If you live in Southside or Deerwood, there is a fair chance you have already driven past us without realizing it. HavenRise Academy sits in Deerwood Park, right where Southside, Tinseltown, and Baymeadows meet, minutes from St. Johns Town Center and the I-295 and JTB interchange. For families nearby, that closeness changes the whole equation.
A short drive in the morning, or a quick after-school trip, is something most households can sustain week after week — and consistency is one of the quiet ingredients that actually helps a teen heal.
We are an outpatient mental health program built specifically for adolescents in grades 6 through 12. That focus shapes how we assess, how we treat, and how we run our groups. Because care is outpatient, your son or daughter stays home, stays in school, and stays tied to the friends and routines that already hold them. There are no overnight stays, just specialized, evidence-based care close enough that your teen can be home in time for dinner.
Outpatient care close to home
Families come to us from across Southside, Tinseltown, Baymeadows, and the corporate-housing pockets near the Mayo, Citi, and FIS campuses. For many, we are five to ten minutes away. That kind of proximity makes a real difference, since there is no convincing a teen, or yourself, that the drive is worth it when the drive is barely anything.
We will still help you build a schedule around school and work, but distance will not be the obstacle here.
Our programs for Southside teens
We offer a full continuum of outpatient care, so the level of support can match what your teen actually needs and step down as they make progress.
Our Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) is our most structured option, a full day from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for teens who need consistent daily structure to stabilize and find their footing. Because that is a full day away from the classroom, we provide on-site academic support so your teen does not fall behind while they focus on treatment.
Our Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) meets several mornings a week in a focused block that combines group and individual work. The morning schedule is intentional, giving your teen real treatment while leaving the afternoon and evening open for school, family, and whatever else matters.
Groups move from connection and goal-setting to emotional awareness, then to practical skills like stress management and communication.
Our Outpatient Program (OP) offers weekly therapy and counseling, a fit for teens starting with lighter support or stepping down from PHP or IOP to hold onto what they have built. Many teens move between these levels over time, and we help you choose the right one at each stage.
Our approach to treating teens
There is no single therapy that fits every teen, so we do not pretend otherwise. We start by understanding your child, then draw on several evidence-based approaches, often together, to meet them where they are.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy
DBT is the backbone of our clinical work, with decades of research showing it makes a real difference for teens who feel emotions intensely. In practice, DBT teaches four sets of skills your teen can put to use the same day they learn them — getting through hard moments without making them worse, easing the intensity when emotions surge, dealing better with the people around them, and pulling themselves back to the present when their mind starts to race.
For a teenager whose feelings have been calling the shots, those skills give them something concrete to hold onto, and parents often see the change before the teen does.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
A great deal of what hurts a teen sits inside their own thinking, in convictions like “I am behind everyone,” “I cannot do this,” or “this is just who I am now.” CBT helps them notice those thoughts as thoughts, hold them up against reality, and trade them in for something fairer and steadier. Together with DBT, it gives a teen both a way to understand the weight they are carrying and the tools to start putting some of it down.
Trauma-informed care
If trauma is part of what your teen is working through, we let them set the pace, because pushing for the story before they are ready can make things worse rather than better. Our team — every member of it — operates inside a trauma-informed framework grounded in safety, trust, and giving your teen the lead.
For teens who are ready, we use Trauma-Focused CBT, the evidence-based protocol most consistently shown to help adolescent trauma, paired with somatic work that helps a teen come back into their own body and release what they have been holding.
Therapy alongside peers, not in isolation
Southside is a mixed place — longtime Jacksonville families alongside many households who landed here recently for jobs at Mayo, Citi, Deutsche Bank, or FIS. For teens still finding their footing socially, especially those newer to it, the sense of being alone in what they are going through can be sharp. One of the most powerful moments in treatment is when a teen realizes they are not the only one.
Our groups are age-specific (grades 6 through 12) and adult-free, so teens can drop the act, practice new skills in real time, and hear their own experiences reflected back by peers who understand. Many families find that this is the part of the program their teen ends up valuing most.
Family healing alongside your teen
A teen does not get sick alone, and they will not get well alone, which is why we bring parents in from day one. The work is not about pointing fingers. It is about taking the tension down at home and rebuilding the connection between you and your child.
A lot of what looks like willful defiance is really a skill your son or daughter is still learning, and once your whole household speaks the same language, the steadier version of your teen has somewhere to land at the end of the day.
What treatment looks like day to day
Most families want a clear picture of what they are walking into, and since we are right here in your neighborhood, it is often easiest to come and see. Care begins with a conversation and an assessment so we can understand your teen and recommend the right level of care.
A program day combines group work, individual therapy, and skills practice, with PHP filling the school day and IOP held in the mornings. You stay in the loop the whole way, meeting with the care team to review progress and plan the step down to lighter care as your teen finds their footing. Our typical day page lays out the rhythm in more detail.
What we help Southside teens work through
Families reach out when a teen is carrying more than they can manage on their own. We support teens through anxiety, depression, self harm, trauma and PTSD, emotional and behavioral dysregulation, and school refusal. Whether your daughter has gone quiet on you or your son has gotten harder to reach, there is a way forward, and we will help you find it.
Signs it may be time to reach out
It can be hard to know whether a rough patch is just a rough patch or something more, especially when life around you keeps moving — work, school, the rhythm of Tinseltown’s after-school crowd. It may be time for more structured support when the changes stop feeling temporary, including grades sliding, a pulling away from friends and once loved activities, escalating anger or shutdowns at home, missed school or refusal to go, or anything pointing to self-harm.
It is also worth a call if weekly therapy is no longer keeping up. Our is my teen a good fit guide can help you sort it out, and so can a quick conversation with our team.
Why Southside families choose HavenRise
Southside parents who walk through our doors talk about a few things again and again. The first is proximity, because genuinely close care keeps treatment sustainable in a way that matters. The second is our singular focus on adolescents, because nothing about treating teens is the same as treating adults.
The third is the space itself, a calm, intentional environment in Deerwood Park that feels nothing like a hospital. Families also value discretion and the ability to walk through the door before deciding, so they know exactly what they are choosing.
Working with Southside schools
Stepping back from a regular school day raises real questions, particularly for families connected to Atlantic Coast High School, Twin Lakes Academy Middle, or the schools many Southside families opt into, like Mandarin High, Bishop Kenny, or University Christian.
Our team coordinates excused absences and works with school counselors to keep your teen’s education on track, with academic and school support built into our PHP day, so the return to a full class schedule is as smooth as possible. The goal is always for your teen to come back steadier, not behind.
Insurance and getting started
We work with families to make care accessible and will walk you through coverage and options up front, so cost is one less unknown during an already stressful time. The details are on our insurance and financing page. When you are ready, reaching out is simple, and there is no pressure, just a conversation about your teen and what they need. And because you are nearby, you are welcome to come see the space too.
Questions Southside parents ask
Exactly how close is HavenRise from Southside neighborhoods?
Most Southside addresses are five to ten minutes from our Deerwood Park location, depending on whether you are coming from the Tinseltown side, the Baymeadows side, or one of the corporate-housing complexes off Gate Parkway. For many families, we are easily the closest specialized adolescent program available.
Can we come see the space before deciding?
Yes, and we encourage it. You are welcome to stop in or set up a brief tour before making a decision, so you can see the space, meet members of our team, and ask any questions about how care works. There is no obligation.
What is parking and check-in like?
We have on-site parking and a private reception area. No public waiting room paperwork, and no walking through a hospital lobby. Once you check in, you are met by someone from our team.
Is the area safe when my teen arrives for an after-school appointment?
Deerwood Park is a well-trafficked office park with on-site parking close to our entrance, so drop-offs are straightforward and visible. Many families have their teen carpool or drive themselves once they have come a few times.
We just moved here for work. Where do we start?
Welcome. Many Southside families came to Jacksonville for a job at Mayo, Citi, Deutsche Bank, or FIS, and they often do not yet have a provider lined up for their teen. The first step is just a phone call, and we will walk you through how care works and help you figure out the right level of support, with no pressure.
What is the difference between PHP, IOP, and OP?
PHP is the most structured option, a full day from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for teens needing the most support. IOP holds to a few mornings each week, leaving the afternoon for school and home. OP is weekly therapy and counseling. Teens often move down through these levels as they make progress.
Do you only use DBT?
No. DBT is central, but we draw on CBT, trauma-focused care, family therapy, and peer groups too, choosing the mix that fits your teen’s needs.
Are the groups only for teens?
Yes. Groups are kept strictly for adolescents, grades 6 through 12 with no adults present, so teens can open up and practice skills with peers who actually understand.
Will my teen fall behind in school?
Academic support runs alongside the PHP day, and we coordinate excused absences with the school, so your teen stays current on coursework while they focus on getting well.
Do you take our insurance?
We work with many plans and will check your coverage and walk you through your options up front, with no commitment expected. Start on our insurance and financing page or just give us a call.
How soon can we get started?
Often soon. The first step is a conversation, and we set the pace to your family.
Take the first step for your teen
If your son or daughter is struggling, you do not have to figure this out alone, and we are quite literally just down the street. Call us at 904-659-7473 or reach out through our contact page, and we will help you understand the right level of care and the next step. Better yet, come see us in person.
