- Joint Commission accredited
- Two AZ campuses
- Ages 12–17
- Admissions 24/7
Residential treatment for teen depression near Tucson, Arizona.
When outpatient care in Tucson has taken your teen as far as it can, full-time residential treatment at our accredited Phoenix-area campuses is a manageable drive north. Joint Commission accredited, for 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 with a licensed counselor
Calling from central Tucson, Oro Valley, Marana or anywhere in Pima County? Leave a number and a licensed admissions counselor will call you back, usually within minutes, to talk through whether residential care fits, what your insurance covers, and how the first step works. No pressure.
- It's now where you are · typical callback under 10 minutes.
- Secure, private, and HIPAA-protected. By submitting you agree to be contacted about care; message/data rates may apply.
- 4.7 Google · 34 reviews
- Joint Commission accredited
Credentials Tucson parents can check for themselves before they ever pick up the phone.
Every credential is independently verifiable. Joint Commission · AZDHS registry · LegitScript.
Joint Commission accreditedAZDHS-licensed · LegitScript certifiedAbout Nexus Teen Academy
Accredited teen depression treatment, within reach of families across Southern Arizona.
For many Tucson families, the turning point is not realizing a teen is struggling, it is realizing that weekly appointments and school support are no longer holding. When depression starts shaping every part of the day, a structured residential setting gives your teen room to stabilize and do the deeper work, while you stay close enough to be part of it.
Two separate homes in the Phoenix metro, one for boys in North Scottsdale and one for girls in Cave Creek, both a straightforward drive up I-10 from Tucson and built to feel residential rather than institutional.
North Scottsdale
Boys, 12–17 · Phoenix metro
Cave Creek
Girls, 12–17 · Phoenix metro
2
Accredited Phoenix-area campuses
12–17
Ages we treat, gender-separate
24/7
Awake clinical staff, every hour
1:1
A primary therapist, by name
Where residential care fits
The subacute level between weekly therapy and a hospital bed.
Therapy once or a few times a week. Your teen stays home and at school.
Live-in clinical care with 24/7 awake staff, daily therapy, and accredited school, in a real home.
You are hereShort-term acute stabilization for immediate medical or safety crisis.
Not sure which level your teen needs? A licensed counselor will walk through it with you on the phone, free, and tell you honestly if a lower level of care is the better fit.
Speak with our admissions teamThe program
What our teen depression treatment program includes.
Every teen admitted from Southern Arizona follows the same full clinical program at our Phoenix-area campuses: a complete psychiatric assessment, individual CBT, DBT skills groups, weekly family therapy, prescriber-led medication review when it is warranted, accredited daily academics, and a written discharge plan. Distance from Tucson never means a lighter version of care.
Comprehensive psychiatric assessment
A psychiatrist evaluates your teen’s depression, and anything occurring alongside it, against DSM criteria before a single treatment goal is set.
Individualized treatment plan
The plan is written specifically for your teen by licensed clinicians, shared with you openly, and adjusted as the weeks show what is working.
Individual therapy. CBT & TF-CBT
Regular one-to-one sessions in CBT, and trauma-focused CBT where trauma is part of the picture, aimed at the thinking patterns feeding the depression.
Group therapy & DBT skills
Peer groups where teens learn and practice DBT skills, emotion regulation, distress tolerance and mindfulness, alongside others who understand.
Weekly family therapy
Weekly sessions held in person or over secure video, so Tucson parents stay part of the clinical work without living on I-10.
Psychiatric & medication management
A prescriber leads any medication decision, weighs it individually, and explains the reasoning to you in plain language before anything changes.
Accredited academics
Schoolwork continues on an accredited track every weekday, with credits that transfer, so your teen does not fall behind while in care.
Discharge & relapse-prevention plan
Your teen goes home with a written plan: what to watch for, which providers to see near Tucson, and exactly who to call in a crisis.
- Dual-diagnosis care, depression, anxiety, trauma, self-harm & substance use, together
Dual-diagnosis care
Conditions we treat: depression, anxiety, trauma, and substance use.
Teen depression rarely shows up on its own. By the time a Tucson family is weighing residential care, depression has usually pulled anxiety, self-harm, past trauma or substance use in with it, and each one makes the others harder to treat.
Handling those pieces at separate clinics is why so many teens repeat program after program.At Nexus Teen Academy one clinical team works from a single plan that treats the depression and everything wrapped around it at the same time.
Primary conditionDepression & mood disorders
Everything below is treated in the same plan, by the same team.
Anxiety & panic
Common co-occurring condition.
Substance use
Co-occurring substance use.
Suicidal ideation
Assessed and monitored first.
Safety firstAnger & mood swings
Emotion-regulation support.
Self-harm
Structured, safety-focused care.
Safety firstLow self-esteem
Rebuilding self-worth.
Trauma & PTSD
Treated with TF-CBT.
Bipolar disorder
Mood-disorder management.
- Whatever your teen is facing, care stays coordinated in one integrated plan, one clinical team, and one residential setting.
The setting
Look inside the homes your teen would actually live in
The boys’ home sits in North Scottsdale and the girls’ home a little further north in Cave Creek, both licensed residential settings in the Phoenix metro. For a family driving up from Tucson they are close together and easy to reach, and both are designed to feel calm and lived-in rather than clinical.
Take a self-guided 3D walkthrough of the home
Life inside
A typical day in teen residential treatment.
Structure itself is part of how teens recover. Every day at both campuses follows a predictable rhythm of school, therapy, movement, meals and rest, so a teen who arrived from Tucson feeling out of control always knows what comes next.
7:30aWake, breakfast & check-in
A predictable morning routine, breakfast, and a daily mood check-in.
9:00aAccredited school
Small-group classes with credit transfer, so no one falls behind.
11:00aIndividual & group therapy
CBT, DBT skills, and one-to-one time with a therapist your teen knows.
2:00pExperiential & movement
Art, mindfulness, and outdoor time built into each day.
5:30pDinner & community
Shared evening meals and peer connection.
8:30pWind-down & overnight care
A steady wind-down routine, with awake staff on-site through the night.
Awake clinical staff are on-site every hour, including overnight, at both Arizona campuses.
How healing happens
Evidence-based therapies: CBT, DBT, and family therapy.
Every evidence-based therapy your teen receives, CBT, DBT and weekly family work, is coordinated by one team under a single plan, reviewed each week and tracked with the PHQ-9 so progress is measured rather than assumed.
Core therapies
1Individual therapy. CBT & TF-CBT
Individual CBT and TF-CBT targeting negative thought patterns, low energy, and any underlying trauma.
2Group therapy & DBT skills
DBT skills: distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and mindfulness, practiced in peer groups.
3Family therapy, every week
Weekly family therapy that repairs communication and prepares the home your teen returns to.
Supporting care, running alongside
Holistic & experiential
Art, movement, and mindfulness that rebuild motivation and self-worth.
Psychiatric & medication support
Prescriber-led evaluation; medication weighed case-by-case, explained in full, monitored closely.
Accredited academics
Accredited classes each weekday with credit coordination, so recovery and graduation progress together.
Your teen's clinical team
Meet our licensed clinical team.
Your teen is assigned a named, licensed clinician and a nursing team, and you meet them, their roles and their credentials before admission, not once your teen has already arrived.
LPC, BC-TMH
LCSW, DSW
DNP, PMHNP-BCAlexandria Penner
Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner
24/7 on-siteBSN, RNAshley Morton
Nursing · 24/7 medical support
Medically reviewed by Hannah Carr-Unquera, LPC-16514, BC-TMH · July 2026.Every Nexus Teen Academy clinician is licensed in Arizona. Verify any license on the AZ Board of Behavioral Health Examiners directory.
What families say
What families across Arizona say about Nexus Teen Academy
4.7/ 5
Read them all on Google★★★★★
“Nexus Academy was a wonderful place for my daughter. The staff were amazing and so supportive. They worked with our entire family. Highly recommend Nexus.”
★★★★★
“Sending your child or teen to a residential treatment facility is a difficult and heart-wrenching decision. The team at Nexus Teen Academy was exceptional. Our daughter’s therapist was a great fit for her and played a significant role in helping us grow as a family.”Read the full review →
★★★★★
“The program at Nexus was a lifesaver for my 15-year-old daughter. After a tough year in and out of different levels of care, my husband and I had truly hit a breaking point and knew a residential facility was needed.”Read the full review →
These come straight from our public Google Business Profile, anyone can read all 34 and add their own.
Getting started
How admission works, from first call to first 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
One calm call
A licensed admissions counselor hears what is happening with your teen, what the history looks like and what you have already tried in Tucson, then tells you honestly whether residential care is the right level or whether something closer to home would serve better.
- What to have ready: nothing. Just call, questions are welcome, and there is no obligation.
2
- Same day
- Free & confidential
Coverage check
With your permission we check your benefits directly with your insurer and give you the answer in plain numbers, what is covered and what is not, before you commit to anything.
- What you get: your coverage answer, usually the same day, every option mapped, including in-network and out-of-network paths.
3
- Within 24–48 hrs
- Licensed clinicians
Clinical assessment
Licensed clinicians review your teen’s history, needs, strengths and safety, then recommend the level of care that genuinely fits rather than the one that happens to have a bed open.
- Your input matters: what you have seen at home is a key part of the clinical assessment.
4
- Within days
- Named coordinator
Plan the arrival
One coordinator handles the logistics with you: the packing list, the drive or flight up from Tucson, transferring school records so credits count, and exactly how the first day will go.
- No surprises: you will have the packing list, schedule, and your coordinator's direct line in writing.
5
- Welcome day
- Never out of the loop
A gentle, planned arrival
Your teen meets the clinical team and settles in. Your first family update is scheduled before you head back to Tucson, and you have direct contact with the team from that day on.
- From here: predictable days, weekly updates, and a team your teen knows by name.
Coverage & cost
Does insurance cover teen residential treatment for Tucson families?
On most major private plans, residential mental-health care is a covered behavioral-health benefit, not an add-on you have to argue for. Nexus Teen Academy checks your specific plan with your insurer and returns the answer in real numbers, so a Tucson family knows exactly where it stands before deciding.
- 1You send your plan detailsTwo required fields. Member ID optional. Takes 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 EnglishYour exact out-of-pocket cost, explained before you commit to anything.
- Meritain
- UMR
- + more
Out of network, or unsure what your plan includes? Call anyway. Cost should never be the reason a teen in crisis goes without help.
- Free benefits check
Verify your insurance in 2 minutes
See exactly what your plan covers for residential depression treatment, free, confidential, no obligation.
After discharge
Aftercare and relapse prevention that follows your teen home.
Before discharge, a case manager builds the aftercare plan with you: step-down or outpatient providers back in the Tucson area, telehealth to keep therapy going, school re-entry arranged with your home district, and a written relapse-prevention plan everyone can follow.
Answers
Teen depression treatment FAQs
The questions families ask us most, answered plainly, campuses, distance, insurance, licensing, and privacy.
A licensed admissions counselor can answer it on the phone right now, no script, no pressure, and no obligation to enroll.
Talk to a counselorAnswered 24/7 at (480) 485-3424Campuses & getting there
The nearest teen depression residential program to Tucson is Nexus Teen Academy on the north edge of the Phoenix metro. We keep two gender-separate homes for ages 12 to 17: a boys residence in North Scottsdale and a girls residence in Cave Creek, both in Maricopa County. From Tucson the drive is about two hours via Interstate 10, and Pima County families make the trip because there is no comparable licensed residential depression option closer to home.
From Tucson the campuses are about two hours away along Interstate 10. The boys home is in North Scottsdale and the girls home is in Cave Creek, both in Maricopa County. Our admissions team helps Tucson and Pima County families plan travel, intake timing and the first family visit.
Absolutely. A large share of our families drive in from outside the Phoenix metro, including Tucson and the rest of southern Arizona. Distance never disqualifies a teen, and weekly family therapy is delivered by secure telehealth so Tucson parents stay fully involved.
Distance does not mean stepping back. For Tucson families, weekly family therapy runs by secure video, with in-person visits scheduled around the about two hours drive and regular calls with the clinical team so parents in Pima County stay part of every decision.
Care & cost
Residential mental-health care is a covered behavioral-health benefit on most major plans, including Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, Cigna and UnitedHealthcare, and we also accept AHCCCS. Rather than quoting a flat price, we run a free, no-obligation benefits check so Tucson families see their real out-of-pocket cost before deciding. If you searched for teen depression treatment near me and worry about affording it, call us, cost should never be the reason a teen goes without care.
Both often do. We work with AHCCCS and with most commercial plans, handling the prior authorization and utilization review that residential care requires. Our team verifies your specific plan, explains in-network versus out-of-network options, and can pursue a single case agreement when that is the best path for your teen.
Residential care makes sense when weekly therapy and medication are not holding, when a teen is withdrawing, sleeping all day, failing school, or showing self-harm or suicidal thoughts, or when depression has taken over daily life at home. A 24/7 structured setting gives a depressed teen intensive therapy and constant safety that once-a-week appointments cannot.
Our depression program is built on evidence-based care: cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and behavioral activation to rebuild motivation, plus trauma-focused CBT when trauma sits underneath the depression. Teens also get individual therapy, group work, family therapy and psychiatric medication management (including SSRIs when appropriate), all delivered by licensed, master-level clinicians.
Most teens stay between 30 and 60 days, though the clinical team sets the length around each teen and family. Before discharge we build an aftercare plan, step-down to a lower level of care, a return to school, outpatient providers and relapse-prevention tools, so the progress made in residential care holds once your teen is home.
Licensing & privacy
Yes. Nexus Teen Academy is licensed by the Arizona Department of Health Services and holds Joint Commission accreditation, the same standard used by leading hospitals. Both homes, boys in North Scottsdale and girls in Cave Creek, are staffed around the clock by licensed clinicians and trained youth-care team members.
A psychiatric hospital handles short, acute crisis stabilization, usually only a few days. Outpatient therapy is an hour a week at home. Residential treatment sits between them: your teen lives in a licensed, home-like setting for weeks, receiving daily therapy, school and 24/7 support, which is what many depressed teens need to truly recover rather than just stabilize.
Completely. Every conversation, assessment and record is protected under HIPAA and Arizona confidentiality law. A benefits check or a call to our admissions line is private and carries no obligation, and we never share your information outside your teen care team without your written consent.
The statewide picture
Arizona teen mental health, by the numbers.
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, 2016–17 to 2020–21.
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, 24/7Across Arizona
Teen depression treatment across Arizona, from two Phoenix-metro campuses.
Both residences sit in the Phoenix metro, roughly two hours north of Tucson on I-10. That distance is close enough for families across Southern Arizona to reach accredited residential care and still stay involved in the day-to-day of treatment.
Within a half-day of most of the state
About two hours from Tucson on I-10, 2½ hours from Flagstaff on I-17, 1½ hours from Prescott, and three hours from Yuma on I-8, with Sierra Vista and Lake Havasu City a similar reach.
Telehealth & travel, handled
Weekly family sessions run over secure video for families who cannot make the drive every week, and our team helps plan the trip up I-10 or a short flight into Phoenix Sky Harbor, so the miles between Tucson and the Valley never end treatment early.
Aftercare mapped to your community
Before discharge we line up step-down and outpatient care near home and coordinate school re-entry, so the progress made here continues once your teen is back in Tucson.
Nexus Teen Academy, Scottsdale · boys’ residence
8611 E Cholla St, Scottsdale, AZ 85260
Admissions 24/7
Nexus Teen Academy, Cave Creek · girls’ residence
2695 E Saddle Mountain Rd, Cave Creek, AZ 85331
Admissions 24/7
See a campus on the map
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Explore each Nexus Teen Academy location
Scottsdale (boys)
North Scottsdale, 85260 · off Loop 101
Cave Creek (girls)
Saddle Mountain Rd, 85331 · 20 min north
Phoenix metro
Served from both campuses
Yuma & SW Arizona
Travel, telehealth & aftercare