Teenagers and young adults in Georgia differ on their ability to access appropriate mental health services depending upon whether they live in an urban or rural area. This is similar to mental health services access in most states. According to data for 2019 published by the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the rate for receipt by children and adolescents of functional family therapy was 6.6% in Georgia as compared to 5.9% across the US as a whole. Furthermore, 5% of all consumers of federally-funded mental health services in Georgia were living in homeless shelters as compared to 4.5% for the US as a whole. It is well-recognized that children and teenagers who become homeless (along with the rest of their family) are at a tremendously increased risk of developing depression.
Five of the best mental health treatment centers in Georgia (GA) for teenagers and young adults are described below.
1. SummitRidge Hospital (Lawrenceville, GA)
Located around 30 miles from the city of Atlanta, SummitRidge Hospital provides inpatient psychiatric and substance abuse treatment to adolescents, young adults, and older-aged adults. This hospital focused on behavioral and mental health also provides outpatient treatment at a site in Athens, GA (around 36 miles from Lawrenceville). Assistance to teenagers with mental health disorders and/or substance use disorders is provided through the following types of programs:
- Inpatient psychiatric care aimed at adolescent patients;
- Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) – an outpatient treatment program for adolescents aged 11–17 (offered from Monday through Friday each week);
- Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) – This is a step-down program from inpatient hospitalization and the Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP). It is offered to adolescents aged 11-17, and this programming is usually 4-6 weeks in length. Patients enrolled in this program can attend treatment with their own psychiatrist and therapist while still attending SummitRidge Hospital’s IOP sessions.
Payment Options: Diverse types of health insurance are accepted (as well as self-pay).
2. Newport Academy (Atlanta, GA)
This mental health treatment center specializes in providing services to teens and young adults. Meanwhile, its primary focus is on treating psychological, behavioral, and/or substance abuse issues. Outpatient services are provided by this center in Georgia as well as numerous nationwide sites. Although residential treatment is not offered by this center in Georgia, it is available at other Newport Academy sites throughout the US.
Newport Academy’s outpatient program (located in the Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta) is helping to fill the gap in mental healthcare provision in Georgia by providing teens with integrated, evidence-based care – while also aiding adolescent and young adult clients to build supportive peer communities. Anxiety, depression, Bipolar Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), eating disorders, and substance use disorder are some of the diagnoses associated with the teenage clients utilizing the outpatient program. Experiential activities that may be offered to outpatient clients at the Atlanta site may include improvisational theater, outdoor team challenges, community service, horticulture therapy, and seasonal Adventure Therapy excursions (such as hiking on the Appalachian Trail, climbing Stone Mountain, and kayaking and paddle boarding on the Chattahoochee River).
Payment Options: Diverse types of health insurance are accepted (as well as self-pay).
3. Georgia State University Psychology Clinic (Atlanta, GA)
This mental health center offers high quality and affordable psychological services to adults, children, adolescents, families, and couples from the greater Atlanta, GA area. It is the primary training site for Georgia State University’s graduate program in clinical psychology, and counseling and assessment services are provided by doctoral graduate students supervised by licensed psychologists. The following are some of the currently-offered services:
- Educational and psycho-diagnostic evaluations for children, adolescents and adults;
- Adult counseling, including individual and couples therapy;
- Child and adolescent counseling, including individual and family therapy;
- An emotion Regulation Group for children, including parent training;
- A skills-based group for adolescents based on ACT;
- Services in Spanish for adults and adolescents
Payment Options: Counseling services are offered at a low cost to all members of the metropolitan Atlanta, GA community. Georgia State University (GSU) students, faculty, staff, and alumni qualify for special (reduced) fees. Financial assistance may be available depending upon financial need.
4. Emory University Hospital at Wesley Woods (Atlanta, GA)
This 44-bed psychiatric hospital provides inpatient mental health treatment to people aged 18 and older who are experiencing a mental health crisis. As an adult facility (rather than a pediatric facility), it is a leading psychiatric hospital in Georgia and the southeastern US. Moreover, as part of Emory Healthcare (Georgia’s most comprehensive academic health system), this hospital has resources to provide cutting-edge and high-level care to its inpatients.
Working as a team, the hospital’s physicians, nurses, licensed social workers and licensed professional counselors work together to provide care in keeping with the patients’ unique needs. The goal of the inpatient care at this hospital includes correct diagnostic assessment, initial treatment, and crisis stabilization (so as to allow the patient to safely transition from inpatient care back to the community). Patients with needs falling somewhere between inpatient admission and true outpatient care can utilize this hospital’s Transitions Outpatient Programs (TOPS), which includes a Young Adult Intensive Outpatient Counseling Program (for 18-28 years of age).
Payment Options: Diverse types of health insurance are accepted (as well as self-pay).
5) Coastal Harbor Health System – Coastal Behavioral Health (Savannah, GA)
This mental health center provides services to children, teenagers, and adults. At Coastal Harbor Health System’s Psychiatric Residential Treatment Program (PRTP), inpatient care is provided to children and adolescents. Meanwhile, outpatient services are provided by its Coastal Behavioral Health section. Notably, the PRTP is designed specifically for youth aged 7-17, and its specialty areas include:
- Mood disorders (including depression and bipolar symptoms);
- Self-injurious, disruptive and aggressive behaviors;
- Psychotic symptoms;
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD);
- Co-occurring substance abuse disorders
Youth Depression, Substance Abuse, and Suicide Attempts
The suicide rate among children and adolescents in the US has increased dramatically in recent years (according to a medical research article in Current Opinion in Pediatrics). Meanwhile, a co-disorder of depression and substance abuse is well-linked to suicidal thoughts in youth and young adults. Therefore, it is important for you to seek mental health care for yourself or your offspring if suffering from depression before this leads to suicidal thoughts or action.
