Finding the right teen mental health resources in Virginia can feel daunting, especially when parents are trying to decide what services may appropriately meet their teen’s needs. Virginia’s mental health system includes several different support options.[1][2]
Understanding the different options that are available can help families move beyond simply asking where to find help and instead identify the level of support that best matches what their teen is experiencing.
To help you in this process, this page explores:
There is no single doorway into Virginia’s adolescent mental health system.
For instance, a teen who is experiencing anxiety may start with a private outpatient therapist, while another teen with worsening depression may need a therapist and psychiatrist. Further, someone experiencing repeated mental health crises may participate in partial hospitalization or residential care.
Virginia also has a public behavioral health system built around Community Services Boards. The Department of Behavioral Health and Development Services in Virginia describes Community Services Boards as local organizations that can help people get mental health, substance misuse, developmental, and crisis services.[3]
Virginia Medicaid also weaves in another thread of services. Youth who are covered by Medicaid can receive services such as intensive community-based programs, partial hospitalization, mobile crisis response, and intensive outpatient services when eligibility criteria are met.[1] We provide an outline of what these services involve below.
For many families, teen therapy in Virginia is usually the first step in mental health support.
Outpatient therapy for teens is usually the most appropriate level of care when the teen is not an immediate safety risk to themselves or others. It may also be suitable if they do not have debilitating mental health symptoms and can continue living at home and attending school while participating in scheduled appointments.
Therapy can help address mental health concerns related to:
Some teens may also benefit from psychiatric evaluation and medication management to address both the psychological and biological aspects of mental health treatment.
For families who are looking for publicly funded or community-based Virginia youth mental health resources, the local Community Services Board, or CSB, can be an important starting point.
Virginia has CSBs that serve communities throughout the state. The Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services directs people seeking mental health or substance use support to their local CSB and notes that these specific organizations are important for those with Medicaid or no insurance.[3]
Through the System Transformation Excellence and Performance of Virginia (STEP-VA) program, Virginia CSBs provide a number of core services based on eligibility requirements and local availability, including:[4]
Virginia Medicaid currently covers several intensive behavioral health services that are designed to give more help without requiring hospitalization. The Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) identifies several treatment options, including partial hospitalization, mobile crisis response, stabilization, and intensive community-based services for eligible Medicaid members.[1]
However, it’s important to note that intensive outpatient supports may be available to residents who are not covered by Medicaid, but coverage and copays may vary by program and eligibility.
An intensive outpatient program, or IOP, typically provides treatment multiple times during the week while the teenager continues living at home. This level of care may be appropriate when traditional outpatient treatment is not enough, but the teen does not need 24-hour supervision.
An IOP may include individual therapy, group therapy, psychiatric care, and skills development.
A partial hospitalization program, or PHP, provides more treatment hours per day than an IOP, but a teen still returns home instead of staying overnight. PHP can help close the gap between outpatient care and inpatient treatment, or it can serve as a step-down after a higher level of care.
The teen crisis resources Virginia families can use include the 988 Lifeline, local CSB emergency services, mobile crisis response, community-based stabilization, and other emergency pathways.[2][4]
Mobile crisis teams can provide on-scene evaluation and intervention when appropriate instead of requiring the teen in crisis to be seen in the emergency room.[2]
Most teen crisis resources in Virginia are built to support stabilization. But sometimes a crisis requires additional support, which can include an emergency custody order and a temporary detention order. Virginia law allows these legal processes to occur when a minor experiencing a mental health crisis presents as a serious danger to themselves or others or is unable to care for themselves.
An Emergency Custody Order, or ECO, allows someone to be taken into emergency custody for evaluation under specific criteria. The Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services notes that an ECO is usually issued by a magistrate based on a petition and available evidence.[5] This is a short-term order that does not last longer than eight hours and allows appropriate authorities to transport an individual for a mental health evaluation.
A Temporary Detention Order, or TDO, is a separate legal process that may follow assessment when specific criteria are met. This order requires a person who meets eligible criteria to be held in a psychiatric facility for evaluation and stabilization. The hold is typically allowed for short-term detention of up to 96 hours.[6]
The ECO/TDO processes are completely different from traditional outpatient care.
Some youth psychiatric services provide short-term hospital stabilization while others provide longer-term residential treatment. The state of Virginia offers different levels of inpatient mental health treatment, and knowing the difference between these options can help parents feel less overwhelmed during admission.
Inpatient psychiatric hospitalization is one form of inpatient mental health treatment, and it typically focuses on acute stabilization. A teen may be admitted for this level of care due to:
Residential mental health treatment, on the other hand, provides 24-hour support in a nonhospital residential setting and is typically more appropriate when a teen needs more time to work on their mental health symptoms. Treatment in a residential facility can include:
Parents may also explore the option of a psychiatric residential treatment facility, or PRTF. PRTFs are a specific type of 24-hour supervised, out-of-home program in a non-hospital setting that is supervised by a physician. Virginia Medicaid describes PRTFs as a Medicaid residential psychiatric benefit for members under the age of 21 who meet eligibility criteria.[7]
Mission Prep is here to help you or your loved one take the next steps towards an improved mental well-being.
Even when families know what level of treatment they want, insurance can still impact where and how care is provided.
Virginia Medicaid covers mental health care, like outpatient therapy, for children and teens.[8] However, families with private insurance should contact their plan directly and ask:
Insurance coverage for mental health treatment does not automatically mean immediate availability. Some programs may have waitlists or screening processes that must be completed before beginning treatment.
Finding the right treatment can take time, especially when there are waitlists or insurance requirements involved. Families who are seeking mental health help for teens in Virginia might need to contact several providers before finding an available, covered program.
However, parents can provide support to their teen while waiting for treatment and can build an adaptable treatment plan once services begin. The following steps can help.
Waiting for available mental health support while a teen is finding it hard to cope can make a parent feel powerless. But there are things parents can do to support their teens while they wait. This can include:
Do not wait until it is your teen’s turn on a waitlist if your teenager becomes unsafe. Crisis care and waiting for routine services are two separate concerns.
If symptoms escalate or your teen is unable to remain safe, call 911, 988, or the local CSB crisis line, or else go to the nearest emergency room.
Mental health treatment does not always follow a straight path. A teenager may begin with outpatient therapy and then need IOP during a stressful time to help stabilize before returning to weekly care. This does not mean the treatment plan failed, but it does mean the plan needs to be flexible.
It can be helpful to ask providers, “What would tell us that this level of care is no longer providing enough support?”
Knowing when to transition to the next level of care and what this level is can reduce overwhelm in the event of a crisis.
Take a tour of our teen residential mental health facilities located in Virginia. Our locations offer peace & comfort within a residential environment where teenagers, aged 12-17, can relax and focus on themselves.
Our well-appointed facilities are located in Waterford & Leesburg and serve communities in Northern Virginia, DC and Maryland.
Additionally, we offer both in-person and virtual outpatient services in Virginia for full support after leaving residential.
If your teen is struggling with mental health issues, support is available. At Mission Prep Teen Treatment, we offer tailored treatment programs at various levels, including residential and virtual outpatient mental health programs.
Our Virginia locations are an important part of the treatment process at Mission Prep Teen Treatment. We maintain modern and welcoming homes where teens are able to develop and practice strategies that help lay the foundation for sustainable healing.
Mission Prep Teen Treatment accepts insurance and is in-network with most major providers. We are happy to help you check your insurance coverage for mental health care.
Start the admissions process online or call 866-901-4047 to speak with a caring member of our team who can answer any questions you might have. Reach out for a free, no-obligation conversation.
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