Therapeutic Boarding Schools for Troubled Teens

Therapeutic boarding schools are behavioral restoration facilities that accommodate and therapeutically treat troubled teenagers.

Unlike the parents of yesteryear, today's parents of "Troubled teens" have the option of sending their out of control, mentally, behaviorally, or emotionally unstable and self-destructive child to one of the many types of specialized treatment centers that provide therapeutic treatment for their child's underlying mental health-related issues.

Among the most popular options for parents of troubled teens are facilities known as, therapeutic boarding schools.

A therapeutic boarding school is typically chosen by a parent after their child's behaviors and emotions become so out of control and dangerously self-destructive, that traditional intervention, such as one-on-one therapy, has thus far failed to yield any long lasting results of any kind.

In addition to providing essential therapeutic and behavioral restoration, Therapeutic boarding schools also offer one-on-one interventions, counseling, and some form of academic curriculum. Generally speaking, the goal of any therapeutic boarding school is to restore the child to his or her mental, emotional, social and educational potential.

Experts Claim that America's Epidemic of Mental Illness Might be to Blame for Today's Unprecedented rise of "Troubled Teens."

With literally tens of millions of teens living with mental illness, a large portion of whom fails to receive treatment of any kind, the rise in programs like therapeutic boarding schools has become meteoric to meet the needs of millions of troubled teenagers.

To reflect on why programs like therapeutic boarding schools are so essential in today's America, let's take a moment to break down some disturbing facts regarding mentally ill teens in America.

The Unbelievable Prevalence of Troubled Teens Living with Mental Illness

According to the latest reports on the subject, nearly twenty percent of teenage Americas have at least one type of severe mental health disorder.

If that number sounds like a lot, that's because it is. To put that into perspective, that's roughly 8.3 million teenagers affected by a potentially devastating mental health disorder that negatively impacts every aspect of their everyday lives; in many cases an illness that, if left untreated, could easily result in tragic, or even fatal consequences.

As to why more teens are mentally unhealthy than ever before, there are many potential factors to consider, not least of which is the fact that only 4% of our $3.8 trillion annual budget is spent on mental health care. However, the lack of urgency to address our children's mental health disorders cannot be entirely blamed on the government. Stunningly, 75% of parents of a mentally ill child fail to seek treatment for them. Considering suicide is the second leading cause of death among teenage boys, these statistics become all the more disturbing and terrifying.

Failing to Seek Treatment for a Mentally Ill, Troubled Teen can Result in Fatal Consequences

With tens of millions of teens living with a severe, and untreated, mental health-related diagnosis, a significant, albeit, incalculable portion turn to self-destructive means as their way of attempting to deal with something they quite don't understand, yet viscerally feel every day of their lives.

Teens such as these are what behavioral experts refer to as, 'troubled teens.'

While these acts of 'self-destructive/medicating' can manifest in a variety of behaviors, the most common include:

Aggressive and impulsive behavior choices( committing illegalities such as destroying property, abusing substances, and committing acts of harm and mutilation to themselves or others.

Of course, the most well known of self-medicating comes in the form of abusing harmful substances, such as drugs or alcohol. To that end, it is no coincidence that more teens are dying from overdoses like never before - an epidemic of dangerous drug abuse primarily helped by our current opioid crisis that kills over 40,000 people every year.

However, at the end of the day, whether it's turning to harmful substances to numb themselves, violently and impulsively acting on uncontrollable rage, or actively choosing to commit self-harm as a means of distracting their mental anguish by causing physical pain, parents of a behaviorally-ill teenager need to seek immediate treatment for their at-risk, troubled teenage child - failure to do so may result in tragic consequences.

Troubled Teens Almost Always Require Some form of Residential Treatment.

While most troubled teens' behaviors are rooted in underlying mistreated / untreated mental illness, parents of troubled teens should know that due to their age, lack of life experience, and high risk of committing impulsive and dangerous behaviors, traditional out-patient therapies (like one-on-one counseling sessions with a therapist) are not intensive enough to yield true growth and understanding your child requires in order to achieve full therapeutic restoration.

Rather, similarly to how an addict requires residential treatment, so do teens who struggle with their self-destructive and out of control behaviors which may include abusing harmful substances.

Of course, any good parent wants to see their child grow up, become mature, and develop into their full potential academically as well as therapeutically.

And it goes without being said that any pair of good parents want to see their child become happy, grounded, responsible adults having fulfilled said potential.

But what does a good parent do when their child encounters significant problems in the teen years? We are talking about the type of issues that parents can't solve on their own. Sure, parents suffer, lest we forget the person who is genuinely suffering, their child. With that in mind, it is essential for parents to keep this close to heart while they both struggle to find the answers to problems as complex and deep as the child themselves.

If you are a parent of a troubled child, you have come to the right place. We are prepared to see that your child achieves therapeutic, behavioral, and even academic restoration (if need be), please don't hesitate to call our child placement specialists here at WinGate. You can reach us today at, (800) 560-1599.

Your first step is recognizing that the problem your child faces is more significant than what you or a single psychiatric professional can solve. Perhaps you have already concluded that your home environment may not be the best place to solve these complex and deeply troubling issues in the first place. An out-of-home placement, such as a therapeutic boarding school might be the best fit for the entire family.

WinGate a Powerful Alternative - or Supplemental Addition - to a Therapeutic Boarding School for Troubled Teens

WinGate Wilderness Therapy has been serving the lives of troubled teens and their families for over 20 years. Suffice it to say, we "get it."

In other words, we understand how difficult it is to place a loved one in the hands of another caregiver or boarding school, especially when the particular program happens to be hundreds, if not thousands of miles away from their family's home (The overwhelming majority of WinGate's students, both past and present, have come to us from out of state).

However, we've also been around long enough (over three decades) to confidently tell parents that no matter the distance, time spent away from home, or the worrying of whether or not their child will come back restored, we will do everything in our power to honor WinGate's promise that the wait will have been more than worth it.

While we are not a therapeutic boarding school, we are proud to say that we have built a strong reputation by restoring the lives of thousands over the 20 years we've been operating.

Furthermore, if you prefer the services of a therapeutic boarding school, we also work with many of the nation's premier programs for troubled teens.