers, nurses, milieu counselors, and even recreational/occupational therapists – is utilized to diagnose, understand, and treat each young person’s type (and severity) of illness within its Adolescent Inpatient Psychiatry Program. Since this mental health facility has a relationship with Yale University’s medical school, psychiatric faculty at Yale are included as staff.
Payment Options: Diverse types of health insurance are accepted (as well as self-pay).
2) Newport Academy (two sites in Connecticut)
Both inpatient and outpatient treatment are provided by this mental health center with numerous nationwide sites (along with sites in Bethlehem and Darien, CT). Notably, this center specializes in treating teens and young adults. The primary focus of Newport Academy is on psychological, behavioral, and/or substance abuse issues, and the treatment approach includes (but is not limited to) the following:
- Individual and/or family therapy;
- Recovery lifestyle (for patients/clients recovering from an addiction);
- Music therapy;
- Equine-assisted therapy;
- Nutrition
Adolescent clients in CT who want to pursue their academic studies with other teens coping with mental health and/or substance abuse issues may be able to enroll in one of this facility’s day-schools (located in the quaint town of Darien, CT). Meanwhile, an outpatient therapy site – Newport Academy Outpatient – is also located in Darien.
Payment Options: Diverse types of health insurance are accepted (as well as self-pay).
3) Hartford Hospital’s Institute of Living (Hartford, CT)
Hartford Hospital (operated by Hartford Healthcare) – in a merger – began operating the Institute of Living in the 1990s as their non-profit mental health service provider. This hospital describes its Institute of Living (serving both youth and adults) as providing comprehensive patient care, research, and education in the fields of behavioral, psychiatric, and addiction disorders. Meanwhile – within its Contact Psychiatry department – a sub-department focused specifically on Child and Adolescent Psychiatry is included as one of its three distinct sub-departments.
Besides offering outpatient, partial hospital, residential (supervised living), inpatient, crisis intervention, and consultation, this mental health center includes three schools serving elementary, middle, and high school students.
Payment Options: Diverse types of health insurance are accepted (as well as self-pay).
4) Optimus Healthcare, Inc. (Bridgeport, CT)
This federally-funded public health center offers mental health services to children and adolescents as part of its role as a Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH). As a full-scale health center, it has 31 locations throughout southwestern CT – with mental health services offered at most of them. Both mental health disorders and substance abuse are included among its youth-focused treatment offerings. At its main location (named Optimus East Main Health Care) in Bridgeport, mental health assessments and outpatient therapy are provided to youth as well as adults. School-based behavioral health services at West Haven High School is also offered in coordination with Bridges Healthcare, Inc. of Milford, CT.
Payment Options: Diverse types of health insurance are accepted. Financial aid based on financial need is also available.
5) Turnbridge (headquartered in New Haven, CT)
Substance abuse treatment (as well as mental health services) is featured at this center with three locations in CT, and it includes a residential mental health rehab center aimed at adolescents aged 14-17 in Woodbury, CT. This Turnbridge Adolescent Residential Program is situated on 68 private acres of countryside, and can accommodate 12 adolescents at any given time. This residential program emphasizes the importance of accurately assessing holistic adolescent mental and physical health along with the underlying factors that may contribute to mental health problems and behavioral dysfunction. Outpatient adolescent treatment is also offered by Turnbridge (as well outpatient services for young adults). There is also a Turnbridge outpatient clinic in Westport, CT (besides New Haven, CT).
Payment Options: Diverse types of health insurance are accepted.
Depression, Anxiety, and Substance Abuse in Youth – A Mental Health Crisis
The Covid-19 pandemic, resulting in periodic closures of schools and disruption to normal social activities/interactions, has worsened depression and anxiety in children and adolescents. Although depression has also worsened in adults, learning social skills is closely-associated with development in children and teenagers of peer relationships in the school (and neighborhood) setting. Moreover, a medical research article published in 2021 in JAMA Pediatrics revealed an increase globally in the prevalence of mental health disorder symptoms in children and youth.
Meanwhile, nearly 11% of the adult population in CT was diagnosed in 2016 – prior to the Covid-19 pandemic – with serious psychological distress (and 6% with a major depressive disorder), per a report in 2018 titled The Cost of Mental Illness: Connecticut Fact and Figures. This report also noted that youth hospitalized for a psychotic disorder (classified as Psychotic Disorder NOS relative to Schizophrenia) are hospitalized at a significantly higher rate in Connecticut than adults – and presented graphically as a rate of 2.1x (youth) versus 0.3x (adults).
Depression and anxiety in parents can foster the development of depression and anxiety in their kids. If you – or your offspring – are experiencing an increase in depression and anxiety consequent to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is important to seek psychological support such as through entering individual or family therapy. An increase in substance abuse in adults is likewise fostering a similar increase in youth – and substance abuse in teenagers can lead to a higher likelihood of living in poverty in adulthood.
If you have health insurance, contacting your health insurance plan’s customer service department can enable to you to determine if the mental health center and/or psychotherapist is covered by your insurance plan or not.
