The program is accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) and licensed by the State of Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration (SFAHA) as a specialty hospital.

Each patient is provided bi-weekly individual therapy, alternating with bi-weekly family therapy, facilitated by a master's level therapist or social worker under the supervision of a licensed mental health professional.

Parent and family therapeutic sessions are provided for the residents. It is critical that the patients' family/support system be involved in treatment. Depending on the families' geographic location, frequency of family therapy may vary. Family services will be offered telephonically for all families unable to attend in person. Therapeutic groups provided help the patient by addressing several specific areas. Examples are interpersonal relationships, dysfunctional patterns of behavior, and an awareness of others. Patients also participate in groups on personal hygiene, social skills improvement, and health and medical issues (facilitated by a Registered Nurse). Patients attend groups a minimum of five times each week.

The Seven Challenges is a cognitive-based approach to substance abuse treatment developed by Robert Schwebel, Ph.D. It advocates utilizing a cognitive behavioral approach to develop skills such as assertiveness, problem solving, coping skills, and structured relapse prevention. The Seven Challenges are based on "reduction of harm rather than illness." It also identifies the abuse of substances as a life choice that has meaning to the adolescent. Treatment is geared towards recognizing the meaning of usage and building cognitive and behavioral skills to cope with issues without abusing substances. The process also uses a support group, which focuses on social skills building and education.

Patients who are victims or perpetrators of sexual abuse or other trauma participate in sexual abuse and/or perpetrators groups. The trauma groups provide an opportunity for discussion of feelings and assists in the resolution of relevant issues. The objectives of the groups include improving psychological functioning, expanding beliefs and values, improving social functioning, and relief from the effects of traumatic experiences.

Requires residents to participate in task-oriented groups. Recreation therapy groups and daily enrichment groups focus on interpersonal skills, anger management, leisure skills, cooperative games, exercise, and arts and crafts. Recreational therapy provides a therapeutic recreational program that is adapted to the capabilities and needs of each patient.

The therapeutic milieu and Adolescent Behavioral / Developmental Incentive Program (ABDIP) is the heart of the treatment program. Staff engages in ongoing therapeutically-oriented interactions with patients through every activity, conversation, or confrontation, which occurs in the daily life in the community. This treatment model provides corrective emotional experiences, teaching, and learning opportunities during patients' every waking hour. It is the goal of staff to transform every interaction with patients, either individually or in groups, into learning opportunities. In this way patients' disruptions become opportunities to learn what happens when frustrated demands are made rather than responsible requests, and acts of attempted manipulation become lessons in openness and honesty. The ABDIP provides a coherent and consistent method for achieving successful interaction outcomes. Patients are encouraged to respond to and confront the actions of their peers. The treatment program supports the values of cleanliness, time management, attitude, interactive behavior, respect, communication, social skills and acceptance of responsibility. The treatment team addresses serious specific behavioral problems on an individualized basis with behavioral protocols designed to target these behaviors. These are then reviewed monthly or as needed by the treatment team to determine effectiveness. For lower functioning patients in need of more concrete programming, the treatment team identifies target behaviors that are problematic for each individual patient and addresses them at 30-minute intervals with a token system that readily adapts in the ABDIP level advancement system. These patients are thus provided with very clear behavioral expectations and reinforcement contingencies that are reviewed by the treatment team.