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Levels of Care in Adolescent Addiction Treatment - Which Do You Need?

By John Lee

According to the American Society of Addiction Medicine, teens needing substance abuse treatment should be placed in one of five levels of care.

The Five Levels of Adolescent Addiction Treatment

  1. Early Intervention – Examples of early interventions could be counseling sessions, brief interventions from a family doctor or participation in some form of age-appropriate support group
  2. Outpatient Treatment – More structured substance abuse treatment that typically incorporates different counseling modalities with substance abuse education and support group participation
  3. Intensive Outpatient Treatment or Day Treatment – Similar to general outpatient treatment, intensive outpatient treatment programs and day treatment offer more intensive and comprehensive therapy
  4. Residential or Inpatient Treatment – Non-medical residential programs offer programming similar to that offered in a day treatment program, but have the adolescent reside within the facility, providing a more immersive experience
  5. Medical Inpatient – Hospital-based, this is the most intensive therapeutic option

Choosing a Substance Abuse Treatment Program

Knowing what’s available is one thing; knowing which is appropriate for your teen is another. As a parent, you don’t want to make a mistake when so much is on the line.

Ideally, this is not a decision that you make alone. You should consider getting professional advice for an accurate diagnosis of the problem and a recommendation for an appropriate level of care.

Some of the factors that doctors and mental health professionals will consider when deciding on an appropriate level of care include:

  1. The need for detox services or the presence of acute intoxication
  2. The presence of co-occurring medical conditions
  3. The presence of co-occurring mental health, emotional, behavioral or cognitive conditions
  4. Motivation to change
  5. History, relapse history and potential for ongoing problems
  6. The recovery environment (the living environment/family home)

Err on the Side of Caution

Treatment experts at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) recommend that in situations where an “ideal” level of care is not available, placement should be made in the next highest level of care.

For example, if day treatment was warranted but locally unavailable, then residential addiction treatment would be the next most appropriate choice of care.

Take Action

When teens get pulled into substance abuse and addiction, it’s important to find them an appropriate treatment program, but it’s also important to act quickly and decisively. For further information on adolescent addiction treatment resources and for guidance in selecting an appropriate level of care, call the treatment specialists at the National Resource Center at (866)323-5611 any time, 24 hours a day.