Parents who have teens that are consistently acting out, won’t follow the rules, are engaging in delinquent behavior, running away from home, and other poor behaviors can feel impossible to raise. Some of these parents start searching for schools for “bad kids” as their children are expelled or in danger of being expelled.
In reality, there are no bad kids, just kids in desperate need of help. And at a boarding school for troubled teens, struggling kids can find the therapeutic help they need to break free of bad habits.
Kids Aren’t Inherently Bad
As the parent trying to raise a teen that is acting out, it can be hard to think of your teenager as something other than a bad kid. But if you think about it, you may find what began to trigger your teen’s descent into bad behavior.
For instance, say your family moved states after your teen’s freshman year of high school. Suddenly, all the people your teen went to school with, spent time with after school and on weekends, were so far away that they might as well not exist anymore. So, your teen tries to make new friends, but they struggle, as many of the other children hammered out friends and social hierarchy years ago.
This structure can leave your teen on the outside, looking among other teens on the fringe for friendship. To reduce their feelings of isolation, loneliness, and embarrassment at having no friends, your teen may do things that you never would have believed they would have.
As you can see, this spiral is just one of the ways your teen could have become caught up in dysfunctional behaviors. Unfortunately, just knowing what went wrong isn’t enough. Your teen will need further help in the form of immersive therapy.
Therapeutic Schools Can Help Break Through Bad Habits
To help end the cycle of dysfunctional behavior, some troubled teens may require time away at a residential treatment center for troubled teens, which is often a more therapeutic and immersive environment than just a boarding school for troubled teens.
At one of these therapeutic boarding schools, teens leave the environment that formed their negative behaviors. That alone can help teens to start making changes, as they won’t have the same pressures from their peers. Instead, teens attending a therapeutic boarding school have more positive peers who are also trying to overcome their own struggles.
Another key feature of therapeutic boarding school is the intensive focus on therapy. Attending teens work with a therapist one-on-one during the week, as well as going to group therapy. In both individual and group therapy, teens can work through the root issues that led to them acting out and behaving poorly. Family therapy is also available, allowing the whole family to come together and work through sensitive subjects.
Along with the therapy and focus on self-improvement, teens at therapeutic boarding schools are given other ways to improve themselves. One of these routes is through education. At Sundance Canyon Academy, we provide a nationally accredited educational program with state-licensed teachers as well as tutors. That way, teens who have had their poor behavior impact their education can recover their academic standing and earn a high school diploma.
Sundance Canyon Academy Helps Bring Out The Good Kid You Remember
While it can be frustrating to try and raise a teen who is continually acting out, it is important to remember that a lot of their troubled behavior is rooted in mental and emotional trauma. To help teens overcome and rise above their struggles, attending a therapeutic boarding school like Sundance Canyon Academy can make all the difference.
If you are interested in sending your troubled teen boy to our school, feel free to contact us to learn more about our program. We would be happy to discuss your concerns about your son with you and see if our school is a good fit for your son’s needs.