Teen anxiety
Teen anxiety treatment
Enhance treats teen anxiety, panic and school avoidance with CBT and family sessions. Care is outpatient or virtual, so it can fit around the school day.
(714) 862-19074.9 from 448 Google reviews
Clinically reviewed by Christina Khouie, MA, LMFT, our founder, on September 30, 2026. Enhance is accredited by The Joint Commission and certified by the California Department of Health Care Services.
Check your coverage
Send us three details and we’ll check what your plan covers, then call you back.
Stress or a disorder
What is teen anxiety?
Everyday stress comes before a test or a tryout and eases afterward. An anxiety disorder is fear that stays and starts to control school and friendships. NIMH draws this line for adults, and the same idea applies to teens.
Normal stress
A nervous teen still goes to the test, the game or school, and the worry fits the event. You can usually help them get through one hard day yourself.
Anxiety that needs treatment
Your teen stops going, has panic attacks, or spends the evening worrying about what might go wrong. CBT helps them test those fears and stop avoiding things, and you take part in that work.
If your teen is thinking about suicide or is in danger right now, call 988 or go to the nearest emergency room.
Levels of care
Levels of care for teen anxiety
Enhance offers after-school outpatient care and virtual CBT for teens with anxiety.
Inpatient
- Where you sleep
- On site, with clinical staff
- How much of your week
- All of it
- Who it suits
- Needs more than a day program
- What usually comes next
- PHP
Partial hospitalization (PHP)
- Where you sleep
- At home
- How much of your week
- Most of each day
- Who it suits
- Can sleep at home safely
- What usually comes next
- IOP
Intensive outpatient (IOP)
- Where you sleep
- At home
- How much of your week
- Part of the week
- Who it suits
- Keeping up work or school
- What usually comes next
- Outpatient
Outpatient
- Where you sleep
- At home
- How much of your week
- Regular sessions
- Who it suits
- Doing well with therapy
- What usually comes next
- Ongoing care
If your teen has stopped going to school, tell admissions on the first call so they can talk through more support.
When to call
Signs of anxiety in a teen
Parents often notice these signs of anxiety before their teen can explain the worry behind them.
- They refuse to go to school, or they feel sick on school mornings.
- They have panic attacks, with a racing heart and a strong urge to leave.
- They lie awake at night going over what could go wrong the next day.
- They have quit teams, dropped friends, or avoid busy places like food courts.
- Reassurance from you helps for only a few minutes before the worry returns.
- They ask to stay home more often than they ask to go out.
The school counselor may be enough if
- Your teen is still going to school.
- Visits with a school counselor are helping.
- Home is safe, and the worry is about one thing.
If there is immediate danger, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. For a mental health crisis, call or text 988.
Often with anxiety
Other teen conditions and therapies
Read about CBT and about other teen conditions, such as depression and ADHD, that can look like anxiety.
What happens when you call
See what happens when you call admissions or send us the form.
You call, or send the form
You tell admissions what is happening and whether you think your teen's anxiety might fit.
We check your benefits
With your permission, we contact your insurer and find out what your plan covers.
You hear what it means
Admissions explains your deductible, your copay and which level of care your plan supports, in plain terms.
You decide
If you want to go ahead, admissions walks you through what happens next.
Benefits vary from plan to plan, and checking them does not guarantee coverage.
(714) 862-1907Cost and coverage
What your plan may cover
What you pay depends on your deductible, your copay and the level your insurer approves. Admissions checks your benefits with the insurer and tells you the figures before you decide anything.
We're in network with most insurance plans. If your plan isn't listed, call us and we'll check it for you.
Some plans we accept
- Ambetter
- MHN
- CalPERS
- Covered California
Common questions about teen anxiety
If your question is not answered here, call admissions at (714) 862-1907.
How does CBT help a teen with anxiety?
Your teen learns to name a fear, test whether it comes true, and practice staying in situations they usually leave. You may be asked to stop helping them avoid those situations. Results vary, and no one can guarantee them.
What is my role as a parent?
You take part in the assessment and often in the treatment plan. The most useful help is practical, like a ride, a morning routine, or a limit on how often you reassure them.
What is the 3-3-3 rule?
It is a grounding exercise some people teach children, and it is not part of our program. If your teen needs a way to get through a hard moment, a clinician can teach one that suits them.
What age does anxiety peak?
There is no single age we can point to for every teen. If anxiety is getting in the way of school right now, that is the reason to call, whatever your teen's age.
Talk with admissions about your teen's anxiety
Tell admissions whether your teen is still going to school. That helps them decide which level of care to discuss with you.
Enhance Health Group14742 Newport Ave STE 208, Tustin, CA 92780