- Joint Commission accredited
- Two AZ centers
- Ages 12 to 17
- Admissions 24/7
Sexual trauma treatment for teen girls near New River, AZ.
Out in New River, tracking down a therapist who knows sexual trauma and teenage girls can take a lot of phone calls and a lot of miles. Nexus Teen Academy puts that kind of specialist care in one place, a Cave Creek house for girls ages 12 to 17 about 40 minutes down the road, with Friday horse sessions, steady routines and trauma-focused therapy.
- 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
Put down your number. Someone licensed on our admissions team rings you back, usually in a few minutes, to talk through what's going on with her, what insurance might pay and where to go from here. 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
Licensed in Arizona. Accredited nationally. Independently verified.
Every credential is independently verifiable. Joint Commission · AZDHS registry · LegitScript.
Joint Commission accreditedAZDHS-licensed · LegitScript certifiedAbout Nexus Teen Academy
Nexus Teen Academy: sexual trauma treatment for New River families.
Nexus Teen Academy is a licensed, Joint Commission-accredited residential home for girls ages 12 to 17 carrying the fallout from sexual harm, whether abuse or an assault. It is a regular house with open desert around it in Cave Creek. Girls tend to show up guarded: jumpy, short on sleep, ashamed, not sure who is safe. So trust gets built first. Work on what happened waits until she has solid footing, and then it goes at her speed.
If she was assaulted lately, the hospital exam, plus any report the law calls for, gets done first, and admissions sets her arrival for after. Our clinicians are bound by law to report abuse and will say so up front. Licensing is through AZDHS, accreditation through The Joint Commission, certification through LegitScript.
Cave Creek
Girls, 12 to 17 · Phoenix metro
Cave Creek
Girls, 12 to 17 · Phoenix metro
2
Accredited Arizona centers
12 to 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
Components of sexual trauma treatment at Nexus Teen Academy.
Therapy, skills work, school, family sessions and time with the horses all run off one plan. Her team checks it against her goals every week and goes at her speed, not by a set timetable.
Assessment without pressure
Her safety, sleep, mood, schoolwork and past are reviewed in one go, at her speed, so she isn't asked to retell things over and over.
Exam and reports done first
If she was assaulted recently, the exam and legally required reporting happen before she comes, and her first day waits so therapy starts on steady footing.
One-on-one therapy each weekday
Five days a week she sits with a named clinician who is licensed; the TF-CBT or EMDR work waits until she can hold steady.
Tools for a hard night
Slow breaths, grounding and emotion-regulation practice every day, so a flashback, day or night, meets tools she already trusts.
Family work and Saturday group
Family therapy once a week, on site or through a secure link, and Saturday's group, where parents work on triggers and trust.
A prescriber on the property
A prescriber on site can treat bad sleep, nightmares and other PTSD symptoms, anxiety or depression, and nothing gets changed unless you agree.
Weekday classes for credit
A certified teacher holds for-credit classes on weekdays, so school doesn't stall while she works on healing.
Help lined up before she leaves
Outpatient trauma care set up within driving distance of home, written coping steps she keeps, and a slow walk back into school.
- Trust rebuilt first, then the harder work
What rides along
Co-occurring conditions after sexual trauma.
Sexual trauma doesn't usually travel alone. By the NIMH adolescent survey's count, PTSD has touched 8.0% of teen girls, ages 13 to 18, and girls who've been abused run a higher risk of depression, anxiety, self-harm, eating trouble and substance use down the road.
The same Cave Creek team takes on the trauma and whatever piled up around it, on one plan. No referrals out. The panic, the numb spells and the cutting mostly let up only after the memory under them gets worked through safely.
Trust and safety after sexual trauma
Primary focus
PTSD and other harm from sexual abuse or assault, in teen girls
Depression
Heavy moods and hiding away after the abuse.
Anxiety & panic
Always on alert, panicky, steering clear of places.
PTSD & trauma
Reliving it, nightmares, or going numb.
Eating disorders
Strict food rules when everything else feels out of hand.
Substance use
Alcohol or pills taken to numb the memories.
Dual diagnosis
Drugs or drinking plus a separate psychiatric diagnosis.
Self-harm
Cutting or other self-injury; each girl is screened at intake.
Safety firstSuicidal ideation
The very first thing we assess.
Safety first- Panic attacks, going numb, hurting herself: all of it stays with one Cave Creek team working from one plan.
The setting
Our girls-only residential home in Cave Creek.
It's a plain family house in Cave Creek with desert on every side, usually under three-quarters of an hour from New River, so the wide-open land will feel familiar. Girls are the only ones living here, bedrooms and bathrooms are theirs alone, the days follow a set routine, staff stay up all night, and AZDHS licenses the place in full.
Take a self-guided 3D walkthrough of the home
Life inside
Daily schedule at the Cave Creek residence.
Nights are usually the roughest part after trauma. That's when there is the most structure and the most help around. Every adult answers her the same calm way, and in time her body learns it can quit bracing.
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 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.
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
Trauma therapies used in sexual trauma treatment.
TF-CBT has more research behind it than anything else used with abused kids and teens, and EMDR carries the World Health Organization's recommendation for PTSD. Living there means help is around at hours a weekly appointment never reaches, like midnight after a bad dream.
Core therapies
1Trauma-focused CBT (TF-CBT)
Coping tools first, then she tells her story little by little, without getting swamped. Made for kids and teens.
2EMDR
Back-and-forth stimulation helps stuck memories lose their grip. It starts only once she is steady.
3Emotion-regulation and distress-tolerance skills
Grounding practiced every day, so when something sets her off she reaches for a plan instead of numbing out or self-harm.
Supporting care, running alongside
Healthy relationships and body safety
Boundaries, consent and body safety worked on in small girls-only groups, where she can speak her mind.
Family therapy and parent group
Weekly family sessions: at the house when you can make the trip, on secure video when you can't, plus Saturday's parent group.
Equine, art and experiential
Friday time around horses, and art and music too, let her rebuild trust in her own body without explaining a thing.
Your teen's clinical team
Meet our licensed clinical team.
She gets her own primary therapist, licensed and trained in trauma, plus someone on site who prescribes psychiatric medication, and a house staff you'll learn by name. Our Arizona licenses below are public record; look them up yourself.
LPC, BC-TMHHannah Carr-Unquera
Executive Director
Leads the clinical program across both homes, licensed in Arizona and board certified in telemental health.
LCSW, DSWDr. Tyler White
Director of Adolescent Clinical Services
Sets the treatment plan each resident’s team works to, and supervises the clinicians who deliver it.
DNP, PMHNP-BCAlexandria Penner
Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner
Runs psychiatric evaluation and medication management on-site, so prescribing stays inside the house.
House teamAshley Daniels
Director of Family Services & Education
Runs family services and education across both homes, after directing theatre and teen programs and building liberal-arts residential summer camps for Mount Holyoke College and Bryn Mawr College.
House teamJennifer Inderberg
Education Supervisor
Twenty-five years in education, supervising the accredited school that runs inside each house and the credit transfers back to your district.
House teamMelissa Stockmar
Director of Food Operations
Leads the kitchen team behind the chef-prepared meals, and runs the cooking group where residents learn to feed themselves.
Arizona-licensed clinical team.Every 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 New River families, step by step.
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
You'll start by talking with a licensed counselor. Expect questions about what you've seen, whether she's safe from harm at the moment, whether the one responsible still has a way to her, and her symptoms, diagnoses and earlier treatment. Then you'll hear plainly whether a residential stay is the right call.
- What to have ready: nothing. Just call, questions are welcome, and there is no obligation.
2
- Same day
- Free & confidential
Coverage check
Say the word and we'll call your insurer and bring back real numbers: what they pay for a residential stay, whether we're in their network, and roughly what comes out of your pocket. Trauma treatment comes out of mental-health benefits, and we'll lay out how your plan handles that.
- 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 covers as much of her past as she's willing to talk about, plus her psychiatric background, prior treatment and safety today, and then tells you the level of care she needs. An open investigation or medical problem gets worked around, never rushed.
- 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 handles the paperwork side: doctor's clearance, getting her here, school files, prescriptions and what she can pack. They also make sure nobody gets her location who shouldn't have it.
- 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
She's introduced to the people looking after her, puts her things away in her room and starts meeting the other girls. By the time you leave, your first update call is on the books.
- From here: predictable days, weekly updates, and a team your teen knows by name.
Coverage & cost
Does insurance cover teen sexual trauma treatment?
Big private insurers usually cover residential trauma treatment under behavioral health; we take the bulk of commercial plans. We look up what your daughter's plan covers and whether we're in its network, at no cost and kept private, generally that same day, then tell you in plain words what, if anything, you'd owe.
- 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
Verify your insurance in 2 minutes
Find out, free and privately, what your plan pays toward residential trauma care. No strings attached.
After discharge
Discharge and aftercare planning near New River.
Weeks out, the team starts planning her discharge with you. On the list: PHP or IOP when that fits her, a therapist and a prescriber trained in trauma, found within driving distance of New River, her coping and safety steps written down, and a slow return to class through Deer Valley Unified.
Answers
Questions New River parents ask about sexual trauma care
Plain answers to what New River families ask about distance, trust, the equine sessions and finding trauma help from out here.
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. For New River parents hunting for girls' trauma treatment near me, our Cave Creek house takes girls ages 12 to 17 and is roughly 40 minutes off, down I-17 and east. Call (480) 485-3424, day or night.
Plan on roughly three-quarters of an hour: down I-17 past Anthem, then east. Most families get to a family session in person every week, and on weeks the trip won't happen, you join by secure video.
Girls who have been abused or assaulted sexually often clam up around others. Here the rooms, bathrooms and groups hold girls and nobody else, so talk about bodies, boundaries and what happened can come when she's ready.
Sometimes. Out in rural areas, a teen trauma specialist can be hard to find or far away. When symptoms are serious, residential care puts TF-CBT, EMDR, a prescriber and daily support in one place, and admissions will tell you honestly if a lower level would do.
Care & cost
Being around horses, plus art and music, helps her body settle and feel safe with no words needed. It backs up TF-CBT and EMDR; it doesn't replace them.
Plenty of girls do, and nobody pushes. The first stretch is about getting steady. She picks when to talk and how much, and trauma therapy waits on her.
Get the exam done first, along with whatever reporting or forensic interview the law calls for; hospitals, advocacy centers and law enforcement handle those, not us. Admissions plans around them, and since the law makes our clinicians report abuse, they'll keep you in the loop.
We work with most big private insurers, and trauma treatment is paid out of mental-health benefits. We check your coverage for free and keep it confidential, usually within the day, and tell you plainly what you'd owe.
Count on 30 days or longer, tuned to how she's doing clinically. Before she's discharged, we arrange step-down care if she needs it, a therapist and prescriber who know trauma close to home, and coping steps she keeps on paper.
Licensing & privacy
Look it up. AZDHS licenses the house, it's accredited through The Joint Commission, and there's a LegitScript certification on file. It's all public record.
Only people you approve. HIPAA covers her records, except for what the law makes us report to keep a kid safe, and calls and visits are limited to your approved list.
Show up. That means family therapy weekly and Saturday's parent group, where you practice how to react when she gets triggered and how to earn back trust. Between sessions, her therapist keeps in touch.
The facts
Why early sexual trauma treatment matters
The CDC says roughly a fourth of U.S. girls are sexually abused as kids, and plenty tell nobody at first. Each figure below has its source right beside it.
18%
of girls in high school nationwide went through sexual violence in the last year, often without anybody knowing (CDC YRBS, 2021).
14%
of girls in U.S. high schools said they had once been forced by physical means to have sex (CDC YRBS, 2021).
8.0%
of girls 13 through 18 in this country have had PTSD at one time or another (NIMH, NCS-A).
1 in 4
Arizona teens who needed help for their mental health couldn't get it, or found it very difficult to get (AZDHS, 2026).
A lot of sexual violence against teen girls stays secret, so jumpiness, bad sleep or pulling away from people is worth asking about, gently.
When a quarter of Arizona teens find care nearly out of reach, a New River family can spend a long time hunting for a trauma-trained therapist; Cave Creek puts that whole team about 40 minutes off.
Teen group home care for New River girls
An ordinary-looking house doing serious treatment work.
Thinking a group home might be right for a daughter hurt by sexual trauma? Girls from New River and all corners of the state live in Cave Creek with us, in a house that takes girls only and holds an Arizona license for behavioral-health residential treatment. Therapy, school and day-to-day 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
Each of these towns has sent girls to us in Cave Creek. Travel gets sorted out together, by car or plane, and parents take a seat in family sessions every week, at the house or over video.
Across Arizona
Sexual trauma treatment for girls near New River.
Drop down I-17 past Anthem, cut east, and you're in Cave Creek in about 40 minutes. Relatives from out of state can fly into Phoenix Sky Harbor. The admissions line is answered at any hour.
About 40 minutes down the road
New River families drop down I-17 and swing east to reach Cave Creek, generally inside 45 minutes. That's short enough to fit family therapy plus a visit into one afternoon and be home for evening chores.
Weekly family therapy, your way
When the monsoon or ranch work makes the trip hard, secure video gets you into that week's family therapy; most weeks, in-person sessions are doable from New River.
Trauma-trained help near home
On her way out: a PHP or IOP program to step down into when it suits, an outpatient therapist who specializes in trauma and isn't a long haul from New River, and a slow school restart with Deer Valley Unified.
Nexus Teen Academy, Cave Creek · girls’ residence
2695 E Saddle Mountain Rd, Cave Creek, AZ 85331
Admissions 24/7
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Cave Creek residence location for New River families
New River, AZ
I-17 south, then east: about 40 min
Cave Creek (girls)
Saddle Mountain Rd, 85331 · 20 min north
North along I-17
Desert Hills, Anthem, Black Canyon City
Yuma & SW Arizona
Travel, telehealth & aftercare
Every Nexus program, statewide
Explore residential programs by condition.
One set of clinicians handles all kinds of problems for Arizona families. Find the one that sounds like your daughter's, then read the page for your own town.
Licensed by Arizona, Nexus Teen Academy offers residential treatment to 12- to 17-year-olds for substance use, eating disorders, ADHD, self-harm, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, trauma and PTSD, suicidal ideation, and sexual trauma. Our sexual trauma residents are all girls, living together in Cave Creek, and New River families, like others statewide, get family sessions over video, plus directions and travel help.
Depression care, statewide
Sexual trauma treatment for girls in nearby cities
The towns below all have girls who've stayed with us. We help with travel, a safety plan for home, the move back into the local school, and the questions families out there usually raise.
More conditions treated at Nexus Teen Academy
Tap any condition to see its statewide page; the towns listed with it explain what families there should know.
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
Three 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
Don't spot your community? Girls are welcome here from any corner of the state and beyond it. Call (480) 485-3424 and we'll go over the trip and what admission takes.