Defining Therapeutic Boarding Schools for Troubled Teenage Girls

What is a Therapeutic Boarding School?

Therapeutic boarding schools are alternative schools that - in addition to educating students - specialize in providing psychiatric care for troubled teens. These specialized facilities provide behavioral and emotional treatment to teens that would be impossible for them to receive at a traditional boarding school. Whereas traditional boarding schools offer regular classes, therapeutic boarding schools provide psychological treatment to rehabilitate them from mental, physical, and emotional pain, enabling their out-of-control behaviors. Therapeutic boarding schools are optimal destinations for teenage girls who are in need of establishing themselves mentally, emotionally, and in some cases, even spiritually.

Why Students Attend Therapeutic Schools

The profile of a student who attends therapeutic boarding schools has psychological, behavioral, and emotional issues to overcome. Therapeutic boarding schools cater to those who, due to out-of-control behaviors and underlying psychiatric, require round-the-clock attention and residence. While not always the case, many students of therapeutic boarding schools have a history of drug and alcohol experimentation or abuse.

Note: Parents need to remember that while their situation may seem dire right now, reputable therapeutic boarding schools are exceptional in treating out-of-control behaviors. With proper treatment, a troubled teen is highly likely to attain full rehabilitation at the right facility.

While some students require a drug-free residence due to substance experimentation or addiction, there is a myriad of other types of students that benefit from a therapeutic boarding school environment, including those with issues stemming from:

ADD
ADHD
Aspergers
Behavioral disorders such as Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)
Reactive attachment disorder
Bipolar
Depression
Anxiety
Eating disorders
Academic difficulties or failures

Regardless of their unique personal issues, teens who benefit from therapeutic boarding schools are those who - for a variety of reasons like the ones listed above - need to be removed from their current environment to overcome behavioral, emotional, and psychiatric obstacles.

It's also important for parents to do their due diligence when seeking a therapeutic boarding school's services. While locating the perfect therapeutic boarding school may sound daunting at first, parents will be able to suss out the best-suited programs by simply sleuthing google for any prospective program's track record. What's more, any worthwhile program will be able to provide parents with any and all questions they may have for them.

The Therapeutic Component

The main difference between therapeutic boarding schools and traditional ones is the therapeutic aspect. In addition to regular schooling, teens are provided with psychological counseling and cutting-edge therapeutic methods of treating mental health issues.

In order to do so, therapeutic boarding schools are staffed by psychiatric professionals who specialize in treating troubled teens’ underlying mental health-related issues. Incidentally, many therapeutic boarding schools are founded by psychiatrists or other mental health professionals.

Students of a therapeutic boarding school typically undergo regularly scheduled therapy sessions. While one-on-one therapy is a fundamental aspect, these facilities also rely on group therapy sessions where students can engage other students about their similar issues. This communal therapy aspect is invaluable in helping teens develop close-knit bonds with their fellow classmates, with whom they rehabilitate at a more efficient rate.

The Academic Component

Therapeutic boarding schools, while therapeutically dynamic, are at the end of the day, still schools. Moreover, top-tier therapeutic boarding schools offer dynamic academic services to their students.

Many therapeutic boarding schools are fully accredited schools that utilize computer-based curriculum by licensed teachers.

Programs like Clearview Girls Academy specialize in GPA & credit repair for students who have let their grades slip.

Additional Transitional Services Upon Returning Home

Rehabilitation is only the beginning. Sustaining rehabilitation is equally essential. Incidentally, leading therapeutic boarding schools provide additional services after their students graduate from their program and return home.