A 17-page field guide written by a clinician who has worked inside residential programs. The questions that surface the difference between a program that will help your kid and one that will not.
If you're looking at residential for your teen, you're probably in the middle of one of the hardest decisions you'll ever make. There is no manual for this. The industry is largely unregulated. Programs charge tens of thousands of dollars and the families who have been through it are usually too exhausted to write down what they learned.
This guide is the twelve questions I would ask if it were my own kid. It comes out of years of working inside residential treatment, sitting on admissions calls from the clinician's side, and watching families pay for programs that were never going to help their child.
Parents who have been told residential is the next step and want to walk into admissions calls prepared. Parents who have toured a program and felt something was off but couldn't name what. Parents who are trying to think clearly inside a crisis where everything feels urgent.
It's not a list of programs to consider. It's not a recommendation for or against any specific program, level of care, or treatment approach. It's a tool to help you ask sharper questions during a season where the questions are what matter most.
This guide is educational. It is not clinical, legal, or financial advice, and it is not a recommendation for or against any program. Every family's situation is different and the right level of care depends on factors specific to your child. The questions here are meant to support and enhance what you already know as you navigate this decision. They are not a substitute for the judgment of the clinicians who know your child.