Breakaway is an intensive program designed specifically for 14-18-year-olds and is available in Wheaton, IL and Richardson, TX.

Breakaway provides a safe and unique healing environment for those struggling with issues such as depression, fears, anxiety, grief, self-harm, poor self-image, stress, problems at school and home, family divorce, trauma, PTSD and poor relationships. The adolescents receive individual and group therapy, psychoeducational groups, medication assessment, and parents are involved in a weekly educational support group.

“I love it here! It is like my second home. I feel so good when I’m here even just sitting in the lobby.”

How do I know if Breakaway is appropriate for my child?

Breakaway is an intensive outpatient program (IOP) for adolescents 14-18 years old. Many times there are questions about whether Breakaway is appropriate and parents ask for help understanding the differences between outpatient counseling and an intensive outpatient program such as Breakaway.

Both outpatient and intensive outpatient (IOP) treatment can serve teens with almost any emotional, behavioral or mental health problem. There are a wide variety of symptoms that might cause you to notice the need for therapy, such as anger, defiance, sleeping problems, nightmares, worries, panic attacks, mood swings, exploitative or manipulative behavior, school problems, isolation, social problems, impulsivity, perfectionism, trouble concentrating, lying, rule-breaking, low self-esteem, lack of empathy, physical complaints (such as headaches, stomachaches, numbness, tingling, pain, nausea), trouble coping with divorce, abuse, moving, breakup, trauma, death/loss, or another event.

IOP is a great choice to help teens when problems are more severe. IOP is designed to provide more intense help in a shorter amount of time than available through outpatient counseling and to prevent the problem from becoming worse. Breakaway is recommended as the best choice when:

• Behaviors or problems are impacting the whole family.
• Multiple issues need to be addressed.
• Grades or other indicators of functioning at school are dropping.
• Thoughts of or wishes for death.
• Participating in daily activities is difficult.
• Unhealthy weight loss or gain, self-injury, or harm to others.
• Symptoms have been increasing despite outpatient counseling or medication.

There are two types of groups in the Breakaway program: one is Process-oriented where kids share their personal stressors of the day and listen to as well as give feedback to other group members. This is a space where they can talk freely, while at the same time our trained therapists offer feedback, education, and appropriate interventions.

The second type of group is our Creative Discovery group. This group allows adolescents to utilize creative hands-on methods (i.e. drawing, clay work, collages, etc.) to work through deeper psychological processes. They work through topics on family dynamics, self-esteem, barriers to growth, coping skills, assertiveness, managing feelings, mindfulness, boundaries, and self-awareness. In addition to this, adolescents are given tailored assignments to work on with their individual therapist in the program.

The Parent group focuses on providing support to parents while they are in the program. It is a place to ask questions about the program, gain support from other parents, as well as learn vital communication skills that they can use with their adolescent in the program.    

Psychological testing is also available and informs treatment both while in the program and out when returning to outpatient therapy.

While we are a faith-based clinic and all of our therapists are Christian, we do not have an explicit faith component in the Breakaway program. We find that adolescents desire the freedom to talk about faith issues and we provide that space for them. 

Regular outpatient counseling should always continue after Breakaway. If your teen was in therapy with someone who recommended IOP, we recommend your teen return to that therapist to continue outpatient treatment.

But my teenager doesn’t want to go!

In order to be considered appropriate for the program, the student needs to possess some level of motivation to be in the program (even minimal) due to the therapeutic nature of the work. We will accept those that are ambivalent, but not those who are outright opposed. Here are some tips to help prepare your teen for Breakaway.

• Tell your teen ahead of time that you are considering this program for him/her and why you think it could be helpful.
• Calmly express your concerns and observations.
• Listen to reasons why your teen may not want to attend and provide empathy & validation.
• Negotiate solutions.
• Express your own willingness to learn skills through the parent group.
• Build an incentive or reward for your teen to attend the program.

Therapy works best when there is “buy-in” from the teen.

I still have questions…

Please call 1-888-725-4642 to speak with one of our caring staff members. You can also email us.