- Joint Commission accredited
- Girls-only home
- Ages 12 to 17
- Admissions 24/7
Eating disorder treatment for teen girls near North Phoenix, AZ.
North Phoenix has therapists, dietitians and clinics along nearly every major corridor, and for plenty of girls that is enough. When it stops being enough, Nexus Teen Academy is the next rung up: a licensed residential home just for girls ages 12 to 17, set in Cave Creek, a 20 to 30 minute drive from Deer Valley and Desert Ridge.
- 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
Enter a phone number and a licensed member of our admissions team rings back, often within minutes, to go over what outpatient care has and has not changed for her. No obligation.
- 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
Nexus Teen Academy: eating disorder treatment for North Phoenix families.
Nexus Teen Academy runs an accredited residential program where girls whose illness is ARFID, anorexia, bulimia or binge eating live, eat and heal under one clinical team. The house occupies open desert in Cave Creek, uphill from the North Valley, for ages 12 to 17. Residential care fills the space between a hospital bed and a weekly office visit: she is medically stable, yet the restricting, purging or bingeing keeps winning at home. Here every meal is supported, and the worry underneath gets daily attention.
Put plainly, residential sits one step below a hospital. If her heart rate sinks too low, she faints, electrolytes drift or labs come back abnormal, a hospital steadies her before anything else, and her move to Cave Creek waits for the doctors' sign-off. AZDHS-licensed, Joint Commission accredited, LegitScript certified.
Nexus Teen Academy provides residential treatment for teen eating disorders for families from North Phoenix, 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
Components of eating disorder treatment at Nexus Teen Academy.
Residential means treatment does not pause when a session ends. School, therapy, family work and every meal share a single plan inside a house only for girls, on a steady daily rhythm, and her team measures progress weekly against medical and emotional markers instead of a countdown of days.
Assessment across every record
Her outpatient notes, labs, growth chart, psychiatric history and school reports get read together, so the plan explains why earlier care stalled.
Hospital first when needed
If her heart rhythm, blood pressure or labs say she is unsafe, a hospital handles that first; her move here is scheduled once doctors give the word.
Therapy every weekday
Her own licensed clinician, known by name, meets her each weekday, far more often than a weekly outpatient slot, to untangle fear, food rules and feelings.
Every meal supported
Staff eat every meal and planned snack with her, following a portion plan that expands as her body heals.
Parents trained for home meals
Every week you meet with her therapist as a family, and on Saturdays you train with other parents, so home meals feel manageable by discharge.
On-site psychiatric prescriber
When worry, depression or obsessive-compulsive symptoms call for medication, the prescriber handles it in house, and you sign off on every change.
School that keeps counting
A certified teacher holds credit-bearing lessons every school day, and her North Phoenix school receives the credits she earns.
A mapped step-down
Partial hospital or intensive outpatient if she needs it, an outpatient team near home, and a written list of early warning signs plus meal guidance.
- Matching the level of care to what she needs now
Treated together
Co-occurring conditions in teen eating disorders.
Think of the eating disorder as one piece of a larger picture. NIMH's adolescent survey places lifetime prevalence among girls at 3.8%, and it showed that most adolescents carrying a binge eating or bulimia diagnosis qualified for yet another psychiatric condition, with anxiety or mood problems the usual pairing. Outpatient progress often plateaus right there.
In a typical outpatient setup, a psychiatrist, a dietitian and a therapist may each see her separately and compare notes when schedules allow. At Cave Creek those roles sit on one team that meets about her every week, so anxiety, trauma and food behaviors are handled as one connected problem.
When eating disorders outgrow outpatient care
Primary focus
Anorexia, OSFED, ARFID, bulimia and binge eating (BED) in adolescent girls
Depression
Sadness that deepens as her world narrows.
Anxiety & perfectionism
Perfectionism that rewrites food as a rulebook.
Trauma & PTSD
Restricting or bingeing that numbs old pain.
ADHD
Impulsive eating that can drive a binge loop.
Substance use
Vapes, pills or alcohol leaned on to dull appetite.
Dual diagnosis
A substance problem layered on a mental-health condition.
Self-harm
Screened at intake; may rise as behaviors stop.
Safety firstSuicidal ideation
Evaluated on day one, before any other step.
Safety first- When outpatient care is not holding, residential brings meals, therapy and family work into one plan with one team.
The setting
Our girls-only residential home in Cave Creek.
The residence is a single-family home on open desert in Cave Creek, close enough to North Phoenix that the drive rarely tops half an hour. Each day runs on a fixed timetable anchored by meals and snacks, cooking and eating happen together at one big table, someone on staff is awake all night, and the state licenses the whole operation through AZDHS.
Take a self-guided 3D walkthrough of the home
Life inside
Daily schedule at the Cave Creek residence.
In the first weeks, food is where the illness pushes back hardest, so meals get the most hands-on help. A weekly dietitian visit cannot sit with her through dinner; residential staff can, and they answer every bargain and food rule in the same calm way.
- 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
Therapies used in eating disorder treatment.
The American Psychiatric Association, in its 2023 guideline, says adolescents should receive family treatment aimed squarely at the illness itself, with CBT-E also showing research support among teenagers. Residential care uses those same methods but adds what no outpatient calendar can: a trained adult present at breakfast, lunch, dinner and every snack.
Core therapies
- 1
Family-based treatment
Parents take charge of every meal at first, then hand control back gradually as she recovers. The APA guideline backs this family-centered approach.
- 2
CBT-E
Enhanced CBT that loosens food rules and body checking, and challenges how much shape and weight decide her sense of worth.
- 3
Emotion-regulation and distress-tolerance skills
Daily rehearsal of coping skills, so the pull toward restricting, bingeing or purging has a practiced alternative.
Supporting care, running alongside
Exposure and body-image work
Once medically steady, she works through the foods she fears and the situations she dodges, in planned steps with her therapist.
planned stepsfood challengesFamily therapy and parent group
Family sessions every week, held at the house for most North Phoenix parents or over secure video, plus a parents' group on Saturdays.
in person weeklyparent supportEquine, art and experiential
Friday time with horses, along with art and music, lets her feel strong and calm in her body without measuring it.
Friday horsescreative work
Your teen's clinical team
Meet our licensed clinical team.
Three roles anchor her care: a licensed primary therapist who knows her by name, a psychiatric prescriber working at the house, and residential staff you will meet. Every Arizona license is posted so you can check it yourself.
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
Reviews from parents across Arizona.
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
Admission for North Phoenix families, 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
Your first conversation is with a licensed counselor, who asks what meals look like for her right now, whether the scale has moved, any bingeing or purging, dizzy spells or other medical flags, and what outpatient help has been tried. You then hear an honest read on which level fits: residential, a hospital first, or something lighter.
- What to have ready: nothing. Just call, questions are welcome, and there is no obligation.
2
- Same day
- Free & confidential
Coverage check
Give us the go-ahead and we call your insurer, then report three things: the residential behavioral-health benefit, our network status with your plan, and what your share would realistically be. Behavioral-health rules govern how eating disorder care gets billed, and we show you how your policy applies them.
- 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 studies her eating pattern, weight curve, psychiatric history, earlier outpatient or hospital care and safety before recommending where she belongs on the ladder. Her North Phoenix pediatrician supplies current vitals and bloodwork, and those numbers decide if hospital care has to happen before residential.
- 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 is your point person for medical clearance, transcripts, prescriptions and a vetted packing list, and can map the short drive up, so day one runs smoothly.
- 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
Her therapist introduces the team, lunch or dinner becomes her first supported meal, and before you head back down the hill, the first family session is already booked.
- From here: predictable days, weekly updates, and a team your teen knows by name.
Coverage & cost
Does insurance cover teen eating disorder treatment?
Major private insurers generally place eating disorder residential treatment under behavioral-health coverage, and Nexus Teen Academy takes most large commercial plans. Our staff look up your daughter's actual benefits, in network or not, for free and in confidence, typically within one business day, and then walk you through any cost you would carry in ordinary language before anything is signed.
- 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
See what your policy pays toward a residential stay. The review costs nothing and binds you to nothing.
After discharge
Discharge and aftercare planning near North Phoenix.
Leaving residential is a step down, not a finish line. With you involved, her team arranges PHP or IOP when that suits her, finds a North Phoenix pediatrician, dietitian and therapist to carry on outpatient, writes down the meal routine and the early signs to watch, and times her re-entry with her school, Deer Valley Unified or Paradise Valley Unified.
Answers
Questions North Phoenix parents ask about eating disorder care
What North Phoenix parents ask most when weekly therapy is not holding, from choosing a level of care to school, insurance 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) 485-3424Centers & getting there
Yes. Parents in North Phoenix who search near me for eating disorder help will find the Nexus Teen Academy girls' house in Cave Creek, a 20 to 30 minute drive via Loop 101 and Cave Creek Road, serving girls ages 12 to 17. Call (480) 485-3424 any time.
Most North Phoenix families reach the Cave Creek house in 20 to 30 minutes, taking Loop 101 to Cave Creek Road. That short drive makes in-person family sessions and visits realistic on a weekday.
Recovery conversations cover changing bodies, menstrual cycles, comparison on social media, relationships and sometimes sexual trauma. Living only with other girls ages 12 to 17 makes those topics easier to raise over dinner or in group.
Yes, once she is medically cleared. Admissions coordinates with the hospital team so her transfer to Cave Creek happens the day stabilization is complete, keeping the gap at home as short as possible.
Care & cost
Common signs: weight or vitals keep slipping despite weekly sessions, meals at home end in conflict or get skipped, purging or bingeing is increasing, or anxiety and mood are worsening alongside the eating. Our counselors can talk through what you are seeing and suggest a level.
Residential means she lives at the house with round-the-clock staff and every meal supported. PHP is a full treatment day with nights at home, IOP runs several hours a few days a week, and outpatient is a weekly therapist and dietitian. Many girls move down through these steps after residential.
Probably. The team treats bulimia nervosa, OSFED, ARFID, binge eating disorder, plus anorexia nervosa in typical and atypical presentations. Treatment is shaped by the pattern of behavior and the job it does for her, not the diagnosis name alone.
Usually, if she meets medical necessity. Most major private insurers file eating disorder residential care under mental-health benefits, and our benefits check is free, private and typically finished within a day, with the numbers explained before you choose.
Plans begin near the 30-day mark or longer, then flex with clinical markers like consistent eating and stable vitals. Discharge usually leads to PHP or IOP, followed by a pediatrician, dietitian and therapist close to North Phoenix.
Licensing & privacy
Three independent bodies vouch for the house: Arizona's state health department, which licenses its residential behavioral-health program; The Joint Commission, which accredits it; and LegitScript, which certifies it. You can confirm each on its own website.
HIPAA protects her information. Updates reach only the people you list in writing, for example her doctor, your insurer or a counselor at school, and a first call with admissions is confidential.
With your written consent, yes. Her residential team can share updates with her current North Phoenix therapist or dietitian so the handoff back to outpatient care is smooth.
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
Why early eating disorder treatment matters
In CDC survey results for 2023, well over half of the girls in U.S. high schools reported feeling persistent sadness or hopelessness. Here is where eating disorders fit into that picture, with every figure sourced.
3.8%
Roughly 3.8% of American girls between 13 and 18 have lived with an eating disorder at some stage, against 2.7% for all teens (NIMH, NCS-A).
3.0%
Among 17 to 18 year olds lifetime prevalence hits 3.0%, up from 2.4% in early adolescence (13 to 14), a steady rise across the high school years (NIMH, NCS-A).
49%
After family-based treatment, 49% of anorexia patients in their teens were fully remitted at the one-year mark; individual therapy produced 23% (Lock et al., 2010).
1 in 4
Among young Arizonans needing mental-health care, 1 in 4 rated getting it as either very difficult or outright impossible (AZDHS, 2026).
Because risk keeps building through the teen years, a plateau in outpatient care is a signal to reassess the level of care, not to wait longer.
Even in a metro as large as Phoenix, openings take time to secure; that statewide access gap is why North Phoenix parents often ask about the next level before a waitlist decides for them.
Teen group home care for North Phoenix girls
A family home in feel, with clinical care in every room.
Looking into group homes because your daughter's eating disorder has outgrown outpatient care? The girls-only house we run in Cave Creek, 20 to 30 minutes from North Phoenix, operates under a state behavioral-health residential license, so meals, sessions and schoolwork all happen at one address.
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
Daughters from every city listed here have come through our Cave Creek house for treatment. We can help with directions or flights, and mothers and fathers join family sessions weekly, either at the house or on a video call.
Across Arizona
Eating disorder treatment for girls near North Phoenix.
From Deer Valley or Desert Ridge the trip is generally 20 to 30 minutes, Loop 101 to Cave Creek Road, which makes weekday family sessions easy to keep. Admissions picks up at any hour, weekends included.
20 to 30 minutes from North Phoenix
From Deer Valley, Desert Ridge or the I-17 and SR-51 corridors, plan on 20 to 30 minutes via Loop 101 and Cave Creek Road, near enough for weekday family sessions and regular visits.
Family sessions, your way
Most North Phoenix parents sit in on family therapy each week at the house itself, and when work, siblings or Loop 101 traffic interfere, the session moves to secure video.
Aftercare built around North Phoenix
A partial-hospital or intensive outpatient step if she needs one, a pediatrician, dietitian and therapist close to home, and re-entry paced with her own school, whether that is Deer Valley or Paradise Valley.
Nexus Teen Academy, Cave Creek · girls’ residence
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Cave Creek residence location for North Phoenix families
About 20-30 min to Cave Creek
Saddle Mountain Rd, 85331 · 20 min north
Deer Valley, Desert Ridge, North Valley
Travel, telehealth & aftercare
Every Nexus program, statewide
Explore residential programs by condition.
A single clinical team covers a wide range of conditions for families throughout Arizona. Start from the problem that brought you here, and you will see how care is arranged near where you live.
Nexus Teen Academy provides state-licensed residential care to adolescents ages 12 to 17, treating eating disorders, bipolar disorder, anxiety, ADHD, self-harm, trauma and PTSD, depression, suicidal ideation and substance use. For girls whose main struggle is food and body image, home is the Cave Creek residence for girls; North Phoenix families are a short drive away, and others get travel guidance and can do family therapy on a secure video link.
Depression care, statewide
Eating disorder treatment for girls in nearby cities
Each city below has its own page on how girls from there reach the Cave Creek residence, covering the drive, home meal support, going back to class in that district, and the questions those parents raise.
More conditions treated at Nexus Teen Academy
Each condition links to its statewide guide, while the city pages next to it describe care for local families.
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
City not on the list? Families bring daughters to Cave Creek from all over the state, and a few from farther away. Call (480) 485-3424 and we will explain getting to Cave Creek and how admission unfolds.