At Ascent Behavioral Hospital, we provide expert care in a welcoming, supportive environment designed to help teens navigate their mental health crises with safety, dignity, and compassion. Our expertise with teens allows us to address the unique challenges that today’s teenagers struggle with. Our patients are typically those who require emergency room care due to the severity of their mental health concerns.
We serve adolescents aged 12-17 who have been referred by medical professionals after a mental health emergency, such as:
- Suicidal ideation and attempts
- Homicidal ideation
- Severe self-harm
- Active psychosis
- Severe and uncontrollable aggression
- Threats to themselves or others
Our main focus is to serve as a secure environment to stabilize these acute psychiatric symptoms while developing an effective treatment plan for ongoing care. We work closely with referring providers to ensure appropriate placement and coordinate comprehensive care for patients after their stay with us.
Common Challenges Our Patients Face
When someone faces a mental health crisis, it affects various aspects of their life. At Ascent Behavioral Hospital, some of the difficulties that our patients face alongside their mental health crises are:
- Emotional and Behavioral Regulation: Many teens struggle to manage intense emotions and control impulsive behaviors, leading to difficulties in daily functioning and relationships
- Academic Disruption: Mental health challenges can significantly interfere with school performance, attendance, and ability to concentrate on academic responsibilities
- Family Dynamic Strain: Acute mental health crises often create tension within family systems, affecting communication patterns and household stability
- Social Withdrawal: Many adolescents experience increasing isolation from peers and activities they once enjoyed, further complicating their recovery journey
- Self-Esteem and Identity: Teens often grapple with negative self-perceptions and uncertainty about their place in the world, which can intensify during periods of crisis
Understanding the challenges that many adolescents face while they are struggling with their mental health allows our team to provide more comprehensive support during this stabilization process. Our specialization in adolescent behavioral health helps us to address not only the immediate crisis but also helps patients and their families develop strategies to manage these ongoing concerns.
From Crisis to Stability Adolescent Behavioral Health Care
Stabilization: The First Step Toward Recovery
At Ascent Behavioral Hospital, the average patient stay is around 7 to 14 days. Acute psychiatric care serves as the critical first step in someone’s mental health recovery. Our main focus during this intensive, short-term inpatient period is stabilization. We address the immediate safety concerns and psychiatric symptoms that prompted their need for hospitalization. During each patient’s stay with us, our clinical team works diligently to stabilize the crisis and create a sense of safety.
Crisis-Focused Intervention
Our clinical team strategically focuses on each patient's most urgent needs during their stay. We combine crisis stabilization with therapeutic interventions designed to create openness to continued treatment. This targeted approach helps teens begin building the foundation they need for long-term recovery while addressing the unique aspects of adolescent behavioral health.
Planning for Continued Care
Stabilization is just the beginning of the recovery journey. To ensure ongoing progress, further steps are carefully put in place before a patient leaves our hospital. Our clinical team works to build a foundation for continued treatment, helping patients transition to the next level of care, such as outpatient therapy, psychiatric support, or other specialized services. We work closely with healthcare providers, families, and schools to ensure a seamless transition from hospitalization to ongoing care. This partnership ensures continuity of care and supports long-term recovery goals.
Secure Setting
The safety of our patients is our highest priority. Our facility is designed with anti-ligature features to minimize the risk of self-harm or harm to others. We have comprehensive safety protocols in place, including continuous 15-minute patient safety checks throughout both day and night. This structured, secure setting ensures that patients can focus entirely on their recovery without safety concerns.
Nurturing Environment
While Ascent Behavioral Hospital has the security of a hospital, patients and their families are met with a nurturing environment that feels comforting rather than sterile and cold. Our facility is designed to promote stability and healing. Recovery happens best in a nurturing space, which is why we've carefully crafted an atmosphere that balances professional psychiatric care with the comfort and support our patients need during their stabilization period.
Prioritizing Your Teen's Well-being The First Steps
At Ascent Behavioral Hospital, we prioritize your teen's safety and well-being, starting with a smooth and thorough admissions process. Walk-ins are not accepted, and we strongly encourage parents to call us first. This initial step is crucial to ensure we understand your teen’s unique needs and can provide the appropriate support from the moment they arrive. When you call, our compassionate team will guide you through the process.
By calling first, you help us maintain a secure and structured environment, enabling us to focus on providing the highest level of care for every patient. Take the first step toward stabilization and healing today by giving us a call.