Empowering Arizona Teens to Heal from Trauma: Treatment Options
FACT CHECKED
The Nexus Teen Academy editorial and clinical team is dedicated to providing informative and accurate content to help families who are struggling with adolescent behavioral health problems. The editorial team works directly with the clinical team to ensure information is accurate and up-to-date.
To do this, our team uses the following editorial guidelines:
We generally only cite government and peer-reviewed studies
Scientific claims and data are backed by qualified sources
Content is updated to ensure we are citing the most up-to-date data and information
Clinically reviewed by Executive Director Hannah Carr-Unquera, LPC
Executive Director Hannah Carr-Unquera, LPC
Hannah graduated from Arizona State University with her Bachelor’s in Psychology and Master’s in Counseling and is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Arizona. She began her work as a therapist 12 years ago in South Phoenix with an intensive outpatient program for teens and their families. She joined Nexus in the residential program as the clinical director, eventually being promoted to the executive director, creating and building the clinical program structure and a strong culture focused on redirecting the trajectory of young lives.
The Nexus Teen Academy Editorial Staff is composed of writers, editors, and clinical reviewers with many years of experience writing about mental health and behavioral health treatment. Our team utilizes peer-reviewed, clinical studies from sources like SAMHSA to ensure we provide the most accurate and current information.
Childhood and teen-related traumas can negatively impact teenagers’ lives if not addressed promptly. Up to 15% of girls and 6% of boys who experience at least one traumatic event develop PTSD in their lives. This makes it important to empower your teenager to heal from any traumatic memories or experiences as early as possible.
Fortunately, Nexus Teen Academy offers teens residential programs in Arizona to treat teen trauma and teen PTSD. We have a dedicated team of professionals experienced in teen CBT, DBT, exposure therapy, and more to help clients overcome these problems. If your teen is dealing with trauma-related mental health problems, reach out to our team at Nexus and get the treatment process started.
Teen physical trauma encompasses injuries and harm sustained by teenagers caused by accidents, sports-related activities, violence, abuse, or self-harm. Many of these forms of trauma are usually accompanied by intense emotional distress. Here are some common symptoms that individuals face when dealing with physical trauma:
Symptoms of Physical Trauma
Persistent or severe pain in the affected area
Physical symptoms. These include swelling, bruising, and visible deformity.
Weakness or fatigue
Visible confusion
Loss of consciousness
The following symptoms are also common in teens who experience physical trauma due to violence, abuse, or self-harm:
Sudden mood swings
Engagement in risky behaviors
Aggression
Withdrawal from social activities
Intense emotional distress. This is usually signified by intense fear, depression, or anxiety
Panic attacks
Difficulties concentrating and focusing
Sleep disturbances including insomnia and nightmares
Significant changes in eating habits
Treatment Options
Physical Therapy
Physical therapy, or physiotherapy, incorporates specialized exercises, massages, and treatments. It promotes pain relief, helps with mobility, and strengthens muscles. The treatments used during physical therapy sessions are usually based on physical stimuli including cold, heat, electric currents, and ultrasound.
This therapeutic intervention can help teens deal with the psychological distress caused by physical trauma. It also plays a huge role in managing pain and physical recovery.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Teen Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based treatment method. It is built on the belief that our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are interconnected helping teens identify and challenge negative thought patterns and cognitive distortions.
Common CBT activities and techniques include:
Cognitive restructuring
Journaling
Problem-solving
Behavioral experiments
Guided discovery
Relaxation
Stress management.
CBT for teens addresses physical trauma by exploring its connection with feelings and thoughts. It also helps teens develop effective coping strategies for common conditions that accompany physical injuries including depression and anxiety.
Teen Emotional Abuse Trauma Treatment
Teen emotional abuse trauma arises from behaviors that manipulate, control, or degrade a teenager emotionally including verbal abuse, isolation, threats, and intimidation. Gaslighting, excessive control, neglect, manipulation, humiliation, and invalidation can also lead to this type of trauma.
Symptoms of Emotional Abuse
Teenagers struggling with emotional abuse trauma are likely to show the following symptoms:
Low self-esteem
A negative self-image
Difficulties trusting others, including friends and family members.
Intense mood swings
Emotion regulation challenges
Isolation
Withdrawal from social activities
Sudden changes in behavior, such as excessive compliance.
Academic-related challenges
Depression and anxiety
Emotional abuse can also lead to substance abuse, and self-harming behaviors. Failing to address it promptly can also cause a range of physical symptoms.
Treatment Options
We use teen dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) and art therapy at Nexus Teen Academy to help teens manage and overcome emotional trauma. Here is how these two therapeutic interventions work:
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is an evidence-based intervention built on the idea that two opposing thoughts or ideas can exist together and both be true. It helps adolescents accept who they are while changing their behavioral patterns.
This therapeutic intervention addresses the core issues of emotional abuse by teaching teens to:
Manage their emotions
Handle difficult situations
Improve their relationships
Develop healthier coping skills.
Some skills learned during sessions include mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, distress tolerance, and emotion regulation. Sessions are delivered through three main ways:
Individual therapy sessions
Phone Coaching
Group skills training
Art Therapy
Art therapy is recommended for individuals struggling to express themselves. This is particularly common in teens subjected to abuse. This therapeutic technique offers a safe and creative avenue for self-expression. It can help teens process abuse-related emotions and experiences.
At Nexus Teen Academy, we have art therapists who specialize in teen mental health issues. They offer teens different art materials and guide them through a range of activities including sculpting, drawing, painting,collage-making, etc. Common benefits of art therapy include:
Increased self-esteem
Creative self-expression
Improved coping skills
Identity exploration
Reduced stress
Teen Sexual Abuse Trauma Treatment
Teen sexual abuse occurs when an adolescent is subjected to unwanted sexual acts. It can happen at the hands of family members, caregivers, or older adults. Common activities classified as sexual abuse include:
Inappropriate sexual touching
Forceful penetration
Uninvited fondling
Forced oral sex
Sexual grooming
Sexual exploitation
This type of abuse has lasting consequences. It can easily lead to post-traumatic stress disorder if not addressed early enough.
Symptoms of Sexual Abuse
Teens struggling with sexual abuse may exhibit the following symptoms:
Intense emotional distress
Signs of physical abuse. A common one is bruises on private regions or neck areas.
Sexualized behavior
Difficulties trusting others
Early signs of depression. These include persistent sadness, lethargy, social withdrawal, and lack of interest in previously enjoyed activities.
Intense worry or anxiety
Unusual weight gain or loss
Unhealthy eating patterns. This often manifests as excessive eating or reduced appetite.
Neglect of personal hygiene and appearance
Teens who’ve undergone sexual abuse may engage in self-harming behavior. They may take drugs or alcohol, cut or burn themselves, and portray suicidal thoughts and behaviors.
Treatment Options for Teens
Here is how we help teens manage and overcome sexual abuse trauma at Nexus Teen Academy:
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a unique type of therapy. It uses rapid rhythmic eye movements and bilateral stimulations to help teenagers process and reprocess overwhelming memories. Such movements and simulations help diminish the power of charged memories.
EMDR offers a way for teens to process traumatic events like sexual abuse memories. They can engage in eye-to-eye movements while thinking of the traumatic memory (to engage both sides of the brain) or listening to alternating audio tunes. This happens in a controlled, therapeutic setting. These movements, coupled with the therapist’s guidance, help reduce associated emotional distress.
Trauma-Focused CBT
Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy is a structured, evidence-based therapeutic intervention. It combines CBT techniques and trauma-focused interventions to address the psychological effects of trauma.
Trauma-focused CBT can help teenagers process sexual abuse-related trauma in a safe environment. It targets the psychological effects of sexual abuse and aids in building effective coping skills. Common strategies and interventions used during sessions include:
Relaxation techniques
Psychoeducation
Exposure therapy
Cognitive restructuring
Skill building
Trauma narration and processing
Teen PTSD Treatment
Teen post-traumatic stress disorder develops when a teenager exposed to traumatizing events doesn’t receive early treatment.
Symptoms of PTSD
Teenagers struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder often showcase the following symptoms:
Flashbacks and nightmares
Recurrent, distressing memories of the particular event
Avoiding people, places, activities, and conversations associated with the event.
Persistent negative emotions. These include anger, guilt, shame, and fear.
Heightened reactivity or arousal levels
Emotional regulation challenges. These are usually signified by frequent mood swings, emotional numbness, and frequent outbursts.
Disrupted sleep patterns
Insomnia
Memory and concentration difficulties.
Social withdrawal
Teen PTSD may also lead to engagement in risky behaviors, such as substance abuse.
Somatic issues, such as muscle tension and unexplained pains.
Treatment Options
Here are the common treatment options for teen PTSD:
Exposure Therapy
During exposure therapy, teens are exposed to situations, activities, or things they fear. Common types of exposure therapies include:
Imaginal exposure therapy
In vivo exposure therapy
Virtual reality exposure therapy (VRE)
Interoceptive exposure therapy
Common exposure techniques include graded exposure, flooding, prolonged exposure, and systematic desensitization.
This modality exposes teens with PTSD to traumatic memories in a controlled, therapeutic setting reducing the power of trauma triggers over time.
Somatic Experiencing
Somatic experiencing is an alternative therapy used to treat trauma and stress-related disorders. It is founded on the belief that our bodies trap trauma, resulting in physical symptoms. Techniques used during somatic experiencing include the following:
Sensation
Imagery
Awareness
Resourcing
Titration
Pendulation
This therapeutic technique focuses on trauma-related bodily sensations. Besides helping teens release pent-up trauma energy, it also balances the nervous system.
Teen Trauma Treatment at Nexus Teen Academy
Trauma can interfere with a teenager’s daily functioning, academic life, and overall development. You should seek help as early as possible if you notice trauma symptoms in your teenager. Early intervention can help prevent the development of more severe conditions such as PTSD. It can also equip your teenager with effective coping and distress-tolerance skills.
At Nexus Teen Academy, we treat teens dealing with mental health challenges. At our teen mental health treatment center in Arizona, We offer several trauma-specific treatments and programs administered by qualified specialists. We also provide aftercare services for monitoring and reinforcement. Also, we understand the ripple effect trauma can have on the family, to remedy this we offer family therapy options as well as weekly family time to ensure that parents and caregivers remain a part of the healing process.
Help your teen change their life’s trajectory today through our services. Contact us to learn more about our personalized teen treatment.
We use trauma-informed care and evidence-based treatment methods when treating teenagers. This treatment approach recognizes the presence of trauma symptoms in teens. It also acknowledges the role trauma may play in their lives. Besides trauma-informed care, we also:
Offer personalized treatment tailoring our programs and interventions to the teenager’s conditions, challenges, and symptoms.
Ensure that parents, caregivers, and siblings remain a part of the treatment process through family therapy and dedicated time each week for family visits.
Yes. Here is how you and your family members can participate in your teen’s treatment process:
Actively and openly participate in teen family therapy and psychoeducation sessions.
Learning more about trauma. Topics to explore include how it affects teenagers and what you can do to support them during treatment.
Offer non-judgmental emotional support and validation.
Encourage them to express their feelings and concerns. Additionally, be ready to listen.
Create a safe home environment. This minimizes triggers or chances of re-traumatization.
Establish and enforce clear boundaries and expectations.
Help them practice the skills and strategies learned during therapy at home.
Celebrate their efforts, progress, and achievements, however small.
Stay actively involved in their ongoing treatment and recovery.
It’s also important to take care of your mental and physical health as you support your teenager. Regularly engage in self-care activities and seek help when overwhelmed.
Yes. Therapists use integrated trauma therapy when addressing several traumas. This approach uses several evidence-based practices to address different aspects of trauma. These include:
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)
Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT)
Other treatment options and approaches used to treat multiple traumas include:
Here are a few reasons teenagers recovering from trauma should engage in therapy:
It provides a safe environment to explore and process trauma-related memories.
It helps identify and reframe negative thoughts associated with a traumatic experience.
It can help them develop effective coping skills for regulating intense trauma-related emotions.
It can help them learn how to cope with triggers or distressing symptoms.
It can help them regain a sense of safety and trust. This can lead to healthy relationship development.
Therapy can help participants repair and strengthen relationships affected by mental health issues.
It can help them rebuild their self-esteem or self-worth, damaged by trauma.
Additionally, traumatized teens obtain validation and support and develop resilience during therapy. Therapy also minimizes the risk of long-term complications.
We recognize the sensitive nature of teen trauma and mental health challenges. So, we have engaged experienced and qualified therapists at Nexus Teen Academy. Here are some of their qualifications:
Advanced degrees in counseling, psychology, social work, and relevant fields.
Specialized training and experience in adolescent therapy and mental health treatment.
Valid licenses and certifications.
Extensive clinical experience
In-depth knowledge and experience with evidence-based therapies.
More specifically, our Clinical Director, Hannah Carr is a Licensed Professional Counselor with a decade of experience helping with mental health and a focus on teens and their families.
Here is how we provide a safe and supportive healing environment at Nexus Teen Academy:
Keeping our treatment facilities safe and secure from potential triggers or harm.
Tailor treatment plans to teenagers’ unique needs and experiences.
Engage highly qualified and experienced staff specializing in teen mental health issues.
Offer around-the-clock supervision and support during teen trauma treatment.
Enforce a daily routine. This promotes structure and stability.
Use trauma-informed practices and approaches that prioritize trust, safety, empowerment, and collaboration.
Allow family members to participate in teen treatment. This is possible through family therapy and education.
Administer group and family therapy
Help teens obtain support through healthy peer groups.
We also teach teenagers how to regulate their emotions and deal with distress. This helps prevent self-harm and risk-taking behaviors. Additionally, it contributes to enhanced safety and well-being.
Executive Director Hannah Carr-Unquera, LPC and Nexus Teen Academy
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Empowering Arizona Teens to Heal from Trauma: Treatment Options
FACT CHECKED
The Nexus Teen Academy editorial and clinical team is dedicated to providing informative and accurate content to help families who are struggling with adolescent behavioral health problems. The editorial team works directly with the clinical team to ensure information is accurate and up-to-date.
To do this, our team uses the following editorial guidelines:
Clinically reviewed by Executive Director Hannah Carr-Unquera, LPC
Executive Director Hannah Carr-Unquera, LPC
Hannah graduated from Arizona State University with her Bachelor’s in Psychology and Master’s in Counseling and is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Arizona. She began her work as a therapist 12 years ago in South Phoenix with an intensive outpatient program for teens and their families. She joined Nexus in the residential program as the clinical director, eventually being promoted to the executive director, creating and building the clinical program structure and a strong culture focused on redirecting the trajectory of young lives.
Published By Nexus Teen Academy
Nexus Teen Academy
The Nexus Teen Academy Editorial Staff is composed of writers, editors, and clinical reviewers with many years of experience writing about mental health and behavioral health treatment. Our team utilizes peer-reviewed, clinical studies from sources like SAMHSA to ensure we provide the most accurate and current information.
Published On April 18, 2024
Table of Contents
Childhood and teen-related traumas can negatively impact teenagers’ lives if not addressed promptly. Up to 15% of girls and 6% of boys who experience at least one traumatic event develop PTSD in their lives. This makes it important to empower your teenager to heal from any traumatic memories or experiences as early as possible.
Fortunately, Nexus Teen Academy offers teens residential programs in Arizona to treat teen trauma and teen PTSD. We have a dedicated team of professionals experienced in teen CBT, DBT, exposure therapy, and more to help clients overcome these problems. If your teen is dealing with trauma-related mental health problems, reach out to our team at Nexus and get the treatment process started.
In this blog, our experts share useful insights on empowering your adolescent to heal from different types of trauma with the right treatment.
Teen Physical Trauma Treatment
Teen physical trauma encompasses injuries and harm sustained by teenagers caused by accidents, sports-related activities, violence, abuse, or self-harm. Many of these forms of trauma are usually accompanied by intense emotional distress. Here are some common symptoms that individuals face when dealing with physical trauma:
Symptoms of Physical Trauma
The following symptoms are also common in teens who experience physical trauma due to violence, abuse, or self-harm:
Treatment Options
Physical Therapy
Physical therapy, or physiotherapy, incorporates specialized exercises, massages, and treatments. It promotes pain relief, helps with mobility, and strengthens muscles. The treatments used during physical therapy sessions are usually based on physical stimuli including cold, heat, electric currents, and ultrasound.
This therapeutic intervention can help teens deal with the psychological distress caused by physical trauma. It also plays a huge role in managing pain and physical recovery.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Teen Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based treatment method. It is built on the belief that our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are interconnected helping teens identify and challenge negative thought patterns and cognitive distortions.
Common CBT activities and techniques include:
CBT for teens addresses physical trauma by exploring its connection with feelings and thoughts. It also helps teens develop effective coping strategies for common conditions that accompany physical injuries including depression and anxiety.
Teen Emotional Abuse Trauma Treatment
Teen emotional abuse trauma arises from behaviors that manipulate, control, or degrade a teenager emotionally including verbal abuse, isolation, threats, and intimidation. Gaslighting, excessive control, neglect, manipulation, humiliation, and invalidation can also lead to this type of trauma.
Symptoms of Emotional Abuse
Teenagers struggling with emotional abuse trauma are likely to show the following symptoms:
Emotional abuse can also lead to substance abuse, and self-harming behaviors. Failing to address it promptly can also cause a range of physical symptoms.
Treatment Options
We use teen dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) and art therapy at Nexus Teen Academy to help teens manage and overcome emotional trauma. Here is how these two therapeutic interventions work:
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is an evidence-based intervention built on the idea that two opposing thoughts or ideas can exist together and both be true. It helps adolescents accept who they are while changing their behavioral patterns.
This therapeutic intervention addresses the core issues of emotional abuse by teaching teens to:
Some skills learned during sessions include mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, distress tolerance, and emotion regulation. Sessions are delivered through three main ways:
Art Therapy
Art therapy is recommended for individuals struggling to express themselves. This is particularly common in teens subjected to abuse. This therapeutic technique offers a safe and creative avenue for self-expression. It can help teens process abuse-related emotions and experiences.
At Nexus Teen Academy, we have art therapists who specialize in teen mental health issues. They offer teens different art materials and guide them through a range of activities including sculpting, drawing, painting,collage-making, etc. Common benefits of art therapy include:
Teen Sexual Abuse Trauma Treatment
Teen sexual abuse occurs when an adolescent is subjected to unwanted sexual acts. It can happen at the hands of family members, caregivers, or older adults. Common activities classified as sexual abuse include:
This type of abuse has lasting consequences. It can easily lead to post-traumatic stress disorder if not addressed early enough.
Symptoms of Sexual Abuse
Teens struggling with sexual abuse may exhibit the following symptoms:
Treatment Options for Teens
Here is how we help teens manage and overcome sexual abuse trauma at Nexus Teen Academy:
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a unique type of therapy. It uses rapid rhythmic eye movements and bilateral stimulations to help teenagers process and reprocess overwhelming memories. Such movements and simulations help diminish the power of charged memories.
EMDR offers a way for teens to process traumatic events like sexual abuse memories. They can engage in eye-to-eye movements while thinking of the traumatic memory (to engage both sides of the brain) or listening to alternating audio tunes. This happens in a controlled, therapeutic setting. These movements, coupled with the therapist’s guidance, help reduce associated emotional distress.
Trauma-Focused CBT
Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy is a structured, evidence-based therapeutic intervention. It combines CBT techniques and trauma-focused interventions to address the psychological effects of trauma.
Trauma-focused CBT can help teenagers process sexual abuse-related trauma in a safe environment. It targets the psychological effects of sexual abuse and aids in building effective coping skills. Common strategies and interventions used during sessions include:
Teen PTSD Treatment
Teen post-traumatic stress disorder develops when a teenager exposed to traumatizing events doesn’t receive early treatment.
Symptoms of PTSD
Teenagers struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder often showcase the following symptoms:
Treatment Options
Here are the common treatment options for teen PTSD:
Exposure Therapy
During exposure therapy, teens are exposed to situations, activities, or things they fear. Common types of exposure therapies include:
Common exposure techniques include graded exposure, flooding, prolonged exposure, and systematic desensitization.
This modality exposes teens with PTSD to traumatic memories in a controlled, therapeutic setting reducing the power of trauma triggers over time.
Somatic Experiencing
Somatic experiencing is an alternative therapy used to treat trauma and stress-related disorders. It is founded on the belief that our bodies trap trauma, resulting in physical symptoms. Techniques used during somatic experiencing include the following:
This therapeutic technique focuses on trauma-related bodily sensations. Besides helping teens release pent-up trauma energy, it also balances the nervous system.
Teen Trauma Treatment at Nexus Teen Academy
Trauma can interfere with a teenager’s daily functioning, academic life, and overall development. You should seek help as early as possible if you notice trauma symptoms in your teenager. Early intervention can help prevent the development of more severe conditions such as PTSD. It can also equip your teenager with effective coping and distress-tolerance skills.
At Nexus Teen Academy, we treat teens dealing with mental health challenges. At our teen mental health treatment center in Arizona, We offer several trauma-specific treatments and programs administered by qualified specialists. We also provide aftercare services for monitoring and reinforcement. Also, we understand the ripple effect trauma can have on the family, to remedy this we offer family therapy options as well as weekly family time to ensure that parents and caregivers remain a part of the healing process.
Help your teen change their life’s trajectory today through our services. Contact us to learn more about our personalized teen treatment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Unprocessed traumatic memories and experiences may lead to the following symptoms:
Note that most of these symptoms occur across different types of trauma.
Teen trauma can affect a teenager’s life and future in the following ways:
We use trauma-informed care and evidence-based treatment methods when treating teenagers. This treatment approach recognizes the presence of trauma symptoms in teens. It also acknowledges the role trauma may play in their lives. Besides trauma-informed care, we also:
Yes. Here is how you and your family members can participate in your teen’s treatment process:
It’s also important to take care of your mental and physical health as you support your teenager. Regularly engage in self-care activities and seek help when overwhelmed.
The duration of improvement during teen trauma treatment may differ from one teen to another. It is often influenced by several factors including:
Yes. Therapists use integrated trauma therapy when addressing several traumas. This approach uses several evidence-based practices to address different aspects of trauma. These include:
Other treatment options and approaches used to treat multiple traumas include:
Here are a few reasons teenagers recovering from trauma should engage in therapy:
Additionally, traumatized teens obtain validation and support and develop resilience during therapy. Therapy also minimizes the risk of long-term complications.
Here are a few ways teens can manage their symptoms after trauma treatment:
Teenagers should also check in with therapists. This helps track progress and address emerging issues.
We recognize the sensitive nature of teen trauma and mental health challenges. So, we have engaged experienced and qualified therapists at Nexus Teen Academy. Here are some of their qualifications:
More specifically, our Clinical Director, Hannah Carr is a Licensed Professional Counselor with a decade of experience helping with mental health and a focus on teens and their families.
Here is how we provide a safe and supportive healing environment at Nexus Teen Academy:
We also teach teenagers how to regulate their emotions and deal with distress. This helps prevent self-harm and risk-taking behaviors. Additionally, it contributes to enhanced safety and well-being.