Adolescent mental health treatment can be a lifesaving decision for families. But what happens when your child or teen completes their treatment plan? Is everyone at home prepared to support and maintain the positive habits they learned? Aftercare programming can help support teens and their families transition back to their lives and routines after mental health treatment.
The aftercare program at HillsidesCares, like the rest of our services, puts your family at the center. You and your child will have a better understanding of what the road ahead looks like and how to navigate it with clarity.
What is aftercare in mental health?
Mental health aftercare is structured support someone receives after completing or stepping down from a higher level of care, such as residential care, a partial hospitalization program (PHP), or an intensive outpatient program (IOP). Aftercare can help your teen and family carry treatment goals, coping skills, habits, and clinical support into daily routines.
Discharge planning and aftercare are closely connected, but they are not the same. Discharge planning is the work of building the next-step plan before care ends. Aftercare is what happens when that plan is put into practice at home, at school, and/or in ongoing treatment.
Aftercare doesn’t guarantee that every day will be smooth or that symptoms won’t return. Research does show some promise, though, as one study noted that aftercare was associated with a 32% reduction in readmission.1 Aftercare planning can give your family a clearer structure for responding, staying connected to care, and adjusting support as needs change.
Aftercare & discharge planning: What to expect
For teens leaving residential care or PHP, discharge planning should be part of treatment rather than a last-day task. Discharge planning may begin as early as admission and include follow-up coordination, family involvement, and connections to community services.
Planning for discharge and aftercare for your teen at HillsidesCares will be personalized to their individual and family needs. You can expect the care team to work with you through several practical steps:
- Starting the conversation early: Ask what the team expects the next level of care to be and what must be arranged before the discharge date.
- Reviewing current needs and strengths: The plan should reflect symptoms, progress, safety needs, coping skills, family routines, school demands, and the support already available.
- Choosing the next level of care: Depending on individual needs, the clinical team may recommend PHP, IOP, standard outpatient therapy, family therapy, psychiatry, community support, or a combination of services.
- Coordinating with school: With appropriate consent, families may need to discuss attendance, workload, accommodations, counseling, and a gradual return to routine with the school staff. The HillsidesCares team can help your family have these conversations and request any necessary accommodations.
- Making the home plan concrete: Identify medication responsibilities when applicable, sleep and activity routines, coping strategies, family check-ins, warning signs, and crisis contacts.
- Confirming the handoff: Before discharge, verify provider names, appointment dates, contact details, records transfer, and what to do if the first plan is not available or no longer fits. You and your child may be scheduled for regular appointments back at our Pasadena campus or with other experts in the community.
You won’t have to try to predict the future or every challenge you may encounter. A strong plan gives your family an organized starting point and a way to update support with the treatment team as your child settles back into daily life.
Aftercare program for teens in Pasadena & the greater Los Angeles area
Local care can make the transition easier to manage. HillsidesCares is based in Pasadena and serves families across the greater Los Angeles area. Our deep connection to our community can support practical conversations about travel, school schedules, family participation, follow-up appointments, and the services available nearby.
Many children transition to our outpatient services after completing a higher level of care. For outpatient services, families often travel to our campus from Pasadena, Altadena, South Pasadena, San Marino, Arcadia, Sierra Madre, Glendale, Eagle Rock, Highland Park, and surrounding communities. If our center is not convenient for your family, we can help you coordinate with resources closer to home.
Aftercare program for teens in Pasadena & the greater Los Angeles area
Local care can make the transition easier to manage. HillsidesCares is based in Pasadena and serves families across the greater Los Angeles area. Our deep connection to our community can support practical conversations about travel, school schedules, family participation, follow-up appointments, and the services available nearby.
Many children transition to our outpatient services after completing a higher level of care. For outpatient services, families often travel to our campus from Pasadena, Altadena, South Pasadena, San Marino, Arcadia, Sierra Madre, Glendale, Eagle Rock, Highland Park, and surrounding communities. If our center is not convenient for your family, we can help you coordinate with resources closer to home.
HillsidesCares’s aftercare program
We take a thoughtful, inclusive approach to aftercare. When children, teens, and their families transition out of our more intensive programs, we work closely with them to create personal plans to support their journeys ahead.
Whole-person support
Whole-person support means looking beyond a single diagnosis or appointment. The plan may consider emotional health, relationships, school, routines, coping skills, community connections, and the family’s ability to carry out each recommendation. When a youth may benefit from outpatient care, wellness resources, or support groups, the team can help connect the family with appropriate resources.
Family involvement
Family involvement is especially important during the move home. Parents and caregivers may be helping with schedules, transportation, communication with providers, school planning, and the use of coping skills between appointments. Our family-centered approach gives families a place in the planning process while respecting the young person’s needs and growing independence.
Built on flexibility
Aftercare also needs room to change. If a teen is doing well, the team may consider less intensive support when clinically appropriate. If symptoms, safety concerns, or daily functioning become harder to manage, families will have the resources and understanding they need to contact the relevant provider promptly so the plan can be reassessed. In an immediate crisis, call 911 or 988.
Outpatient & step-down options after residential treatment
Step-down and outpatient programs can provide structured support at a lower intensity than the level of care a teen is leaving. It can serve as a bridge between residential care and weekly or bi-weekly appointments. Your teen’s next step will be a recommendation the HillsidesCares team makes in their aftercare plan.
At HillsidesCares, we proudly provide step-down and supportive services used in conjunction with our adolescent and child aftercare programs. These additional services allow our multidisciplinary team to have a unique approach to mental health treatment for our clients. Other services offered at or referred by HillsidesCares include:
- Partial hospitalization program (PHP): A highly structured daytime program for youth who need substantial clinical support without living on campus.
- Intensive outpatient program (IOP): Three-hour treatment sessions, three days each week, often including individual, group, and family work, while the teen spends more time at home and school.
- Individual therapy: Ongoing therapy can help maintain progress and strengthen skills learned in an intensive program. It can also help your child to grow in the therapeutic process as their needs change through adolescence. We may refer to a therapist specializing in a specific modality (like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)) if your child connected well with it in our care.
- Medication management: If we recommend a medication regimen, we can help with ongoing management or coordinate resources for ongoing management.
Additional services at HillsidesCares
Aftercare often works best when it connects with the other parts of a young person’s life and adolescent mental health treatment. Depending on need and eligibility, related HillsidesCares services may include:
- Education services: Behavioral and mental health support can help youth work toward educational goals while the team considers their current well-being and readiness.
- Residential care: Youth who need round-the-clock structure may receive developmentally appropriate treatment in a residential setting with evidence-based services and multidisciplinary support.
- Family services: Family therapy and programming can help parents, caregivers, and other supports strengthen communication and practice skills that carry into life at home.
Learn more about the residential treatment program and discuss the appropriate level of care with the admissions team.
Frequently asked questions
Aftercare is the ongoing support a young person receives after completing or stepping down from a higher level of mental health treatment. It may include outpatient care, family support, school coordination, skills practice, provider follow-up, and community resources based on your teen’s needs.
For residential care, discharge planning should begin early in treatment rather than waiting until the final day. Starting early gives the youth, family, treatment team, school, and follow-up providers more time to coordinate a practical transition.
Yes. HillsidesCares is based in Pasadena and provides aftercare support for youth and families in the greater Los Angeles area. Call 323.641.4842 to confirm current eligibility, availability, and whether our program may be a good fit for your family.
Aftercare is the broader plan for ongoing support after a higher level of care. A step-down program is one possible part of that plan, offering less intensive structure than residential care while providing more support than standard outpatient visits.
There is no single timeline that fits every teen. The length and intensity of aftercare depend on current symptoms, safety, progress, family and school needs, provider recommendations, and how the young person responds after returning to daily life.
You may be planning several weeks ahead, or your teen may already be home and need more support. Either way, a conversation with a knowledgeable team can help you understand the available options and the information you will need for the next step.
HillsidesCares provides youth-focused mental health services in Pasadena for families across the greater Los Angeles area. To ask about aftercare, eligibility, timing, or the transition from a residential treatment program, call 323.641.4842 or contact HillsidesCares online. Our team can listen to your concerns, explain the admissions process, and help you identify the right next step.