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For parents of a teenVirtual intensive outpatient for adolescents, built around school and family.
If you are trying to get your teenager real help without pulling them out of their life for a month, this page is for you. Shift is a California DHCS-certified outpatient program, and our scope covers adolescents as well as adults. Care is delivered by secure video, so your teen can stay in school and at home while they get treatment.
An honest starting point for parents.
Deciding your child needs treatment is hard, and the options can feel like all or nothing: a residential program far from home, or nothing at all. Virtual intensive outpatient sits in between. It is real, structured clinical care, several sessions a week, while your teen keeps sleeping in their own bed and going to their own school. We will tell you honestly whether it is the right level of care for your child, and if a higher level is needed, we help you find it.
Treatment that does not cost your teen the school year.
One of the biggest reasons families put off treatment is the fear of a month-long gap in school. Virtual intensive outpatient is designed to avoid that.
Scheduled around class
Sessions are grouped so most of the program lands after the school day or in blocks that a school counselor can help accommodate. Your teen stays enrolled and keeps up with coursework.
No travel, no facility
Everything happens by secure video from home. There is no residential stay, no long drive to a clinic, and no visible absence to explain to everyone in their life.
Coordination when you want it
With your consent as the parent, we can coordinate with a school counselor or outside therapist so everyone supporting your teen is working from the same plan.
A steady weekly rhythm
Individual therapy, group, and skills work each week give your teen structure and support without uprooting the routines that keep them grounded.
You are not handing your child off. You are in the room.
Adolescent treatment works better when parents are involved, so family work is built in rather than bolted on.
Family sessions
Regular family sessions bring parents into the work: what is actually going on, what helps, what quietly makes things worse, and how to respond when things get hard at home.
Guidance for parents
You get practical coaching on setting boundaries, handling conflict, and supporting recovery without either policing or ignoring it. This is some of the most useful work families do.
What is private, and what you as a parent will know.
Substance use treatment records carry an extra layer of federal protection called 42 CFR Part 2, on top of general medical privacy. For a minor, here is what that means in practice.
Part 2, briefly
Part 2 is a federal rule that keeps substance use treatment records from being shared without specific, written permission, more tightly than ordinary medical records. It exists so that seeking help does not follow a person around later.
Parents and minors
For a minor, how consent and disclosure work depends on California law and your teen’s situation. Some information is shared with you as the parent, and some is held in confidence with your teen to keep them engaged in care. We walk you through exactly how this applies to your family before treatment starts, so there are no surprises.
Licensed in California, delivered where your teen is.
Shift is certified by the California Department of Health Care Services and serves California residents. Because care is virtual, your teen attends from home anywhere in the state, from a private room, on a laptop or tablet. If you are outside California, call us and we will help you find an appropriate program where you are.
The honest answers.
Will my teen fall behind in school?
The program is built to avoid that. Sessions are scheduled around the school day where possible, and with your consent we can coordinate with a school counselor so your teen stays enrolled and supported. There is no residential stay.
How involved will I be as a parent?
Closely. Family sessions and parent guidance are a core part of adolescent treatment here, not an afterthought. You will have a clear picture of the plan and a real role in it.
Will I be told what my teen says in therapy?
Some things are shared with you and some are held in confidence with your teen, within what California law and the clinical plan allow. We explain precisely how this works for your family before treatment begins, so expectations are set on day one.
Is virtual really enough for a teenager?
For many adolescents at the intensive outpatient level, yes. For some, a higher level of care is the right call. Our clinicians assess your teen honestly and tell you what fits. If we are not the right level of care, we help you find who is.
What does it cost?
We do not know until we check your specific plan. We are out of network with commercial carriers, with in-network credentialing in progress. On a call we verify your out-of-network benefits and give you the real out-of-pocket number before you commit.
How do we start?
Schedule a call. We answer your questions, and if it looks like a fit, a licensed clinician does an assessment and recommends the right level of care for your teen. Nothing is committed until you decide.
Talk to us about your teen.
A short, no-pressure call to answer your questions and figure out the right next step. Same-day callback during business hours.
If your child or someone you’re with is in immediate danger, call or text 988 (the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or call 911. Shift Support Network is an outpatient program and is not an emergency service.