Eating disorders are serious mental health conditions that affect how a person thinks about food, body image, and self-worth. For teens, these struggles can interfere with physical health, emotional development, and daily life. Whether it’s anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating disorder, early intervention and compassionate, specialized care are essential for lasting recovery.
Beachside Teen Treatment Center
Teen Treatment in California
Teen Behavioral Disorders Treatment in Los Angeles
Behavioral disorders can disrupt how a teen interacts with others and overall copes with daily life. These conditions are marked by persistent patterns of unhealthy behaviors—including impulsivity, aggression, and defiance.
At Beachside Teen, we understand the importance of early intervention and comprehensive treatment for behavioral disorders. We work with parents and caregivers to create an effective plan to help teens struggling with these challenges improve their well-being and ultimately achieve individual growth and academic success.
Learn more about our teen treatment programs in Los Angeles or call us now at 888-254-0916.
How Do I Know I Need Behavioral Health Disorder Treatment for My Teen?
It can be difficult to know when teens need treatment for behavioral health disorders as every situation is different. They may be frequently acting out, having trouble regulating their emotions, or struggling to sustain meaningful relationships. Other indicators that your teen could benefit from proper treatment include unprecedented shifts in mood, withdrawing from social activities and interactions, or showing poor academic progress.
Additionally, parents should keep in mind how these behaviors are affecting their child’s ability to function and their overall quality of life. If these difficulties are ongoing or continue to get worse, it is imperative to seek proper support. Professional intervention can make a substantial difference in your child’s future—allowing them the opportunity to learn effective coping strategies and challenge negative thought patterns and behaviors in a constructive, controlled environment.
Most Common Teen Behavioral Disorders
There are several different behavioral disorders commonly seen in teens. Each of these conditions exhibits distinct difficulties. To properly encourage healthy habits and positive changes in behaviors and thought patterns, it is important to understand the intricacies of each of these disorders.
Oppositional Defiant Disorder
Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) is marked by continuous patterns of rebellious and oppositional behavior. In particular, it is directed at authority figures such as parents or teachers. Those with ODD often ignore instructions, intentionally irritate or upset others, and consistently defy authority. This condition affects around 10% of teens and commonly co-occurs with other mental health disorders.
Impulse Control Disorder
This type of disorder is commonly characterized by a struggle to control impulses or urges—eventually resulting in hurting oneself or another person. Examples of this disorder include intermittent explosive disorder, kleptomania, and pyromania. As a result of these disorders, teens may experience severe distress and an inability to function in daily life. This emphasizes the need for swift intervention and effective treatment.
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Autism spectrum disorder affects how teens engage socially, communicate, and behave in different scenarios. Every individual on the autism spectrum faces one-of-a-kind challenges and displays unique abilities. This highlights the need for an individualized approach to treatment that encourages personal development while enhancing social skills and teaching helpful coping mechanisms.
Conduct Disorder
Conduct disorder is similar to ODD, but is considered more serious. It is defined by continuing to break rules and disregarding the rights of other people. This condition may manifest through destruction of property, dishonesty, and aggressive behaviors. In order to avoid negative and long-lasting repercussions, it is critical to seek proper treatment for teens with conduct disorder.
Learning Disabilities
Teens with learning disabilities might struggle to effectively process information and achieve academic success. This condition may present itself through difficulty with writing, reading, mathematics, or other school subjects. Oftentimes, individuals with learning disabilities display little confidence, feel frustrated, and exhibit disruptive behaviors.
Non-Verbal Learning Disability
Nonverbal learning disorders affect motor skills, social cues, and visual-spatial processing. This can make interacting socially and nonverbal communication difficult. Though teens with this disorder may display strong verbal skills, they may find tasks that necessitate visual skills or motor coordination to be challenging.
Reactive Attachment Disorder
Reactive attachment disorder (RAD) impacts a teen’s ability to establish healthy bonds with caregivers. This is due to prior instances of trauma or neglect. Those with this condition may have trouble trusting others, withdraw socially, and show strong emotional responses. Unfortunately, this can cause them strife in relationships and interfere with their emotional growth—signifying the need for specialized treatment that focuses on encouraging attachment and healthy connections.
Eating Disorders
Video Game Addiction
Teen video game addiction can disrupt sleep, school, and social life, often becoming a way to escape deeper emotional struggles. At Beachside Teen, we help adolescents break unhealthy gaming habits by addressing the root causes and building healthier coping skills through therapy and structured support.
How To Know When Your Teen is Struggling With a Behavioral Disorder?
It is important to be aware of the signs and symptoms associated with behavioral disorders, so that you can recognize them in your teen. If you see continued patterns of disruptive behaviors that are impacting their day-to-day life, it is crucial to seek help. Indicators of a behavioral disorder include:
- Aggressive or disobedient behavior: Defying authority figures on a regular basis or displaying bouts of aggression.
- Continuous mood shifts: Experiencing frequent mood swings that often do not seem proportional to the current situation.
- Acting Impulsively: Participating in harmful behaviors without consideration of risks.
- Reclusive behavior: Withdrawing socially from loved ones, friends, or at school.
- Trouble adhering to rules: Having a hard time following rules at home or at school.
- Shifts in sleeping or eating habits: Noticeable changes in habits without a clear cause.
- Worsening academic progress: Struggling to focus at school or showing a clear decline in performance.
Our Treatment Programs for Behavioral Disorders in California
At Beachside Teen, we offer a full suite of treatment programs designed to assist those with behavioral disorders during every part of their recovery journey. Each level provides personalized care—ensuring that every teen’s unique needs and goals are kept in mind. The intent of this approach is to encourage a smooth progression toward healthier behaviors and improved coping mechanisms. Levels of care offered at Beachside Teen are highlighted below.
Residential Treatment
Commonly referred to as inpatient rehab, residential treatment provides a safe space for individuals to heal and grow away from external stresses or triggers. Teens in our residential program live at our comfortable care facility. There, they are given consistent supervision and unwavering support as they participate in a range of innovative therapeutic interventions.
Partial Hospitalization Program
Our partial hospitalization program (PHP) integrates a high level of care with an appropriate amount of flexibility. Participants still receive an extensive level of structure and support, however, they reside at home versus at our treatment center. Teens in our PHP typically attend treatment sessions five days a week for the majority of the day.
Intensive Outpatient Program
Intensive outpatient programs (IOPs) offer an increased level of freedom when compared to residential treatment or a PHP. However, they provide a more comprehensive level of treatment compared to traditional outpatient programs. Teens typically attend sessions three to five days a week for a few hours at a time. Similar to a PHP, participants live within their home environment while participating in this program.
Therapeutic Education Program
Beachside Teen’s therapeutic education program offers an uplifting and dynamic environment designed to meet the needs of those facing developmental and behavioral difficulties. We understand that these challenges can disrupt academic progress—which can be worrisome for both parents and teenagers. Our therapeutic education program ensures that each teen gets the personalized support they need to achieve ongoing academic success.
Aftercare
We offer aftercare services to guarantee that our clients continue thriving after their treatment program has ended. This may include recommending tools such as outpatient programs, continued therapy or counseling, or a therapeutic boarding school. The goal of aftercare is to assist teens in maintaining positive habits and applying the coping skills they learned in treatment to real world scenarios.
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How Do We Treat Teen Behavioral Disorders?
We treat behavioral disorders through a combination of proven therapies, experiential modalities, and holistic interventions. This collaborative strategy enables clients to flourish emotionally, mentally, and physically, so that they ultimately achieve full-body healing. Services offered at our facility in Malibu to assist those with behavioral disorders include:
- Behavioral Therapy: Therapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) are utilized to improve the thought patterns and behaviors associated with behavioral disorders. Some benefits of these interventions are bettering emotional regulation, strengthening social skills, managing sensory sensitivities, establishing healthier habits, and overall encouraging positive behavioral changes.
- Psychodynamic Therapy: This approach delves into the unresolved conflicts, past encounters, and unconscious thoughts that may be associated with poor emotional regulation and difficulty interacting socially.
- Family Therapy: Including family members in therapy sessions allows them to gain deeper insight into their teen’s behavioral disorder. Furthermore, this unified effort fosters a nurturing environment, in which teens and their loved ones can navigate the challenges associated with their disorder in a healthy, positive way.
- Interpersonal Therapy: This division of therapy focuses on teaching teens with behavioral disorders better ways to properly communicate with others, so that they can build sustainable interpersonal relationships.
- Equine Therapy: While in equine therapy, teens have the unique opportunity to interact with and care for horses. A reliably calm animal, this practice helps foster impulse control, problem-solving skills, confidence, empathy, trust, and emotional awareness.
- Expressive Therapy: Expressive therapy incorporates art, music, and writing into treatment. This is highly beneficial to teens with behavioral disorders as it gives them the opportunity to identify and communicate feelings in a creative way that might seem more instinctive for them.
- Outdoor Therapy: Spending time outdoors assists teens with stress reduction, self-reflection, and connecting with their emotions as nature provides a secure setting for them to better comprehend their behaviors and improve their ways of coping.
Why Choose Beachside Teen?
The most clear cut benefit of choosing Beachside Teen for your loved one is getting them on track for long-term health and success. We do not believe in temporary fixes, only lasting solutions. Specific highlights of trusting our renowned facility for your teen’s care include:
- Nurturing Atmosphere: The environment we provide emphasizes peace, consistency, and safety. We want your teen to feel at home while in our care, which is why we provide comfortable accommodations, expansive outdoor space, and high-end amenities. Tour our facility now.
- Multidisciplinary Team: Our caring staff is highly educated and experienced in treating behavioral disorders. We are committed to improving every facet of our clients’ lives and want nothing more than to help your teen reach their fullest potential.
- Family-Centered Approach: At Beachside Teen, we are dedicated to addressing the needs of the entire family. Our goal is to help parents and their teens communicate with one another in more constructive ways, so they can have an overall healthier relationship.
- Lasting Outcomes: The programs we offer are intended to encourage long-term development. We assist with family reunification and provide ongoing support through aftercare services.
- Individualized Treatment Plans: Our treatment plans are specially crafted to meet the specific needs of each of our clients. Furthermore, we monitor their progress and adjust their treatment plans as necessary, so that they can continue reaching their recovery goals.
Our Philosophy
We understand how important it is to involve the whole family as part of a teen’s recovery journey. At Beachside Teen, our philosophy maintains that because teens are highly affected by their family dynamics, the best way to encourage positive and sustainable change is by emphasizing the role of these essential bonds in treatment. We pride ourselves in offering an approach that encourages personal and academic growth, improves coping skills, enhances emotional regulation, and fosters a happy home environment through family participation.
Family Therapy
Family therapy involves the family and the family dynamic as key factors for the patient’s recovery and sustained wellness. A therapist may combine family therapy with any other therapy if necessary, stressing the role of open and honest communication and compassionate understanding between family members.
Group Therapy
Members meet regularly and are encouraged to discuss issues during interactions with their families and the therapist. Unbiased feedback is offered and confidentiality of all personal information shared is maintained. Group therapy is helpful because it provides a safe space for objective feedback and reflection.
Play Therapy
Play therapy provides an understanding, safe and sympathetic environment for a teenager where he/she is provided with an opportunity to learn to cope up with their disorder and acquire new tools to modify negative behavioral patterns. Play therapy allows for unlimited exploration without any boundaries, encouraging the teen to express him/herself through the use of art, dance, storytelling, drama, role-play, or creative visualization. Through this healthy and unlimited exploration, teens become free to express themselves, become more self-aware and identify appropriate behavioral norms.
Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT)
This therapy focuses on providing effective tools in order to handle all types of emotions, with a specific look at self and past relationships. Patients are encouraged to actively face their emotions, feelings, and fears and actively attempt to resolve uncomfortable issues, rather than avoiding them as may have been the easier route in the past.
Tja-Zsa Hower, LCSW
Primary Therapist
Last Updated on June 18, 2025
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At Beachside, our programming meets the highest standards for quality adolescent healthcare.
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Begin Teen Behavioral Disorder Treatment in Los Angeles
Behavioral disorders can disrupt how a teen interacts with others and overall copes with daily life. These conditions are marked by persistent patterns of unhealthy behaviors—including impulsivity, aggression, and defiance.
At Beachside Teen, we understand the importance of early intervention and comprehensive treatment for behavioral disorders. We work with parents and caregivers to create an effective plan to help teens struggling with these challenges improve their well-being and ultimately achieve individual growth and academic success.
Take the first step today. Contact us to learn more about our program or verify your insurance.
Together, we can help your teen build a brighter future.