- Boys’ & girls’ homes
- Supervised 24/7
- Ages 12 to 17 only
Teen group home near Tucson, AZ: treatment homes.
Nexus Teen Academy runs two licensed houses that Pima County families place into, Oak for boys in north Scottsdale and Mesquite for girls in Cave Creek, real homes carrying daily therapy, psychiatric care and an accredited classroom, ages 12 to 17.
- Free & confidential · No obligation · (480) 485-3424
- 4.7 Google · 34 reviews
- AZDHS-licensed residential facility
- Most major private insurance accepted
- Free consultation
- Counselor online now
Talk privately with admissions
Leave a number and a licensed admissions adviser calls back, usually within minutes, to work through the fit, the drive from Tucson and what your plan covers at this distance.
- It's now where you are · typical callback under 10 minutes.
- HIPAA shields what you enter, and it is used for one return call about care. Submitting agrees to a call or text; standard rates can apply.
- 4.7 Google · 34 reviews
- Joint Commission accredited
Licensed and accredited, and verifiable without leaving Tucson: AZDHS, Joint Commission, LegitScript.
Go straight to the issuing bodies: Joint Commission · AZDHS registry · LegitScript.
Two houses at the other end of the I-10
Group homes nearest Tucson: a boys' house and a girls' house.
Both houses hold AZDHS behavioral health residential licenses and Joint Commission accreditation, in Maricopa County. Walk them in 3D from home first, then make one trip that counts.
Oak · the boys’ residence
8611 E Cholla St, Scottsdale, AZ 85260, about 2 hours 8 minutes from Tucson, 122 miles up the I-10.
View this facilityMesquite · the girls’ residence
2695 E Saddle Mountain Rd, Cave Creek, AZ 85331, about 2 hours 29 minutes from Tucson, 148 miles via I-17 and Carefree Highway.
View this facilitySingle-gender houses keep group living calm, and one admissions line serves both, (480) 485-3424, answered at any hour.
The license, not the label
Group home vs residential treatment: care level and state oversight.
A group home describes where a teen sleeps. Whether they are treated there depends on the license class the house holds and on whether clinicians are employed inside it every day.
Same setting, two very different licenses
What the label hides, and what the license makes plain.
A licensed house, trained staff, shared routines, and round-the-clock supervision. Clinical depth varies widely from house to house; some run therapy on-site, many arrange it outside.
The same home-like setting carrying a full treatment program inside it, AZDHS behavioral-health licensure, daily therapy, psychiatric care and accredited school under one roof. Group home in shape, treatment center in substance.
What you get hereAsk any Arizona facility two questions, which license it holds and who delivers the therapy. Both answers for Nexus Teen Academy sit on this page, sourced.
Call (480) 485-3424 and ask bothWhy Pima County teens are placed
Conditions treated: twelve adolescent diagnoses.
Placement starts with a diagnosis, and the treatment plan aims at it. Intake confirms the whole picture, because depression rarely arrives alone and ADHD rarely arrives without substance use.
Intake confirms the whole picture, and one plan covers all of it, because treating one condition while the others run untouched is why teens cycle through program after program.
Every condition below is treated inside the same home, by the same clinical team.
Primary reason for placement · Depression
Everything below is treated in the same plan, by the same team.
PTSD
Treated with TF-CBT and EMDR.
Trauma
Safety and stability come first.
Teen self-harm
Supervised, treated, screened daily.
Anxiety
School refusal often rides on it.
Suicidal thoughts
Screened at intake, supervised 24/7.
Depression
The most common admitting reason.
Low self-worth
Rebuilt through daily wins.
Mood & behavior disorders
Bipolar spectrum included.
ADHD & impulse control
Structure carries the executive load.
Psychotic disorders
Evaluated candidly at intake.
Personality disorders
Emerging patterns, addressed early.
Mood swings & anger
De-escalation taught and practiced.
- Whatever your teen is facing, care stays coordinated in one integrated plan, one clinical team, and one licensed house.
Before you make the drive
Who qualifies for placement: clinical criteria, plus four checks.
Admission is clinical and parent-led, ages 12 to 17, when depression, ADHD, trauma, anxiety or substance use has outgrown what outpatient care in Tucson can hold. Settle the level of care first, then audit the facility, ours included.
Teens are placed by parents or treating clinicians after outpatient care, PHP, or IOP stopped holding, or step down straight from psychiatric hospitalization. A teen in acute crisis stabilizes at a hospital first, and admissions times the transfer so treatment starts at discharge.
Foster and state placements run through DCS and its contracted providers, a separate system with its own group homes. When ours is not the right door, admissions points families and caseworkers to the one that is.
In a mental health crisis tonight, place the checks second, call or text 988 or go to the nearest emergency room first.
Then run four checks on any Arizona facility before you place your teen.
Search the license register before travelling
AZDHS lists every licensed provider and its class. Confirming a behavioral health residential license before a two-hour drive saves the trip that was never going to work.
Ask who the clinicians are, by name
Employed licensed staff and visiting contractors are different services. Get names and license numbers and check them in the state registry from home.
Sort the school question in advance
Accreditation, certified teachers and how credits return to the sending district. At this distance the records question needs answering before move-in, not after.
Verify everything remotely
Every accreditation worth naming can be confirmed with its issuer online. A claim that needs a phone call back to the facility is not evidence.
What it costs
Cost and insurance for Tucson families: plans, coverage and out-of-pocket.
Residential treatment is billed through behavioral health benefits, and being 122 miles from the house rarely changes that. The number that matters is the one your insurer confirms in writing.
- 1You send your plan detailsTwo required fields, member ID optional. About a minute.
- 2We verify with your insurer directlyIn-network or out-of-network, free and confidential, usually the same day.
- 3You get the number in plain EnglishDeductible, out-of-pocket maximum and any prior authorisation, before you commit to anything.
- Meritain
- UMR
- + more
Out-of-network, or unsure what the plan says? Call anyway. Single case agreements and out-of-network benefits often cover a licensed group home placement.
- Free benefits check
Coverage numbers in about two minutes
See what your plan pays toward the group home program, in-network or out. Free, private, decides nothing.
Group home admissions
Admissions process: first call to move-in day.
Our promise while you decide
- You set the pace, with no pressure to decide
- Clear answers to every clinical and financial question
- An honest recommendation, even if another program is the better fit
1
- Today · 24/7
- ~15 minutes
The first call
A licensed counselor hears what has been happening, what has been tried, and where your teen stands on safety, then gives a plain read on whether a therapeutic group home is the indicated level.
- Free and confidential; deciding comes later.
2
- Same day
- Free & confidential
Coverage, in writing
With your authorization we query the insurer directly and hand back the numbers, residential benefits, network status, and the realistic out-of-pocket.
- Most plans answer within the day, both network positions shown.
3
- Within 24 to 48 hrs
- Licensed clinicians
Clinical evaluation
A licensed clinician assesses the condition behind the placement, screens safety, reviews prior treatment, and recommends the level of care the findings support.
- School records and prior evaluations speed this step; bring what you have.
4
- Within days
- One coordinator
Preparing move-in
One named coordinator handles school records, current prescriptions, what to pack, and the arrival time, discreetly and in writing.
- Everything confirmed in writing, with the coordinator’s direct line.
5
- Day one
- Direct team contact
Move-in day, kept calm
A fixed arrival sequence, orientation, introductions, medications checked in with the prescriber, and your first family update on the calendar before you head home.
- From then on, consistent staff, weekly updates, and the posted schedule. See the daily structure
Inside the group home program
What the program includes: treatment, schooling and family work.
Every admission carries a treatment center’s clinical program inside a home’s setting. Each element below is reviewed weekly against measurable progress on the admitting condition.
Evaluation & individualized plan
A DSM-5 evaluation opens every stay, and an individualized treatment plan follows from the actual diagnoses rather than the loudest symptom.
Daily individual & group therapy
Licensed clinicians run CBT-based individual sessions and twice-daily groups, on the posted weekly schedule.
Psychiatric & medication care
A prescriber manages any medication with parents consulted at every change, and medication administration is supervised daily.
Weekly family therapy & Saturday group
Family involvement is built in as a requirement, weekly family therapy in person or by secure video, plus the Saturday Family Empowerment Group with other parents.
Accredited on-site school
Small classes with transferable credit keep the semester alive, coordinated with your district for the return.
Structured group living & life skills
Chef-prepared shared meals, chores, and life-skills practice, cooking, gardening, and time management, run as daily social training.
Equine, arts & outings
Friday equine therapy, art and music interventions, regular outings, and daily movement in the desert air.
Discharge & return plan
An outpatient team is booked near home, school re-entry is staged with your district, and the family plan is rehearsed before the drive back home, ensuring continuity.
- One clinical team on-site, therapy, psychiatry & school under each home’s roof, nothing contracted out
The treatment layer
Therapies used in the homes: trauma, mood and family modalities.
Evidence reviews rate family-based therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy as the best-supported treatments for the conditions these homes admit. Residential living turns both from a weekly hour into daily practice, with TF-CBT and EMDR added where trauma drives the case.
1Individual CBT
Daily one-to-one work on the thoughts and triggers driving the admitting condition.
2Group therapy, twice daily
Clinician-led groups at 9:00 and 11:00, where the house itself becomes the practice ground.
3Weekly family therapy
In person for metro families, secure video beyond, rebuilding the system your teen returns to.
4Psychiatric & medication care
Prescriber-led medication management, supervised daily, inside the home rather than across town.
5Accredited academics
Credit-bearing classes on-site every weekday, coordinated with your district for re-entry.
6Equine & experiential
Friday equine sessions, art and music work, and regular outings, the structured outlets a house full of teenagers needs.
Daily schedule in the homes
Daily schedule: therapy, school and downtime, timed.
Both homes run the same posted rhythm, school, therapy, meals, movement and sleep, so a teen always knows what comes next.
7:00 - 8:00 amWake, hygiene & breakfast
Wake-up and hygiene at 7:00, then breakfast and medications from 7:30 to 8:00.
8:30 amGratitude journal
The day opens with a gratitude journal at 8:30, before the first group.
9:00 - 11:00 amClinical groups
Clinician-led group at 9:00, a snack at 10:45, then a second group at 11:00.
12:30 pmLunch & mindfulness
Lunch together at 12:30, run with a short mindfulness practice.
1:00 - 3:45 pmAccredited school
Education from 1:00, a snack at 2:15, then the second block through to 3:45.
4:00 - 5:00 pmNursing group & family calls
Nursing group runs 4:00 to 5:00, and the family phone window holds from 4:00 to 6:00.
5:00 - 7:00 pmDinner & evening activity
Dinner together at 5:00, then evening activity and medications from 6:00 to 7:00.
7:00 - 9:30 pmFree time & lights out
Free time to 8:30, evening routine, journal and electronics off at 9:00, lights out at 9:30.
Weekends run differently
Saturday and Sunday follow a lighter routine than the weekday schedule above, with the Saturday Family Empowerment Group for parents.
Schedule the free consultation Or call (480) 485-3424 and admissions walks you through a full weekend in the homes, answered 24/7.Awake clinical staff are on-site every hour, including overnight, in both Phoenix-metro homes.
Inside the house
Daily life and house rules: what a normal day feels like.
Chores, screens and bedtime follow house rule, and the day keeps its shape, shared meals, classroom hours, downtime and a quiet close. Staff are awake through the night.
Chef-prepared meals & life skills
A dedicated kitchen team led by Chef Melissa Stockmar cooks the shared meals, and residents build life skills daily, cooking, gardening, cleaning, and time management.
Family contact, every day
The 4:00 to 6:00 PM phone window runs daily, weekly family therapy happens in person for metro families, and visits are scheduled with the clinical team.
Outings, equine & activities
Friday equine therapy, regular outings, and in-house activities from art and music work to game-room evenings, structure that feels like living, not confinement.
Family across the distance
Family therapy for Tucson parents: weekly sessions and daily calls.
Two hours does not have to mean absence. Weekly family therapy happens in person where a family can travel and by secure video where it cannot, the 4:00 to 6:00 PM call window runs every day, and visits are planned around one trip rather than several.
Licensed clinical team
Clinical staff: who treats your teen, by name.
Licensed clinicians and a psychiatric prescriber run the program. Every Arizona license below is verifiable in the AZBBHE registry, and the house team running education, family services and meals follows in the same row.
LPC, BC-TMHHannah Carr-Unquera
Executive Director
Leads the clinical program across both homes, licensed in Arizona and board certified in telemental health.
LCSW, DSWDr. Tyler White
Director of Adolescent Clinical Services
Sets the treatment plan each resident’s team works to, and supervises the clinicians who deliver it.
DNP, PMHNP-BCAlexandria Penner
Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner
Runs psychiatric evaluation and medication management on-site, so prescribing stays inside the house.
House teamAshley Daniels
Director of Family Services & Education
Runs family services and education across both homes, after directing theatre and teen programs and building liberal-arts residential summer camps for Mount Holyoke College and Bryn Mawr College.
House teamJennifer Inderberg
Education Supervisor
Twenty-five years in education, supervising the accredited school that runs inside each house and the credit transfers back to your district.
House teamMelissa Stockmar
Director of Food Operations
Leads the kitchen team behind the chef-prepared meals, and runs the cooking group where residents learn to feed themselves.
Arizona-licensed clinical team. Every clinician running the homes is licensed in Arizona. Verify any license in the AZBBHE public registry.
Verified parent reviews
Google reviews: reproduced word for word.
4.7/ 5
Read them all on Google★★★★★
“Nexus Teen Academy was a wonderful place for my daughter. The staff were amazing and so supportive. They worked with our entire family. Highly recommend.”
★★★★★
“I highly recommend Nexus Teen Academy. The structure, support, and care they provided made a significant impact on my child, and it was also maintainable post-residency. During the residency, I attended a parent group led by the therapists who worked with the kids; where we learned critical skills and distinctions which helped with life afterward. It was also great to be in contact with other parents during this time, and the parenting group was great for this.”
★★★★★
“My daughter was referred here after her various visits to psychiatric hospitals.I was so scared to be apart from my child but Nexus made me feel better about my decision because of their loving and welcoming environment. I love everything about this place, they really love the kids and support parents along the way. I appreciate everyone that loved and supported my child while she was at her lowest. I recommend this place to anyone that may feel like they have tried all they can and they do not know what to do next because Nexus will help you with the next steps in your journey.”
★★★★★
“I would like to share that we had a great experience at Nexus Teen Academy. All of the staff is great with communication and assisted us through the process. I am very grateful for all of the resources, help and treatment for my teen throughout their stay. The have an amazing team and would recommend to anyone who needs the help.”
These come straight from our public Google Business Profile, anyone can read all 34 and add their own.
Handing back to Tucson
Discharge and aftercare for Tucson teens: the plan for going home.
For a family this far out the handover is the whole job, so it is designed in the first fortnight. The plan names the step-down level, the outpatient clinician in Tucson, the prescriber continuing medication, and the day the school expects your teen back.
Related reading
Teen mental health guides: parent guides by condition.
These guides cover the conditions that bring most Tucson families to a therapeutic group home, written by the clinicians who run the houses. Every guide names the treatment the condition responds to, and each links through to the residential program that delivers it.
Teen depression
The most common reason Tucson families call about placement.
Read the guide →Anxiety in teens
Where school refusal and panic attacks come from.
Read the guide →Teen PTSD
How trauma symptoms present during adolescence.
Read the guide →Teen self-harm
Supervision and treatment working at the same time.
Read the guide →Teen substance use
When use becomes a reason for residential care.
Read the guide →Group therapy for teens
What clinician-led group work actually involves.
Read the guide →Every guide names the treatment the condition responds to, and each links through to the residential program that delivers it.
The statewide picture
Arizona teen mental health, the statewide picture
Adolescent depression and anxiety have risen sharply across Arizona, and for a growing number of families weekly outpatient therapy is no longer enough. The state’s own data shows why a middle level of care, residential treatment, exists.
4 in 10
Arizona high-schoolers reported their mental health was not good most or all of the time.
3 in 10
Seriously considered suicide, and about 1 in 10 attempted.
97%
Rise in adolescent depression diagnoses in Arizona, 2016 to 17 to 2020 to 21.
55%
Rise in anxiety diagnoses over the same period.
Arizona’s 988 and Teen Lifeline lines meet the emergency, but a crisis call is stabilization, not ongoing treatment.
Residential care is the step between outpatient therapy and the hospital, the middle is what has been missing.
Sources: Arizona Department of Health Services, Adolescent Mental Health Report; Arizona Youth Risk Behavior Survey (2021); National Survey of Children’s Health.
Talk to an Arizona counselor, 24/7Tucson questions
Tucson parent FAQ: cost, school, visits, licensing.
Tucson answers
Leaving Pima County for treatment
Two hours on the I-10 changes how a family plans visits, school and the handover home. These are the answers that matter.
Our admissions desk takes calls from Pima County families every week. Ask anything before you decide.
Call our admissions deskAnswered 24/7 at (480) 485-3424Distance and visiting
Oak, the boys’ residence in north Scottsdale, is 122 miles and about two hours eight minutes up the I-10. Mesquite, the girls’ residence in Cave Creek, is 148 miles, roughly two hours twenty-nine minutes. Both are a single-freeway run with no route changes.
Pima County has licensed houses, but very few carry a behavioral health residential license with employed clinicians and an accredited school inside. That gap is the reason families make the drive rather than the distance being ignored.
In person weekly where a family can travel, and by secure video where it cannot. The clinical team schedules around the drive rather than pretending it is not there, and the 4:00 to 6:00 PM call window runs daily either way.
Both 3D walkthroughs open immediately on this page, which is usually the first step for a Tucson family. In-person tours are booked with the clinical team so one trip does everything.
Yes, always. Boys at Oak, girls at Mesquite, ages 12 to 17, with separate staff teams.
No. Admission is clinical and parent-led. Arizona’s child-welfare system runs its own licensed group homes through contracted providers, and admissions will direct a Tucson caseworker there.
School, care and cost
Coursework continues in an accredited classroom with certified teachers, so the semester does not break. Records transfer both directions and the academic coordinator works to the sending district’s credit rules, which matters more when the school is two hours away.
Distance inside Arizona rarely changes coverage. What matters is network status and medical necessity. Send the plan details and the insurer is queried directly, with deductible, out-of-pocket maximum and any prior authorisation returned in writing.
Depression, anxiety, trauma and PTSD, self-harm and suicidal thinking, mood instability, and co-occurring substance use, treated as one picture rather than split across services.
Usually thirty to ninety days, set by the clinical picture. The step-down plan is written in the first fortnight, which for a Tucson family means the handover to Pima County outpatient care is arranged early.
Usually inside a week once the evaluation is finished and the insurer has answered. Distance is not a reason to shorten the assessment.
Verification and crisis
All of it is online. Search the AZDHS provider registry for Nexus Teen Academy, confirm the Joint Commission accreditation at qualitycheck.org, and check the LegitScript seal. No trip required to check credentials.
Safety outranks placement. Call or text 988 or go to the nearest emergency department in Tucson. A teen in acute crisis stabilises locally first, and admissions times the transfer so treatment begins at discharge rather than after a gap.
Placement from across the state
Placement across Arizona: statewide referrals and transport.
Both houses sit centrally in Maricopa County, which keeps nearly every Arizona family inside a day’s drive. Admissions answers around the clock.
From beyond the Valley
Count roughly two hours from Tucson via I-10, 2½ hours from Flagstaff down I-17, 90 minutes from Prescott, and three hours from Yuma on I-8, with Sierra Vista and Lake Havasu City close behind.
Family sessions by secure video
When the drive is long, the weekly family session runs over secure video, and arrivals route through Phoenix Sky Harbor for out-of-metro and out-of-state families.
The return, arranged locally
Before discharge we book an outpatient team near your home and stage school re-entry with your district, whether that is a Valley district, Tucson Unified, or Flagstaff Unified.
Oak · boys’ group home, North Scottsdale
8611 E Cholla St, Scottsdale, AZ 85260
Admissions 24/7
Mesquite · girls’ group home, Cave Creek
2695 E Saddle Mountain Rd, Cave Creek, AZ 85331
Admissions 24/7
See a center on the map
Tap Cave Creek or Scottsdale below to load its interactive map right here.
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Explore each Nexus Teen Academy home
Scottsdale (boys)
North Scottsdale, 85260 · off Loop 101
Cave Creek (girls)
Saddle Mountain Rd, 85331 · 20 min north
Phoenix metro
Served from both centers
Yuma & SW Arizona
Travel, telehealth & aftercare