- Joint Commission accredited
- Girls-only home
- Ages 12 to 17
- Admissions 24/7
Sexual trauma treatment for teen girls near Glendale, AZ.
The moment your daughter tells you, the most useful thing you can do is believe her and stay calm. For Glendale parents working out what comes next, Nexus Teen Academy provides live-in sexual trauma treatment to girls ages 12 to 17 at a state-licensed Cave Creek property whose only residents are girls, with a clear path from that first conversation to real help.
- 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
Leave your number here. Someone from our licensed admissions team phones back, often within a few minutes, to hear what she disclosed, look at coverage and map the next few days with you. Nothing is decided on that call unless you want it to be.
- 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
How Nexus Teen Academy supports Glendale families.
Nexus Teen Academy is a live-in treatment program for girls ages 12 to 17 healing from sexual abuse or assault, holding an AZDHS license and Joint Commission accreditation for its Cave Creek house. Many Glendale families call us within days of hearing the truth, unsure whether they are overreacting or not doing enough. We help you sort that out. The work begins with safety and steadiness, and only later, once she is ready, turns toward what happened, always at her pace and never forced.
If the assault happened recently, police, a hospital or a child advocacy center completes the medical exam, any required report and a forensic interview first, and her start date comes after. All of our clinicians are legally mandated reporters. The home is AZDHS-licensed, Joint Commission accredited and LegitScript certified.
Nexus Teen Academy provides residential treatment for teen sexual trauma for families from Glendale, Arizona, for ages 12 to 17. Girls live in a licensed home in Cave Creek with daily trauma-focused 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
What our residential sexual trauma program includes.
Once she arrives, therapy, skill drills, lessons and family meetings all hang off a single written plan. In the early days that plan leans heavily on rest, routine and feeling safe; clinicians revisit it every week and move forward only when she shows she is ready.
Gentle first assessment
We look at sleep, mood, safety, schoolwork and background side by side, and she opens up about the trauma only when, and if, she chooses.
Medical steps come first
Police, a hospital or an advocacy center takes care of any recent exam or report beforehand, and we time her admission to follow those steps.
Therapy every weekday
She meets her own licensed therapist each weekday, building grounding skills before TF-CBT or EMDR begins.
Skills for hard moments
Breathing and grounding get practiced daily, so when a memory surfaces she reaches for a skill instead of freezing in fear.
Support for you, too
A family session lands every week, and Saturdays bring a parent group where you learn to meet triggers calmly and win back her trust.
Psychiatric care on site
An on-site prescriber treats poor sleep, PTSD symptoms, anxiety or a low mood, and every medication change waits for your consent.
School keeps going
Her certified teacher runs credit-bearing lessons each weekday, so her transcript stays on track through treatment.
Heading home with a plan
She goes home carrying a written coping and safety guide, an outpatient team near Glendale that understands trauma, and a stepwise school return.
- Believed, protected, and helped at her own pace
Related care
Mental health effects of sexual trauma in teen girls.
What parents notice after a disclosure is often not the trauma itself but what surrounds it: trouble sleeping, sudden anger, skipped meals, pulling away from friends. In NIMH's national teen survey, 8.0% of girls between 13 and 18 had experienced PTSD, often beside depression or anxiety.
Rather than sending you across the Valley to separate specialists, one clinical team in Cave Creek looks after the trauma and everything tangled up with it. Her therapist, prescriber and teacher compare notes, so the plan changes together whenever her sleep, mood or safety shifts.
When your daughter finally tells you
Primary focus
Sexual abuse, sexual assault and the PTSD that can follow, in teen girls
Depression
Low mood and pulling inward once the secret is out.
Anxiety & panic
Jumpiness, panic and avoiding certain places or people.
PTSD & trauma
Nightmares, flashbacks and going numb.
Eating disorders
Skipped meals or bingeing, used to feel in control.
Substance use
Vaping, alcohol or pills to block out memories.
Dual diagnosis
Substance use knotted together with depression or PTSD.
Self-harm
Hurting herself on purpose; screened at intake.
Safety firstSuicidal ideation
Thoughts of suicide are assessed first, always.
Safety first- Whatever surfaced after she told you, one team treats it together inside one girls-only home.
The setting
The Cave Creek residence for sexual trauma treatment.
Picture a plain, lived-in house on open Sonoran acreage up in Cave Creek, north and east of Glendale. Only girls live there. Bedrooms, bathrooms and groups belong to girls alone, the schedule barely changes between breakfast and lights-off, and the overnight staff stay awake while everyone sleeps.
Take a self-guided 3D walkthrough of the home
Life inside
Structure and routine in residential care.
Nights can bring the hardest memories, so evenings are calm and closely supported. Staff answer a nightmare or a panic spike the same steady way every time, which helps her body learn that the danger is over.
- 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
Evidence-based therapies for teen sexual trauma.
Of all the approaches tested with young people after sexual abuse, trauma-focused CBT carries the most research, and World Health Organization guidance backs it, along with EMDR, for PTSD. Because she sleeps under the same roof as her team, help is there at 2 a.m. too, not only during a scheduled hour.
Core therapies
- 1
Trauma-focused CBT (TF-CBT)
Coping skills come first, then she builds her trauma narrative a piece at a time, with her therapist keeping the pace manageable.
- 2
EMDR
Once she feels steady, EMDR helps painful memories feel less raw, using guided eye movements or gentle taps.
- 3
Emotion-regulation and distress-tolerance skills
Grounding and breathing are rehearsed each day, so a trigger in the first weeks meets a plan instead of panic.
Supporting care, running alongside
Healthy relationships and body safety
Small girls-only groups talk through boundaries, consent and trust in words that feel safe for her to use.
consenttrustFamily therapy and parent group
Glendale parents join weekly sessions at the house or over encrypted video, and Saturdays add a group just for parents.
weekly sessionsSaturday groupEquine, art and experiential
Friday horse sessions, paint and music offer her ways to feel calm in her body long before words come.
horses on Fridaysart and music
Your teen's clinical team
Meet our licensed clinical team.
Names, not job titles: you will meet the licensed therapist who leads her care, the prescriber handling medication, and the house staff she sees daily. Each Arizona credential we list is a matter of public record, so look it up yourself before deciding.
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
Family reviews of 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.
- 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
That opening call is about you, not an interview of your daughter. A licensed counselor asks gently what she said and when, whether she is out of danger tonight, whether the person involved can still reach her, what symptoms you are seeing and what help she has had before, and then tells you clearly whether residential treatment fits.
- What to have ready: nothing. Just call, questions are welcome, and there is no obligation.
2
- Same day
- Free & confidential
Coverage check
Next, with your okay, we phone your insurer to ask how it handles a live-in behavioral-health stay, confirm network status and hand you an honest estimate of what your family would owe. Plans file sexual trauma care among mental-health benefits, and we translate the fine print into plain language.
- 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
Then a licensed clinician reads through her records, psychiatric history, prior therapy and current safety. She is not asked to retell the abuse for this step. The clinician advises which intensity of care suits her, and any exam, report or open case is planned around rather than hurried.
- 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
A single coordinator then takes on medical clearance, prescriptions, transcripts, travel and a safety-screened packing list, and helps keep her new address hidden from any adult you have not cleared.
- 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
Arrival day is gentle: introductions to the people treating her, a look at her bedroom, and time with girls her age. Before you head home down Loop 101, the date for your first progress call with her team is already set.
- From here: predictable days, weekly updates, and a team your teen knows by name.
Coverage & cost
Using insurance for residential sexual trauma treatment
With most large private insurers, a residential stay for sexual trauma is paid through behavioral-health coverage, and Nexus Teen Academy accepts the majority of big commercial carriers. We pull your daughter's real benefits, network or not, free and privately, generally on the day you ask, then go over the likely bill with you before you sign anything.
- 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
Ask for a free, private review of what your policy pays toward her residential trauma care.
After discharge
Aftercare planning for Glendale families.
Discharge planning starts early and includes you. Depending on her progress, that means partial hospitalization or an intensive outpatient program, a west Valley therapist and prescriber experienced with trauma, a written coping and safety plan, and easing back into class through Glendale Union or the Deer Valley district.
Answers
Sexual trauma treatment FAQs for Glendale families
What Glendale parents tend to ask in the first days after a disclosure, from the Loop 101 trip to safety, therapy, cost 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
Closer than you might think. Glendale parents who type near me while looking for help with sexual trauma will reach Nexus Teen Academy, which cares for girls ages 12 to 17 at its state-licensed Cave Creek property, usually a 35 to 45 minute Loop 101 drive. Admissions takes calls at (480) 485-3424 day and night.
Visits are set with her therapist, mostly on weekends. Since most of Glendale sits less than an hour away, many parents attend family sessions face to face and switch to a video session in weeks when shifts or younger siblings make the drive impossible.
Many girls go quiet around others after abuse or assault. At the residence every bedroom, bathroom and group is for girls only, and that tends to make talking about her body, her boundaries and her experience feel less risky.
Very common, and never something we push. The early work is about calm and coping; she chooses whether, when and how much to say. Some girls talk only after weeks of settling in, and therapy follows her timing.
Care & cost
Thank her for telling you, and say that you believe her and it is not her fault. Try not to press for details, ask why she waited, or promise secrecy you cannot keep. Note what she said in her own words, then call us or her pediatrician about next steps.
Her safety and any medical needs come first. Police, a hospital or a child advocacy center handles the exam, the report or any interview, and our admissions team fits her start date around it. Every clinician is a mandated reporter and will walk you through what that means.
Only people you approve may visit or call, awake staff watch over the house through the night, and where she is stays confidential from anyone without a reason to know.
Frequently, when a plan agrees it is medically necessary, because insurers count trauma treatment among mental-health services. Most major private insurers are accepted, and we run a free, confidential check of your benefits, typically within the day.
We plan for roughly 30 days or more, then adjust to her progress: steadier nights, calmer moods, coping skills used unprompted, fewer flashbacks. Ahead of discharge, a step-down option and trauma-trained outpatient clinicians around Glendale are in place.
Licensing & privacy
Yes. Our Cave Creek house is licensed by AZDHS, the state health department, as a behavioral-health residence; The Joint Commission has accredited it, and LegitScript has certified it. Every one of those can be checked independently.
HIPAA protects her records, and only people you name receive them. The single exception is a report the law demands to protect a child, which her clinicians explain openly on day one.
Each week's family therapy plus the Saturday group coach you on calm responses to triggers and rebuilding trust, and her written coping and safety plan comes home with her.
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.
Why it matters
Research on sexual trauma in teen girls
By CDC estimates, sexual abuse touches about a quarter of American girls before adulthood, so a daughter who discloses is far from alone. Sources follow each figure.
18%
In the previous 12 months, 18% of high school girls nationwide experienced sexual violence (CDC YRBS, 2021).
14%
Asked in a national survey, 14% of high school girls reported that someone had at some point physically forced them into sex (CDC YRBS, 2021).
8.0%
Nationally, PTSD has shown up at some point in the lives of 8.0% of girls who are now 13 to 18 (NIMH, NCS-A).
1 in 4
Among Arizona adolescents needing mental-health services, 1 in 4 told state surveyors that getting them was very difficult or impossible (AZDHS, 2026).
Because so many girls stay silent at first, a disclosure is a sign of trust, and how the adults respond in the next few days matters a great deal.
With care this hard to get in Arizona, Glendale families often call early instead of waiting on a long outpatient list.
Group home alternatives for teen girls
It feels like home, and it is licensed treatment.
If you are weighing group homes after your daughter's disclosure, look at the girls' house Nexus operates in Cave Creek. Arizona licenses it for behavioral-health residential treatment, which lets therapy, school and everyday life happen under one roof.
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 Glendale and every city listed below are in treatment with our Cave Creek team. You and our coordinator handle the logistics together, and parents take part in weekly sessions, sitting in or logging on by video.
Across Arizona
Residential sexual trauma care within reach of Glendale.
Whether your street is close to Westgate and the stadium or farther north in Glendale, plan on a 35 to 45 minute run up Loop 101. Saturday visits and sitting in on family sessions stay doable in a normal week. Someone at admissions picks up whatever the hour.
Loop 101 north to Cave Creek
From most Glendale neighborhoods the trip takes 35 to 45 minutes on Loop 101, short enough that a Saturday visit or an in-room family session needs no hotel and no lost weekend.
Family sessions weekly
Every week there is a family session, held at the house or through encrypted video, so a Glendale parent with a long workday or little ones at home never misses one.
Aftercare close to Glendale
Before discharge we arrange partial or intensive outpatient care if that suits her, a west Valley therapist trained in trauma, and a graduated school return through Glendale Union or the Deer Valley district.
Nexus Teen Academy, Cave Creek · girls’ residence
Admissions 24/7
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Distance from Glendale to the Cave Creek residence
About 35-45 min on Loop 101
Saddle Mountain Rd, 85331 · 20 min north
Peoria, Phoenix and Sun City area too
Travel, telehealth & aftercare
Every Nexus program, statewide
Teen treatment programs by condition.
One licensed team treats many different concerns for Arizona families. Start with whatever looks most like your daughter's struggle, then see how that care reaches your part of the state.
Nexus Teen Academy runs licensed residential treatment for teenagers 12 to 17, including depression, sexual trauma, anxiety, ADHD, trauma and PTSD, bipolar disorder, self-harm, eating disorders, substance use and, when present, suicidal ideation. Girls working through sexual trauma live in the girls' house north of Phoenix, and Glendale parents get support planning the drive, travel logistics and secure video meetings for any week they cannot make it.
Depression care, statewide
Sexual trauma care in other Arizona cities
Every city below has daughters currently healing with us north of Phoenix. For each one we plan travel, safety at home afterward, re-enrollment with the district there, and the questions those families raise most often.
Other conditions we treat for teens
Open any condition for the statewide overview, then browse city pages to see how families near Glendale get care.
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
Glendale not the town you need? Girls arrive from all corners of the state, and some cross state lines to reach us. Ring (480) 485-3424 for a plain rundown of the northbound trip and what admission looks like, one piece at a time.