California has the largest population of any US state, and this includes its residents under the age of 21. Children and teenagers in just the city of Los Angeles number over two million in total. Meanwhile, 45% of youth in this state between 12-17 years of age report having recently struggled with mental health issues, per UCLA Health’s Browse U Magazine in 2021. Depression and anxiety have markedly increased in youth and young adults during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, treating mental health disorders in California (CA) has been more challenging during the Covid-19 pandemic due to the wide diversity of backgrounds and native languages spoken among children, teens, and young adults living in CA – in tandem with not enough culturally-diverse psychiatrists to meet their needs.
The following are five of the best residential and outpatient mental health treatment centers for teens and young adults in CA:
1) Langley-Porter Psychiatric Hospital of the University of California Medical Center (San Francisco, CA)
Founded in 1941, Langley-Porter (LPHHC) was the first neuropsychiatric hospital in CA. It currently offers an adult inpatient unit, an adult partial hospitalization program, an adult intensive outpatient program, and both adult and youth outpatient therapy services. It is located next to the main campus of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) in Parnassus Heights, so is convenient for the parents of teenagers requiring other healthcare services for their offspring besides outpatient therapy sessions. The sub-department of Child and Adolescent Services – within the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences – offers treatment services to children, adolescents, young adults, and families. Six of the many different mental and emotional disorders that they treat are:
- Depression and/or Anxiety Disorders;
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD);
- School Behavioral Issues;
- Psychosis (hallucinations and delusions);
- Eating disorders;
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Payment Options: Diverse types of health insurance are accepted (as well as self-pay).
2) Newport Academy (numerous locations throughout CA )
Both inpatient and outpatient treatment are provided by this mental health center with numerous nationwide sites (inclusive of residential sites in both Northern CA and Southern CA). This mental health treatment center specializes in providing services to teens and young adults, and the primary focus of Newport Academy is on psychological, behavioral, and/or substance abuse issues. Their treatment approach includes (but is not limited to) the following: a) individual and/or family therapy; b) substance abuse recovery lifestyle; c) music therapy; d) nutrition; and e) equine-assisted therapy.
In Southern CA, their residential program is located in the serene settings of the Santa Ana Valley and Camarillo in Ventura County – with Los Angeles as the nearest city. Meanwhile, Newport Academy Southern California boarding schools treat teens in well-appointed private homes separated by gender. In Northern CA, the residential program is located in the San Francisco Bay Area close to nature preserves. Newport Academy Northern California facilities treat teens through an integrative approach that encompasses a variety of therapies, coupled with clinical modalities and strengths-based academics.
Payment Options: Diverse types of health insurance are accepted (as well as self-pay).
3) Casa Pacifica Center for Children and Families – Teen and Family Services (three sites in Camarillo, Santa Barbara, and Santa Maria, CA)
This mental health center – offering adolescent and family services – supports youth and families through residential mental health treatment, foster care, and other social services. Its primary focus is enabling treatment for vulnerable persons such as the victims of abuse/neglect, substance abuse, homelessness, and those with other behavioral/mental health issues.
Each year, more than 2,100 of some of the most vulnerable youth and families in CA are served in this center’s three locations. It considers itself the leading provider of intensive therapeutic mental health care for youth aged 9-18 who are struggling with mental, emotional, and behavioral challenges when traditional outpatient interventions have not been sufficient. In Camarillo (its headquarters), this center has a 25-acre campus that houses seven residential units, 10 classrooms, youth counseling rooms, a medical clinic, administrative offices, and many amenities for its adolescent clients (such as a fully-equipped music room, gymnasium, and swimming pool).
Payment Options: Diverse types of health insurance are accepted (as well as self-pay). Financial assistance is also available.
4) UCLA Resnick Psychiatric Hospital, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (Los Angeles, CA)
Under the direction of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry section of Resnick Psychiatric Hospital, adolescents and children receive inpatient mental health treatment at 4 West. Four of the disorders commonly-treated in West 4 are the following:
- Organic personality disorders;
- Schizophrenia;
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD);
- Other psychotic and/or complex neurobehavioral disorders
Additionally provided by the Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital is an Adolescent Partial Hospitalization Program (APHP) and Child Day Program (ABC), as well as outpatient therapy.
Payment Options: Diverse types of health insurance are accepted (as well as self-pay). Financial assistance is also available.
5) Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital, Children and Teen Mental Health Services (San Diego, CA)
Inpatient and outpatient mental health services for children and teenagers are offered within the Children and Teen Mental Health Services programs at Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital (as well as mental health services for their families). Inpatient programs include treatment for such mental and emotional disorders as depression, anxiety, challenges with family/school, substance abuse, and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Specialized outpatient services (besides individual and family therapy) include:
- Partial hospitalization (treatment for youth following a hospital stay, as an alternative to hospitalization, or as a “step up” from outpatient treatment).
- After-school cognitive therapy for adolescents (Cognitive Behavior Therapy [CBT] group therapy for teens in grades 7-12).
- Adolescent programming (Treatment aimed at adolescents aged 12-17 with such mental health issues as emotional or behavioral problems, school problems, family problems, substance abuse history, and support for transgender and LGBTQIA youth).
Suicide Prevention as a Goal of Mental Health Services to Treat Depression
Suicide is the second-leading cause of death for children, teens, and young adults between 15-24 years of age. According to a medical research article in Current Opinion in Pediatrics, nearly 60% of youth that commit suicide had suffered from a depressive disorder at the time of death. This article also reported that up to 80% of youth who attempt suicide meet psychiatric diagnostic criteria for depression at the time of the attempt. Even before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, teenagers and young adults were becoming prone to cyber-bullying. Moreover, cyber-bullying has been strongly-linked to worsening depression and anxiety in teenagers and young adults.
If you are aware that a child, teenager, or young adult is experiencing suicidal thoughts, you can contact a Suicide Prevention hotline in your state to determine ways that you can take action to prevent those suicidal thoughts from becoming a suicide attempt.
