Residential treatment and inpatient hospitalization are two of the highest levels of care for teen mental health treatment. Yet while these two different treatment options share many similarities, the differences between inpatient and residential treatment are important considerations when choosing what’s best for your adolescent’s mental health.
If your teen needs intensive support to recover from a mental health condition, our team is here to help.
Contact Tamarack Center to learn more about our residential treatment options and how we can help your teen begin the path to recovery.
Understanding the Differences Between Residential Care and Inpatient Hospitalization
Both residential care and inpatient hospitalization play an important role in the treatment of adolescent mental health disorders. When deciding on what services are best to help your teen achieve recovery, it’s important to consider your different options before starting treatment and make the right choice about which type of program is best for your teen.
Inpatient hospitalization and residential treatment are both designed for treating severe mental health challenges that require a high intensity of care. They offer a substantially higher level of services than options such as outpatient treatment, interim care, or self-help support groups.
To better understand these two types of care, it’s important to look at each in more depth to understand their benefits and drawbacks.
Inpatient Hospitalization
Inpatient hospitalization is typically considered the highest level of care for treating a teen’s mental health disorder. This type of care is shorter in duration and provides around-the-clock medical and mental health services while adolescents are at the facility.
Inpatient hospitalization stays usually last for several days to several weeks. These facilities are typically connected to a hospital or medical clinic, providing immediate access to medical professionals in the case of medical emergencies.
Benefits of a Hospital Setting
Starting treatment in a hospital provides a number of key benefits that make inpatient hospitalization an important element of the mental health continuum of care model, including:
- Treatment options focused on immediate stabilization from severe psychiatric or behavioral disorders
- Around-the-clock support from mental and medical health professionals
- Mental health professionals can observe and assess your teen’s symptoms 24/7, which can help with evaluation and assessment
- A safe, controlled environment for your teen to stabilize in
- Separation from external stressors or triggers that may have a negative effect on your teen’s mental health
- Immediate access to medical professionals in the event of an emergency
These benefits make inpatient treatment programs the ideal choice for teens who are in an active mental health crisis, need immediate and intensive care options, and wouldn’t be better served at a lower level of care.
Available Mental Health Services
Inpatient care facilities typically have a number of different mental health service options available. Typically, an inpatient facility will offer treatments such as:
- Group therapy
- Individual therapy
- Medication management
- Evaluation and assessment
The goal of hospitalization is to determine the cause and severity of your teen’s mental health issues, provide stabilizing treatments, and refer out to other types of care facilities that can provide more lasting, individualized treatment options.
Potential Drawbacks to Hospitalization
As beneficial as inpatient hospitalization can be, it is by no means a cure for an adolescent’s mental health issues. Some of the potential drawbacks of hospitalization may include:
- Shorter treatment durations
- An emphasis on stabilization, rather than long-term recovery
- A sterile, hospital-like environment
- Fewer mental health treatment options than other levels of care
Typically, a stay at an inpatient facility is best for immediate treatment of a teen in crisis, and not a long-term solution to mental health conditions.
Residential Treatment
Residential treatment centers provide a much longer duration of care, more emphasis on teaching appropriate recovery skills, and a warm, home-like environment where teens can focus on the work of recovery.
Residential treatment programs typically last anywhere from 30 to 180 days, depending on the needs of each resident. While clients live at a residential facility during treatment, they have substantially more personal time and interaction with peers than they would at an inpatient hospitalization facility.
Benefits of a Residential Setting
Residential treatment is designed to provide the full spectrum of mental health services to help adolescents begin and maintain the recovery process. This includes:
- Treatment focused on helping teens build the skills to transition back into their homes and communities
- Around-the-clock support from mental health professionals
- A safe, comfortable, and controlled environment to focus on the work of recovery
- Peer-to-peer support from other teens in recovery
- A close-knit and intimate environment for mental health treatment
- Meeting with therapists and counselors on a daily basis
- A home-like environment for residents to live in
The longer duration of residential treatment helps our team of professionals to track how treatment is progressing, alter the treatment plan throughout your teen’s stay, and try a number of different techniques to cater to the wide range of our client’s needs.
Available Mental Health Services
Residential treatment centers typically focus on providing evidence-based therapies and treatment options to help alleviate your teen’s mental health symptoms, bolster their coping skills, and develop strategies that can sustain their recovery for years to come. This includes therapies and treatments such as:
- Dialectical behavior therapy
- Medication management with a child psychiatrist weekly
- Family therapy sessions on a weekly basis
- Recreational therapy options
- Peer-to-peer support groups
- Individual therapy
- Group therapy
- On-site schooling for teens
Taken together, these services are designed to galvanize the healing process, help your teen address the root cause of their mental health challenges, and prepare them for a happier and healthier life as an adult.
Potential Drawbacks to Residential Treatment
A residential program can be a life-changing experience for adolescents struggling with behavioral challenges, but many teens will need continuing treatment after graduating from a residential facility. Residential treatment can be thought of as a training ground to learn new skills, build new capabilities, and cultivate effective strategies to manage mental health – but the true test often occurs when clients return home.
Typically, residential treatment is followed by an intensive outpatient program or other forms of outpatient care. In this way, teens can transition from the highest level of mental health support into lower levels of care gradually, providing them with ongoing support on the journey toward recovery.
Residential Treatment Options at Tamarack Center
Tamarack Center in Spokane is a residential treatment center created specifically for adolescents between the ages of 12-17. By focusing on providing the best in evidence-based care, an emphasis on education, and an intimate care environment serving just sixteen adolescents at a time, our program has all the tools your teen needs to achieve a lasting recovery.
Our multidisciplinary team of medical and mental health professionals offers services such as Dialectical Behavior Therapy – which is an evidence-based approach that has been shown to drastically reduce teens’ mental health symptoms and improve their ability to utilize healthy coping mechanisms. Our in-house education program is an accredited institution registered in the District 81 School District, which provides age-appropriate academic material to keep your teen from falling behind while receiving care. Our family participation program puts the family at the heart of the treatment team, recognizing that you know your child best and can play an important role in their ongoing recovery.
We know how difficult it can be when your teenage child is struggling with behavioral or mental health issues. But we also know that treatment works and that your family can begin the healing process together with the help of our integrative treatment team.
To get started with treatment, or simply to learn more about our comprehensive adolescent mental health treatment options, reach out to our team today!
