How to Treat At Risk Youth Troubled Teens

The teen years can be amazing. We watch our kids grow into capable teens learning and exploring their world daily. The teen years can also be tumultuous for parents and teens both. This is often the case if you have a troubled teen.

You can find yourself trapped between a rock and a hard place. You love your teen unconditionally, but you’re confused and concerned about the habits and behaviors that they’ve introduced into their lives.

Is your teen at risk? How can you help your troubled teen turn his life around? What kind of support is there for your teen and you?

Recognizing that there is an issue

You know your teen better than most. In most cases, you’ll notice when your teen is struggling. His grades may fall, he may skip school, start hanging out with new friends, and act out or speak out rudely to parents and teachers. Your teen may also get angry and emotional and spend more time alone in his bedroom. These are pretty clear signs that your teen is struggling.

Some teens may also become aggressive, stay out past curfew, and even stay out all night or run away for days at a time. You may also see signs that your teen is drinking or using drugs. It could start with cigarettes or vaping and empty bottles of alcohol stashed in his room.

It seems like a simple conversation with your teen could resolve everything. Ask him what he’s struggling with, give him solutions, and it’ll all be resolved. In reality, most teens are liable to clam up and refuse to provide you with straight answers. Your teen may even get aggressive or lash out in a few ways if he feels backed into a corner.

Thankfully, parents can take several other steps to help their teens through this rough patch in their lives.

What’s responsible for behavior changes in teens?

Getting an idea of what is causing your teen’s behavior is an excellent start to helping you get him the right treatment to address his needs. For example, if your teen’s grades have been dropping and he is getting into trouble at school, there may be a few reasons behind this.

Is he being bullied? Is he getting into altercations with his teachers or fellow students? Is he taking drugs or drinking, impacting his ability to focus and function?

Speaking with his teachers, school counselors, and others who spend time with him during the school week, such as coaches, can help you figure out what’s going on. It could be a good idea to take him to the family doctor or pediatrician. Not only to rule out any possible physical concerns, but they may be able to refer you to mental health professionals who have a focus on adolescents.

Getting to the root cause of these behavioral changes may not be as easy as you’d hope, but they can certainly help you with figuring next steps for helping your teen.

Helping your teen

As a parent, you want nothing more than to help your teen find his way back to stability and normalcy. Getting to that point may take a bit of work. Here are a few things you can do to try and help your teen.

• Reassure him that you love him unconditionally
• Let him know that you’ll always be there to listen without judgment
• Evaluate, change, and possibly reinforce some of the household rules
• Get your teen to therapy

There are several outpatient therapy options for at-risk and troubled teens. They can prove beneficial for many teens and families who are struggling.

But sometimes, outpatient therapy options are not the best choice. At this point, it might be time to consider a residential boarding school.

What do you need to know about therapeutic boarding schools?

There are many options when it comes to therapeutic boarding schools. Some may be in your town, some across the state, and others entirely in another state. Here, teens can focus on both their education and their mental wellness.

Many at-risk teens struggle to keep their education on track. At a therapeutic boarding school, they can catch up, keep up, and possibly leap ahead to graduate sooner.

The therapeutic boarding school will also offer mental wellness therapies and solutions. Your teen will get the treatments he needs in an environment that supports him in all the ways he needs to recover and refocus on the positives.

Many therapeutic boarding schools also offer engaging, uplifting activities and serve the purpose of being therapeutic too. This could include hiking, camping, basketball, community service, and other activities that offer opportunities for building on social and leadership skills.

Picking the right therapeutic boarding school for your teen will take some work. Ensure that each school you contact offers the proper licensing and credentials needed to support the needs of teens.

Your teen may thrive in a boot camp-styled environment, or he may be better suited to one that focuses on community or faith. Ask plenty of questions, and be sure that the answers don’t raise any red flags for you.

At Liahona Academy, we pride ourselves on being able to offer at-risk teens and teens who are in crisis the help and treatments that they need. In an environment that is stable, secure, and supportive. If your teen is at-risk or is currently struggling with mental health or another crisis, reach out and find out how we can help.