Certified Educational, Recreational, Therapeutic Schools and Programs (CERTS) are the leading providers in the United States of specialized residential treatment centers for adolescents. A specialized program works specifically with one type of individual, meeting their unique clinical needs while also working with them in ways that they understand. Because CERTS treatment centers have one type of student in mind, each program has the luxury of incorporating only those healing elements which are ideal for that individual. The results are powerful: better long-term outcomes in a comparatively shorter period of time, lowering the overall cost of treatment for families.

To illustrate the need for clinically specific programming, take the example of a family looking for residential treatment for their 16 year old, depressed daughter. Assume they have already decided that they would like her to be in a girls-only setting because of her history of sexually acting out. Because traditional treatment is not clinically specific, their 16 year old could easily end up sharing a room—and virtually all program elements—with a 13 year old struggling with adoption and abandonment issues, a 17 year old hard-core drug addict, and a 15 year old gang member with a history of physical violence. While all of her roommates would still be female teens, obviously the individual needs and treatment modalities best suited for each of these girls could be very different. Historically, this “one size fits all” approach to running programs has often resulted in limited success and unnecessarily long length of stays.

By contrast, a clinically specific program separates by gender, by age, by diagnosis, and even by interests and hobbies. While there will still be a range of issues treated in this and any treatment setting, increasing commonalities amongst the students allows the program to hone in on how best to treat this type of girl. This 16-year old example just happens to be a very common admission into several of the CERTS programs. To get more information about the specific ways each CERTS program would uniquely work with this type of girl, visit our programs page.

CERTS residential treatment center programs share a common belief in the innate greatness of our students. These troubled teenagers ignore their abilities and focus, instead, on their perceived shortcomings as they spiral downward. Based on extensive research, CERTS has designed a unique Personal Greatness Program that helps each child rediscover their inner greatness as they work through their clinical program. The numerous therapeutic activities that our students engage in rebuild brick by brick the wall of their "personal greatness" and help to alter our student's thought patterns about their future lives.

CERTS Programs also believe very strongly that any progress that doesn't involve the family will be short-lived. Therefore, all CERTS facilities have strong parent and family education and involvement to ensure lasting change.

Because of these beliefs and standards, parents with children in a CERTS facility have the peace of mind that comes from knowing that their child is receiving the very best help possible from a caring, expert staff. Take our online assessment and find out if there is a CERTS facility available for your child below.