Utah Therapeutic Boarding Schools Can Transform Troubled Teens For Good

As the parent of a struggling adolescent, you have heard about boarding schools and have even done some limited research online. While you have read some positive reviews, you still aren’t sure if this would be the best option for your child. One of your main concerns is if a Utah therapeutic boarding school can transform your troubled teen for good. After all, you don’t want to send your son out of state and invest your time, energy and finances for him just to return home with no lasting changes. If you have been wrestling with this decision, read on for hope regarding your child’s future.

The Definition and Goals of a Therapeutic Boarding School

Therapeutic boarding schools go by other names, such as boarding schools for troubled teens or emotional growth boarding school. While they generally focus on academic issues and the related behavioral struggles that teens face, the ultimate goal of nearly all of them is the same: to transform a sullen, angry adolescent into a productive and happy teen who goes on to be an asset to the community. Boarding schools usually accomplish this by using a combination of the following:

• academics
• arts
• music
• sports
• community involvement
• volunteering
• personal and group counseling and
• recreation.

Most schools use research-based standards in order to foster change for the teens who attend. A wilderness adventure or outdoor therapy school differs in that it is not academically based and uses rigorous exercise to foster change for attendees with little therapy. While there might be nothing intrinsically wrong with these programs, they should only be viewed as a short-term option.

How Boarding School Transforms Teens

You are wondering if a Utah therapeutic boarding school can transform your troubled teen for good. Read on for some additional advantages of sending your child to boarding school. 1. A quality education with small class sizes means better interaction with educators for your child. 2. Teachers need to be intentional about working at a boarding school due to the unique demand for round-the-clock involvement with children. Staff often eats and even sleeps with students, so unlike other schools, boarding school educators don’t have the time off that their peers might. 3. Due to the intense concentration on education with learning as a foundational aspect of the entire school, students are focused on academics. At home, school is just one part of a hectic life filled with family activities, sports, recreation and other commitments. While students are busy at boarding school, they share common experiences with others in similar situations and have the support of each other and the adults around them. 4. A therapeutic boarding school helps prepare teens for college and university with some graduates enrolling at the best higher education institutions across the nation. When they attend college, they are ready for the strict demands that it entails. 5. Boarding school gives adolescents a taste of success and helps them get used to enjoying the fruit of their labors. They learn to apply themselves and expect to do well in their lives, which translates well to success in college and even down the road in their chosen profession. 6. Boarding schools foster a sense of accountability and independence. The child learns to care for himself, so he is now ready to transition to life as an adult, including the related responsibilities.