- Joint Commission accredited
- Girls-only home
- Ages 12 to 17
- Admissions 24/7
Dual diagnosis treatment for teen girls near Desert Hills, AZ.
A diagnosis and the substance a girl leans on to survive it rarely come apart when they are treated in separate places. Nexus Teen Academy handles both at once, one residential program for girls ages 12 to 17 at the licensed Cave Creek residence, a short drive east of Desert Hills along Carefree Highway.
- Free & confidential · No obligation · (480) 485-3424
- 4.7 Google · 37 reviews
- AZDHS-licensed residential facility
- Most major private insurance accepted
- Free consultation
- Counselor online now
Calling from Desert Hills? Leave a number and a licensed admissions counselor phones you back, often within minutes, to talk through whether the Cave Creek program fits, what your plan covers, and what comes next. No pressure, ever.
- 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 · 37 reviews
- Joint Commission accredited
Every credential is independently verifiable. Joint Commission · AZDHS registry · LegitScript.
Joint Commission accreditedAZDHS-licensed · LegitScript certifiedAbout Nexus Teen Academy
About Nexus Teen Academy's dual diagnosis program for girls.
Nexus Teen Academy is a licensed, Joint Commission-accredited residential program for adolescent girls carrying a mental-health diagnosis and a substance problem at the same time. One clinical team works both sides at the girls' residence on desert acreage in Cave Creek, ages 12 to 17. For most families who reach us from Desert Hills, the drinking or the pills began as a way to cope, to settle a racing mind, dull a memory, or get a few hours of sleep. Address the substance by itself and the reason stays; address the mood by itself and the using pulls the progress apart.
When a girl needs medically supervised withdrawal first, that step happens at a hospital and admissions lines up the transfer so treatment begins the day she leaves. Care is clinician-led, AZDHS-licensed, Joint Commission accredited, and LegitScript certified, with staff awake through the night.
Nexus Teen Academy provides residential treatment for teen dual diagnosis for families from Desert Hills, Arizona, for ages 12 to 17. Girls live in a licensed home in Cave Creek with daily therapy, accredited school on site, and weekly family therapy. Most stay 30 to 60 days, and the team works with AHCCCS and most private insurance.
Cave Creek
Girls, 12 to 17 · Phoenix metro
Cave Creek
Girls, 12 to 17 · Phoenix metro
Accredited Arizona centers
Ages we treat, gender-separate
Awake clinical staff, every hour
A primary therapist, by name
Where residential care fits: IOP, PHP or residential
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.
| Question | Intensive outpatient (IOP) | Partial hospitalization (PHP) | Residential (RTC) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | A step down from PHP, or a starting point for teens who need more than weekly therapy | A step down from residential care, or a starting point for teens who need structure without 24/7 care | Teens who need 24/7 care in a safe, immersive setting |
| Where your teen sleeps | At home | At home each evening | A licensed, home-like residence with 24/7 awake staff |
| Weekly schedule | About 4 hours a day (10:30 to 2:30 or 1:00 to 5:00), 3 to 4 days a week | Several days a week, multiple hours a day | Daily therapy, with care around the clock |
| Typical length | 30 to 90+ days | 30 to 90 days | 30 to 60 days |
| School | Stays in school; IOP is therapy-focused, with no academic support | Daily schoolwork time in a classroom, with educators on staff | Accredited, credit-bearing classes on site |
| Family | Weekly individual therapy and family counseling every other week | Family therapy sessions included | Weekly family therapy, in person or by secure video |
IOP and PHP run at NexStep Teen Academy, the Nexus outpatient program in Scottsdale for teens ages 12 to 17.
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
Inside our dual diagnosis treatment program for teen girls.
Recovery work and mental-health treatment on a single plan, inside a girls-only home with a steady daily rhythm. Every girl admitted from the north Valley gets each piece below, reviewed weekly against her own goals instead of a set timetable.
One combined assessment
Psychiatric and substance histories taken together, with school records and prior care, so no one has to guess which problem came first.
Detox timed before intake
Withdrawal that needs medical oversight is handled at a hospital first, and admissions schedules the transfer so treatment opens the day she is discharged.
A session every weekday
One named licensed clinician, working the thoughts, the triggers, and the using behind them, five days a week.
Motivation and relapse work
For the girl who does not think she has a problem, resistance is met, not fought, and the high-risk moments get a written plan.
Family sessions and parent group
Weekly family work plus the Saturday parent group, because the Desert Hills home she returns to is part of the plan.
On-site psychiatric care
Medication managed at the residence by the prescriber, including what is safe alongside a history of misuse, with your consent at each change.
Credit-bearing school on site
Certified classes every weekday, so the schooling that slipped while she was using begins to come back.
A plan for after
Before she heads home: a written relapse plan, a therapist and prescriber lined up nearby, and a paced return to Deer Valley classes.
- Her diagnosis and her substance use, handled by the same people
Dual-diagnosis care
Mental health conditions treated alongside substance use.
Low mood and anxiety seldom show up on their own in these families. Nationally, about 15% of adolescents had a major depressive episode in the past year and 7.8% met criteria for a substance use disorder, and the two overlap heavily: roughly a third of depressed teens reported illicit drug use, against 12% of those without depression.
At the Cave Creek residence a single team carries the diagnosis and the substance use inside one plan, with nothing handed off partway through, because staying sober without touching the reason rarely lasts past the first hard week back at home.
How dual diagnosis works in teen girls
Primary focus
Co-occurring mental health and substance use in adolescent girls
Depression
Often the weight the using was meant to lift.
Anxiety & panic
Alcohol and cannabis used to quiet the racing.
Trauma & PTSD
Substances used to keep the memories at bay.
ADHD
Impulsivity plus easy access escalates quickly.
Substance use
Alcohol, cannabis, vapes, or borrowed pills.
Defiance at home
The blowups that hide the using underneath.
Self-harm
Tends to surface once substances are taken away; screened at intake.
Safety firstSuicidal ideation
Checked for before any other work begins.
Safety first- Whichever condition brought you here, one clinical team keeps her care in a single plan under one roof in Cave Creek.
The setting
A licensed residential setting for teen girls.
The girls' residence sits on desert acreage in Cave Creek, close enough that a Desert Hills parent can reach it in well under an hour along Carefree Highway. It is a real house set up for early recovery: a fixed routine, no substances and no dealers within reach, meals made and shared together, staff awake overnight, and full AZDHS licensure.
Take a self-guided 3D walkthrough of the home
Life inside
A typical day in residential dual diagnosis treatment.
The first hours after waking are the hardest early in a stay, so they carry the most structure. When every adult holds the day the same way, the cravings and the arguments that used to steer the house lose their footing.
- MorningHygiene, meds & breakfast
Hygiene and meds from 6:30 to 7:30, then breakfast from 7:30 to 8:00.
- - Morning
Gratitude journal & education
A gratitude journal from 8:00 to 8:20, then education from 8:30 to 10:45 and a snack at 10:45.
- MorningGroup therapy & lunch
Group therapy from 11:00 to 12:00, then lunch and mindfulness from 12:00 to 1:00.
- - Afternoon
Group therapy
Group therapy from 2:00 to 3:00, a snack at 3:00, then group therapy again from 3:15 to 4:00.
- - Afternoon
Movement, dinner & evening activity
Movement with nursing from 4:15 to 5:00, dinner at 5:00, then evening activity and meds from 6:00 to 7:00.
- - Evening
Free time & lights out
Free time from 7:00 to 8:30, evening hygiene from 8:30 to 9:00, gratitude journal at 9:00 and lights out at 9:30.
Weekends run differently
Saturday and Sunday follow a lighter routine than the weekday schedule above.
Click here for a free consultationTap to call (480) 485-3424 and our admissions team will walk you through a full weekend. Someone answers any time.Awake clinical staff are on-site every hour, including overnight, at both Arizona centers.
How healing happens
How we treat co-occurring disorders in teen girls.
Integrated care, where one team treats both conditions at the same time, is what national guidelines call for in co-occurring disorders. A residential setting adds the supervised hours that weekly outpatient visits simply cannot cover.
Core therapies
- 1
Motivational interviewing
Made for ambivalence. Rather than arguing her into agreement, it builds on the reasons she already holds for changing.
- 2
CBT and relapse prevention
Triggers, high-risk situations, ways to say no, and a written plan for the moments that usually end in using.
- 3
Emotion-regulation and distress-tolerance skills
Practiced every day, so she has something to reach for once the substance is gone.
Supporting care, running alongside
Trauma-focused CBT and EMDR
When trauma is doing the driving, it is treated head-on, after she is stable rather than in the first week.
after stabilizationsafety firstFamily therapy and parent group
Weekly family sessions, in person for north Valley families and by secure video for those farther out, plus the Saturday parent group.
weeklyhome planEquine, art and experiential
Friday sessions with the horses, along with art and music: hours that rebuild a life with no substance in it.
equine Fridayshealthy outlets
Your teen's clinical team
Meet our licensed clinical team.
Every girl is paired with a named, licensed clinician, and the psychiatric prescriber and residential staff are named as well. Each Arizona license listed below is yours to verify.
LPC, BC-TMHHannah Carr-Unquera
Executive Director
Leads the clinical program, 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, 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 Nexus Teen Academy clinician is licensed in Arizona. Verify any license on the AZ Board of Behavioral Health Examiners directory.
What families say
What Arizona families 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
The admission process, step by step.
- 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 Nexus Teen Academy counselor asks what she is using and how often, when she last used, which diagnoses and treatment already exist, and whether anyone is in danger, then tells you plainly whether residential care fits your daughter.
- What to have ready: nothing. Just call, questions are welcome, and there is no obligation.
2
- Same day
- Free & confidential
Coverage check
With your go-ahead we check your plan and send back clear numbers for residential behavioral-health care, network status, and the realistic out-of-pocket, and both sides count here, the mental-health benefit and the substance-use benefit.
- What you get: your coverage answer, usually the same day, every option mapped, including in-network and out-of-network paths.
3
- Within 24 to 48 hrs
- Licensed clinicians
Clinical assessment
A licensed clinician goes through the substance history, the psychiatric history, past treatment, and safety, then recommends the level of care those findings support; when she last used and any withdrawal history decide whether hospital detox comes first.
- 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 named coordinator handles medical clearance, the drive in, school records, prescriptions, and a packing list checked for safety, so nothing about arrival day catches you off guard.
- 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 daughter meets the clinical team and eases into the routine, and your first family update is on the calendar before you head back along Carefree Highway.
- From here: predictable days, weekly updates, and a team your teen knows by name.
Coverage & cost
Insurance coverage for dual diagnosis treatment
For a Desert Hills family weighing dual diagnosis care, two benefits matter: mental-health coverage and substance-use coverage, and most major private plans include both for residential treatment. Nexus Teen Academy works with most major commercial insurers. We check your actual policy, in-network or out-of-network, at no charge and in confidence, usually the same day, and lay out any out-of-pocket amount in plain terms before anything is decided.
- 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 about your plan? Call anyway, cost should never be the reason a teen doesn't get help.
- Free benefits check
Find out what your plan pays toward residential dual diagnosis care for your daughter, at no cost and with no commitment.
After discharge
Step-down care and aftercare near Desert Hills.
Discharge planning starts weeks in advance with you at the table: a teen PHP or IOP step-down where it fits, an outpatient therapist and prescriber lined up close to Desert Hills, a written relapse plan naming her risky people, places, and times, and a return to school arranged with the Deer Valley district.
Answers
Frequently asked questions about dual diagnosis treatment
Straight answers for Desert Hills parents weighing residential dual diagnosis care for a daughter.
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) 485-3424Centers & getting there
Yes. Nexus Teen Academy treats co-occurring mental health and substance use at its AZDHS-licensed girls' residence in Cave Creek, a short drive east of Desert Hills along Carefree Highway, serving families across the north Valley and the rest of Arizona. Admissions answers (480) 485-3424 at any hour.
It means two things are true together: a mental-health condition such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, or ADHD, and a substance problem. Integrated treatment puts one team on both at the same time, instead of bouncing her between a mental-health program and a separate substance program.
The Cave Creek residence admits girls ages 12 to 17 only. A girls-only house changes what can be talked about: sexual-trauma history, self-harm, disordered eating, and the social pressures that push a lot of teenage girls toward using all get worked on openly, and groups, bedrooms, and staffing are built around that one group.
No. When withdrawal needs medical management, detox happens at a hospital first, and admissions times the move so treatment starts the day she is discharged. The same holds for any acute medical instability.
Care & cost
The program covers what shows up most in adolescent girls: alcohol, cannabis, nicotine and vaping, prescription pills shared among friends, and stimulants. What matters clinically is the pattern and what the substance is doing for her, not the substance alone.
With motivational interviewing rather than argument. Most girls arrive sure they do not belong here. The approach works from her own reasons for change, and the daily structure gives her a sober baseline to judge by, usually inside the first couple of weeks.
Many commercial plans do when medical necessity is met, and both the mental-health and the substance-use benefits come into play. Nexus Teen Academy accepts most private insurance and sends back your coverage, network position, and likely costs before you commit to anything.
Family work is built in: weekly family therapy, easy to attend in person given how close Desert Hills sits, a Saturday parent group, and daily phone calls. Because the home she returns to is part of the relapse plan, you are part of the treatment.
Yes, and the prescriber reviews everything she arrives on. Where a history of misuse makes a medication risky, the prescriber walks you through the alternatives, and nothing changes without your consent.
Licensing & privacy
Stays are planned around 30 days or more, then adjusted against clinical markers: steady mood, skills she uses without being prompted, a family ready for the home plan, and a step-down in place. Before discharge your case manager books an outpatient therapist near Desert Hills and stages her return to school.
A certified teacher runs credit-bearing classes on site every weekday, and the credits transfer back to her Deer Valley school. For a girl whose attendance fell apart while she was using, that is often the first thing to steady.
That is common, and it does not keep treatment from starting. Our counselors coach you through the conversation, and many girls who arrive certain they do not belong settle once the house is calm, predictable, and no one is fighting them. One call works through your specific situation.
Admission & daily life
Often within a few days. Admissions calls are returned within 24 hours, usually within minutes. A counselor checks your insurance benefits and licensed clinicians complete an assessment, and if everything moves smoothly your teen can move in shortly after. A coordinator walks you through travel, paperwork, and the first day.
Yes. Nexus Teen Academy offers tours of the home by appointment, so you can see where your teen would live and ask the team your questions in person before you decide anything. Call admissions to schedule a tour at a time that suits your family.
Yes. Family therapy happens once a week and is typically followed by about an hour of visitation, and parents are expected to take part. After orientation, teens can call home during designated hours most days, and families can also join a weekly virtual Family Empowerment group with other parents.
No. Personal phones and other devices stay at home for the length of the stay. Teens use tablets for video calls with approved contacts and computers for schoolwork, so contact with family continues through approved channels while the focus stays on treatment.
School continues during treatment. Teens attend accredited, credit-bearing classes on site, and education supervisors help with coursework and stay in touch with families. Bring a copy of any 504 plan or IEP at admission, and before discharge the team plans a staged return to your teen's home school.
Pack about two weeks of clothes without laces or drawstrings, alcohol-free toiletries, and any prescribed medication in its original packaging with a current medication list. Bring a guardian ID, a copy of any 504 plan or IEP, and school books. Personal phones and school-issued tablets stay at home.
By the numbers
Teen dual diagnosis statistics parents should know
Teenage girls report higher substance use than a decade ago, and the mental-health side is usually already in place. Every figure below is sourced.
7.8%
of U.S. adolescents 12 to 17, about 2 million, had a substance use disorder in the past year (SAMHSA NSDUH, 2024).
1 in 3
teens with depression reported past-year illicit drug use, against 12% of teens without depression (SAMHSA NSDUH, 2024).
About 30%
of the 2.4 million adolescents who needed substance use treatment received any (SAMHSA NSDUH, 2024).
1 in 4
Arizona adolescents who needed mental-health care found it very difficult or impossible to get (AZDHS, 2026).
Taken together, these figures say a substance problem and a mental-health diagnosis travel as a pair far more often than either appears alone.
The Arizona access number is why north Valley families call early: when nearby help is scarce, one program that treats both halves is often the quicker path.
Residential care vs. a teen group home
It looks like a home and works like a treatment center.
If you are searching for a teen group home near Desert Hills, the Nexus Teen Academy residence in Cave Creek is worth a look. It is a girls-only house licensed by AZDHS as a behavioral-health residential facility, which means therapy, psychiatric care and schooling all take place inside the home itself rather than at an office across town.
A typical group home
- Licensed for shelter and supervision
- Daily living and structure
- Supervision, not clinical treatment
Nexus homes
- AZDHS behavioral-health residential licence
- Daily therapy and psychiatric care
- Accredited school on site
Families from the Phoenix metro 9 cities
Families from Greater Arizona 6 cities
Girls from the cities listed below receive care at our Cave Creek residence. Admissions helps plan the drive, and parents take part in weekly family therapy either in person or over secure video.
Across Arizona
From Desert Hills to Cave Creek: travel and visits.
Because the residence sits just east of Desert Hills in Cave Creek, families here are among the closest we serve, an easy drive for weekly visits and family sessions. Admissions answers around the clock.
Well under an hour via Carefree Highway
From Desert Hills, the drive to the Cave Creek residence runs along Carefree Highway and takes well under an hour, so a weeknight family session or a Saturday visit fits easily around work and school.
In the room or on screen
Desert Hills parents are close enough to join weekly family therapy in person, and a secure video link covers the weeks when work, siblings or a long day make the drive hard, so no session gets skipped.
Aftercare set up around Desert Hills
Before discharge we line up step-down care (PHP or IOP) and an outpatient team close to Desert Hills, and plan her return to class with the Deer Valley Unified School District.
Nexus Teen Academy, Cave Creek · girls’ residence
Admissions 24/7
See a center on the map
Tap Cave Creek below to load its interactive map right here.
Google Maps loads only when you choose, so nothing is shared with Google before you opt in.
Directions from Desert Hills to Cave Creek
Under an hour via Carefree Highway
Saddle Mountain Rd, 85331 · 20 min north
Anthem, New River and north Phoenix too
Travel, telehealth & aftercare
Every Nexus program, statewide
Find the right program for your daughter.
Start with what your daughter is dealing with. Each of the eight conditions below links to how our one clinical team treats it, and how care works for families living around Desert Hills.
Nexus Teen Academy offers licensed residential treatment for teens ages 12 to 17 across eight conditions: anxiety, depression, trauma and PTSD, self-harm, suicidal ideation, bipolar disorder, substance use and ADHD. Girls are treated at our girls-only residence in Cave Creek, a short drive along Carefree Highway from Desert Hills. Families from Desert Hills and every other corner of Arizona receive drive-time guidance, help with travel, and family therapy by secure video whenever the trip is not practical.
Depression care, statewide
Nearby cities we serve for dual diagnosis care
Girls from every city listed below are treated at our Cave Creek residence. We help each family plan the drive, coordinate school re-entry with the home district, and answer the questions parents from that area raise most often.
Related teen treatment programs
Every condition links to its Arizona guide, and the city links next to it explain how care works for families there.
Talk it through with a counselor
Tell an admissions counselor what you are seeing at home, and they will say plainly which program fits.
Girls-only programs
Treated only at the Cave Creek girls residence
Five programs for teen girls, each with an Arizona guide and a page for families from each nearby city.
Co-occurring mental health and substance use
Eating disorders in teen girls
Sexual trauma in teen girls
Severe mood swings in teen girls
Don't see your city? We accept girls from anywhere in Arizona and from out of state. Call (480) 485-3424 and we will talk you through the drive to Cave Creek and what the first week looks like.