What is a Disciplinary School?

How do you define what a disciplinary school is? While the term may sound somewhat on the stern side, the truth is that a disciplinary school can offer a troubled teen the supportive and helpful environment needed to recover and thrive. The word discipline is quite often connected with visions of physical punishments. Perhaps this was the case several decades ago, but discipline involves more behavioral guidance and mental health care today. A disciplinary school offers an alternative educational choice for a teen who may be otherwise struggling in a traditional school setting. If you’ve arrived at the intersection of wondering if this is the right time to explore alternate education choices for your teen, it could be that the quality of your home life has deteriorated. What your family is struggling with may look quite different from what others are struggling with, but that does not make your struggles any less valid.

Could your teen benefit from a disciplinary school?

There are a few ways to evaluate whether your teen can potentially benefit from attending a disciplinary school.

• Your teen is struggling at school, whether due to authority problems or issues with his workload.
• Your boundaries and household rules are not being respected.
• No matter how firm you are, your teen seems to become more rebellious to the authority you are trying to establish.
• Your teen is angry, acting out, and even facing trouble with law enforcement.
• Drugs and alcohol have become a concern. Even casual use can be troublesome and get your teen into trouble with the law.
• He is spending time with the wrong crowd, particularly those who engage in troublesome behavior.
• Your teen is struggling with his mental health. Whether anxiety or depression or something else, sometimes he won’t see improvements until he’s in a different environment.
• If your teen has been engaging in risky sexual behavior, that can also be a clear sign that he needs a change of environment.

Whether your teen has already faced trouble with the law or is at risk of it, there’s no time like right now to evaluate his best path forward.

What to expect in a disciplinary school

A far cry from schools of the past where your teen would have been in lockdown treated like a prisoner, today’s disciplinary schools will offer a focus on providing your teen with a safe and structured environment. The goal of disciplinary schools is to help your teen heal and recover as he learns how to better cope with the pressures of life outside of the school.

• Your teen will be removed from the outside influences that have led him astray. This will allow him to begin the healing process.
• A therapeutic program that meets his individual needs will be created so that your teen can rest, recover, and focus on goals.
• Part of preparing your teen to return home is to help him better cope with stressors in the home.
• Several counseling options will be provided, including individual, family, and group counseling.
• Group activities with other teens in the program will help your teen learn to form strong relationship bonds with others.

Family therapy and involvement can make a world of difference for a teen at a disciplinary school. It is not just your teen who needs to learn how to adjust when returning home. Every person in the household will benefit from therapy that helps them identify the areas they can work on for themselves. Family therapy can also help families learn how to better communicate with one another and work through the challenges they will face together. At Liahona, we work to create a schedule that will meet your teen’s needs as he begins to work on himself and the growth process. What his schedule looks like may be different from some of his fellow students, as theirs will be tailored to meet their individual needs.