Boys Can Connect with Youth in Similar Situations While at a Therapeutic Boarding School

Adolescents want to connect with other teens. According to Dr. Daniel J. Siegel, “In order to get ready to leave the home nest, adolescents seek out membership in groups of other adolescents in order not only to feel good, but to survive. And feeling connected to other doesn’t just seem crucial to contemporary teenagers. In fact, the very engrained genetic programming of our brains gives us a feeling that connection is a matter of life and death.” Teenagers, no matter where they are, feel the need to connect with others. What’s great about a therapeutic boarding school is that they will have the opportunity to connect with youth that understand them on many levels – mentally, emotionally, and situationally. The connections that boys make in a therapeutic boarding school doesn’t only help them while they are enrolled. The conversation skills they build during their stay will stay with them forever. As Barton Goldsmith Ph.D. specializing in emotional fitness says, “There will always be problems in our lives, but sometimes we don’t have the capacity to handle them by ourselves. Getting a 360-degree view is impossible when all you can see is what’s going wrong. And talking with another person can give you perspective.” Teenagers can learn that as they connect with youth at the therapeutic boarding school. With most of them dealing with the same situations and many of them in different stages of recovering from the path they were headed down, everyone can learn and grow. When they leave the school, they will remember how beneficial it was to be part of a group of people who understand, and will likely seek that out again in life when times become challenging.

Better Connections for a Better Life

Juveniles make up 40% of gangs. That’s about 400,000 teenagers. The reasons adolescents join gangs are because they want:

• An established identity
• Protection
• Recognition
• Fellowship
• Brotherhood

While all of these reasons may not seem so bad, it’s the intimidation and criminal activities that come along with being in the gang that’s the problem. However, if teens can get the same (establishing identity, protection, recognition, fellowship, and brotherhood) from youth and adults who are good influences, they will stay out of harm’s way. A therapeutic boarding school can do that for them. Contact Liahona Academy today to learn more about our therapeutic boarding school for boys. We help teen boys come together, so they can connect and start a new path towards a healthy, safe, and successful future.