Residential treatment for female teens with behavioral needs.
Helping female teens make meaningful strides as they work toward whole-person health.
For adolescents facing serious behavioral and mental health challenges, the right care setting can make all the difference. The True North Program at Nexus Neurorecovery Center – San Antonio provides a safe, structured environment where residents can stabilize, process trauma, and build healthy coping skills.
Designed for female teens vulnerable to self-harm, our program combines trauma-informed therapy, behavioral counseling, and TEA-accredited education within a highly structured residential setting. With around-the-clock medical care available and EMDR-trained therapists on staff, we’re equipped to meet each resident where they are — and help them take meaningful steps toward lasting, whole-person health — because we’re compassionately mending minds.
Step-down, inpatient care for female teens in San Antonio.
Nexus Neurorecovery Center
Located in a secure, dedicated campus in downtown San Antonio, the True North Program provides the ideal environment for female adolescents struggling with behavioral challenges. This single-gender setting allows residents to focus on healing emotionally and physically as they work toward behavioral goals. From comfortable gathering areas to spaces for therapeutic and educational work, every element of the facility is designed to support treatment goals.
it’s time to find your true north
Our program coordinators will help you find the right setting based on individual needs.
Supporting psychiatric, behavioral, and medical needs in a medical-model residential treatment center.
The True North Program’s interdisciplinary team develops personalized treatment plans to address psychiatric, behavioral, and medical needs. Nexus’ uniquely integrated approach bridges the mental and physical healthcare divide, improving outcomes for the female teens we serve.
Program features:
- Around-the-clock medical care
- Integrates family medicine, psychiatry, and psychotherapy
- Ongoing medication management
- Structured, safe environment for residents vulnerable to harming self or others
- Trauma-informed therapy and behavioral counseling
- EMDR-trained therapists
- Concurrent, TEA-accredited school enrollment
- Residents enrolled within three days of admission
- Guided, individually paced curriculum
- 1:1 guidance from onsite teachers
- Evaluations for school and community re-entry
Admission criteria:
- Ages 13 up to 18
- Requires intensive out-of-home therapeutic intervention
- Symptoms are interfering with ability to function in significant life domains and/or activities
- Requires 24-hour supervision due to emotional and/or behavioral challenges that have caused safety concerns
- Exhibits significant maladaptive behaviors
- Has been unsuccessful in less restrictive environments
- Responds to clinical services and skill development within a structured setting
- Has the cognitive functioning to benefit from the clinical services
Meet a True North Program champion.
“I have seen Maggie face her fears, try new things, learn effective coping skills, and become a source of encouragement to her peers. She has grown in her ability to advocate for herself and her desire to stay healthy.”
— Nexus social worker
Common psychiatric and medical diagnoses.
The True North Program provides medical-model residential treatment for psychiatric and behavioral challenges, as well as complex medical needs.
- Acute infection
- Anxiety disorders
- Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- Behavior dysregulation
- Bipolar disorder
- Borderline personality disorder
- Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD)
- Major depressive disorder
- Physical deconditioning
- Reactive attachment disorder
- Schizophrenia
- Self-harm
- Somatization disorders
- Substance use disorders
- Trauma and PTSD
- Uncontrolled diabetes
How to choose the right treatment setting for your teen’s psychiatric, behavioral, and medical needs.
Finding the right residential treatment center that can address all of you or your loved one’s needs can feel daunting. The following tips will help you narrow down your options and select the best fit.
- Understand the diagnosis. It’s essential to enter the search for a psychiatry program with a solid understanding of you or your child’s diagnosis, including all co-occurring conditions. Does the individual need primary care in addition to psychiatric or behavioral treatment? With a clear understanding of needs, you’ll be fully equipped to ask the right questions before you commit to a program.
- Ask a lot of questions. As you speak to clinicians and facility representatives, ask as many questions as possible. What types of care are they equipped to offer? What credentials do their clinicians hold? What are the most common diagnoses treated by the facility? In addition to general inquiries about the program, it can be helpful to question individual staff members. What do they love about their work? What inspired them to pursue their profession? The answers to such questions will suggest how invested staff members are in their patients’ wellbeing, and thus the overall effectiveness of the program.
- Check reviews. Even if you feel you’ve found the perfect program after conducting research and meeting with clinicians, it’s always a good idea to check a facility’s online reputation. Are the program’s ratings generally positive? Do current and former patients report feeling supported and safe? Bear in mind that many factors can affect patient satisfaction, but a high percentage of positive reviews is a good sign.
When it’s time to talk to your at-risk youth about residential treatment, remember to choose a calm, unhurried moment, be straightforward and honest about why residential treatment is necessary, and actively listen to their fears and concerns.
True North Residential Treatment services
