Understanding the Different Levels of Care for Teen Mental Health & Substance Use Treatment
Evolve offers a full continuum of care for teens 12-17 years old. Let’s find the right fit for your teen.
Teen Behavioral Health Treatment Across Every Level of Care
Evolve offers a continuum of care for adolescents experiencing mental health, substance use, and co-occurring challenges. Each level of care provides a different degree of structure, supervision, clinical support, and treatment intensity. Teens enter treatment at the level of care that best meets their current needs and, when clinically appropriate, can transition to a different level of care as their needs change, whether that’s at Evolve or another treatment center.
- Residential Treatment Centers (RTC)
- Partial Hospitalization Programs (PHP)
- Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOP)
- Outpatient Therapy & Psychiatry
What Level of Care Does My Teen Need?
Finding the right level of care for your teen is essential to ensuring they receive the appropriate treatment, support, supervision, and safety without placing them in a setting that is more intensive than necessary. Because every teen and family is unique, the right level of care depends on several factors, including your teen’s current safety needs, symptoms, clinical history, and more. The goal is to find the right level of support to help teens stabilize and begin making powerful strides toward their treatment goals and lasting recovery.
Evolve's Free Pre-Admission Assessment
To help determine the appropriate level of care for your teen, Evolve offers free phone assessments. During the assessment, our Admissions Team gathers information about your teen’s current symptoms and behaviors, safety needs, daily functioning, clinical and treatment history, as well as their personality, goals, passions, and strengths.
The confidential phone assessment typically lasts about 60 minutes and is completed with a guardian who lives with the teen. In most cases, your teen does not need to participate, although in rare cases our team may ask to speak with them briefly.
Each assessment is reviewed by a licensed clinician to evaluate medical necessity and determine the most appropriate level of care. Our team will explain the recommendation, answer your questions, and help you understand the next steps.
Assessments are free and do not require any commitment to Evolve’s services. If Evolve is not the right fit for your teen, we will provide referrals to another program that may be a better clinical fit.
Assessments are available seven days a week and can often be completed the same day. Call during Admissions hours, Monday – Friday from 7:00AM to 7:00PM PT and weekends 7:30AM to 5:30PM PT.
Levels of Care for Teens Offered at Evolve
Evolve offers four levels of care for teens designed to meet them wherever they are in their treatment journey. Explore each level below and click to learn more about the structure, services, and support available at each stage of care.
24/7 Support & Supervision
Residential Treatment (RTC)
A Residential Treatment Center for teens is designed for adolescents who are experiencing significant mental health, substance use, behavioral, or safety concerns that cannot be safely or effectively managed at home. Evolve’s residential programs combine 24/7 supervision, academic support, a highly structured environment, and intensive therapeutic and psychiatric care to help teens stabilize and make meaningful progress.
Full Day Program
Partial Hospitalization (PHP)
A Partial Hospitalization Program for teens is designed for adolescents who need intensive treatment and significant daytime structure but are stable enough to live at home without 24/7 supervision. Evolve’s PHP provides robust clinical, psychiatric, and academic support throughout the week to help teens continue stabilizing, strengthen coping skills, improve daily functioning, keep up with schoolwork, and prepare to return to school in person.
After School Program
Intensive Outpatient (IOP)
An Intensive Outpatient Program for teens is designed for adolescents who can safely live at home and generally attend school but need substantially more support than weekly therapy alone can provide. Evolve’s IOP combines structured treatment several days a week with ongoing clinical and psychiatric support to help teens manage symptoms, strengthen skills, and make progress while remaining engaged in everyday life.
Flexible Online Care
Outpatient Therapy & Psychiatry
For teens who do not need the structure or intensity of a higher level of care but would benefit from ongoing therapeutic or psychiatric support. Evolve’s virtual outpatient services provide individualized therapy, psychiatric assessments, and medication management to help teens address challenges, gain insight and coping skills, build confidence, and build and maintain progress.
Evolve’s Full Continuum of Care for Teens
Evolve offers a continuum of adolescent behavioral health care, from 24/7 residential treatment through PHP, IOP, and outpatient services. Because multiple levels of treatment are available within the Evolve network, families benefit from more coordinated transitions, consistent treatment planning, and greater continuity of care as their teen’s needs change.
Many teens in California are able to step down through Evolve’s levels of care as they stabilize and make progress. Other families travel to Evolve from across the country specifically for residential treatment. When those teens are ready for a lower level of care, Evolve’s aftercare team helps families plan the next step and coordinate a transition to an appropriate PHP or IOP closer to home.
Whether a teen continues treatment within Evolve’s continuum or transitions to a local provider, discharge and aftercare planning are an important part of the treatment process. Our team works with families and outside providers to support a smooth transition and help teens continue building on the progress they made at Evolve.
Levels of Care Guide for Teen Behavioral Health Treatment
Please note that Evolve does not provide inpatient hospitalization. If your teen is in immediate danger or experiencing a medical or psychiatric emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department.
What Teens Look Like at Each Level of Care
Signs & Symptoms to Look For
It can be difficult for parents to know when weekly therapy is enough or when their teen may need a more structured level of support. What does a teen who needs residential treatment typically look like compared with a teen who may be appropriate for PHP or IOP? Our guide breaks down the common signs parents may be seeing at home, school, and in daily life, along with the safety and support needs commonly associated with each level of care.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between residential treatment, PHP, and IOP for teens?
The main difference is intensity and structure. Residential treatment provides 24/7 care in a live-in setting for teens with acute safety concerns or severe symptoms. PHP offers full-day programming while teens return home at night, suited for those who need intensive support but can safely manage evenings and weekends at home. IOP meets a few times a week for a few hours per day and works for teens who are stable enough to handle most daily responsibilities but still need regular therapeutic support.
How do I know which adolescent levels of care my teen needs?
The most reliable way to determine the appropriate level of care for your teen is through an assessment with a professional trained in adolescent behavioral health. During Evolve’s free phone assessment, our team reviews your teen’s symptoms, safety needs, daily functioning, and treatment history to recommend the level of care that best aligns with their current clinical needs.
What happens during the free assessment?
Evolve’s free assessment is a confidential phone conversation, typically about 60 minutes, with a member of our Admissions Team. We gather information about your teen’s symptoms, safety needs, daily functioning, and treatment history, and a licensed clinician reviews the assessment to recommend the most appropriate level of care. Assessments are available seven days a week and can often be completed the same day.
Can my teen move between levels of care as their needs change?
Yes. Teens enter treatment at the level of care that best matches their current clinical needs and medical necessity. If those needs change during treatment, the clinical team may recommend stepping up to a higher level of care or stepping down to a lower level of care. Evolve works closely with families to help coordinate and support that transition.
Does Evolve accept insurance for teen mental health treatment programs?
Yes, we accept most major insurance plans and our admissions team verifies your benefits at no cost. Coverage varies by plan, but many policies cover a significant portion of residential treatment, PHP, and IOP when deemed medically necessary. Learn more about how Evolve works with insurance and get a free verification of benefits today.
What does “medical necessity” mean, and how does it influence level of care?
Medical necessity is the clinical standard insurance companies use to determine whether a specific level of care is appropriate and eligible for coverage. In simple terms, your teen must meet certain clinical criteria for residential treatment, PHP, or IOP to be authorized by insurance. Throughout treatment, Evolve’s clinical team closely tracks your teen’s needs, treatment plan, and progress and communicates with your insurance provider to support continued authorization when that level of care remains clinically necessary. Our clinicians and psychiatrists advocate for you and your teen throughout this process to help ensure they have access to the appropriate level of care and treatment coverage they need to make meaningful progress and thrive.
What ages does Evolve treat?
Evolve serves adolescents ages 12 through 17. We specialize exclusively in teen treatment, with clinical care designed around the unique developmental, emotional, and behavioral needs of adolescents.
Does Evolve treat both mental health and substance use issues together?
Yes. Evolve provides integrated treatment for teens experiencing co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders. Because these challenges often influence one another, our clinical teams address both at the same time using evidence-based approaches such as Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Motivational Interviewing (MI), and SMART Recovery.
What mental health, substance use, and behavioral challenges does Evolve treat?
Evolve treats a wide range of mental health, substance use, and behavioral challenges common in adolescence, including depression, anxiety, trauma and PTSD, self-harm, suicidal ideation, addiction, and more. Many teens we support also struggle with emotion dysregulation, anger, family conflict, school refusal, and other challenges that affect daily functioning. Our programs use evidence-based therapies proven to help teens build skills, improve stability, and make meaningful progress.
Get Your Teen the Support They Need. Start Today.
You don’t have to figure out the next step alone. Whether your teen is in crisis or you’re beginning to realize they may need more support, Evolve is here to help. Our free pre-admission assessment can help clarify your teen’s needs, identify the appropriate level of care, and guide you through what comes next. Call today to speak with a caring member of our Admissions Team and take the first step toward getting your teen the support they need.