There are many struggles as the parent of a teen with a mental health issue. Especially once, as a parent, you’ve come to the realization that your teenager needs an additional level of care. It is common for teens to resist entering teen mental health treatment. Understanding the root cause of your teen’s reluctance can help you address both their reluctance and convince them to get help. 
Motivating Your Teen To Seek Treatment
Teen mental health treatment is a great tool in helping your child control and manage their mental health issues. For some adolescents, encouragement from their family to seek help is all they need to want to seek treatment. Although your teen may not voice it, teens are often overwhelmed by the symptoms of their mental illness and may looking for help. When speaking with your teen, focus on your intention and motivation for enrolling them in a teen mental health treatment program. Provide examples that support the decision including the ways their lives can improve with treatment. Examples include:
- Improved mental health
- Increased problem solving and conflict resolution skills
- Improved relationships with family, friends and peers
- Improved grades at school and relationships with teachers and faculty
Do not worry if these conversations seem to be one sided or if your teen does not seem to be engaged. Despite their outward demeanor, chances are some of what you are saying is getting through to your teen. You can try to engage your child by asking what they would like to see improve in their life and how a teen mental health treatment center could help to achieve those goals.
Adolescents with mental health concerns may even be easier to convince to seek treatment than adults. At this stage in life, teenagers are much more likely to be influenced by their families. Additionally, teens are often uncomfortable with the symptoms of their illness and are looking for a way to find relief.
Professional Assistance
It may help your teen choose to enter teen mental health treatment if they speak with a therapist or mental health expert. These qualified individuals have the skillset necessary to uncover the root of the teenager’s apprehension and address those issues. A therapist can also help teens view their situations differently and thereby change the reluctant behavior. A high quality mental health treatment center will have resources available to you to help navigate convincing your child to enter treatment.
Finding The Right Teen Mental Health Treatment Center
The best way to help your child with a mental health issue is to partner with professionals who are dedicated to treating mental illness in adolescents. Teenagers have a unique set of needs because of they are still developing mentally, physically and emotionally. 
With locations throughout southern California, Visions Adolescent Treatment Centers focus on addressing the unique needs of adolescents. Their team of experts work together to provide well-rounded treatment to help teens regain control of their lives. Their experts include:
- Therapists
- Psychiatrists
- Psychologists
- Counselors
- Equine Therapists
- Doctors and nurses
- Art therapists
- Dieticians
Visions Teen customizes their approach with each individual based on their specific needs. These individualized plans have several common goals:
- Motivating and encouraging the teen to develop and maintain a healthy lifestyle
- Assistance in developing new, effective problem solving and conflict resolution tools
- Realizing the real impact their mental illness has on their life and the lives of the people around them
- Enabling the teen to identify and adjust behaviors that can lead to relapse
- Engaging the teen’s family in the recovery process and to reduce communication problems and dysfunction to strengthen the family unit and provide a positive environment for the teen
- Identifying, understanding and identifying each teen’s medication needs and providing treatment
- Developing a network of resources for continued support after leaving treatment
For additional assistance convincing your teen to enter teen mental health treatment, contact the experts at Visions Adolescent Treatment Centers today. Please click below to schedule your consultation or call us at 866-889-3665.
Originally posted on September 13, 2014 @ 8:58 am
