Catholic Boarding Schools – Is This the Answer for Your Troubled Teen?

What Catholic Boarding Schools Offer

Christian and Catholic boarding school options offer a structured environment × Environment
n.noun en·vi·ron·ment The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines environment as the surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, or plant lives or operates. A person’s environment, or social surroundings, have an enormous impact on the way that person thinks and operates. If a person is surrounded by negativity, he/she is more likely to replicate that negativity and display negative behaviors in other areas of life. The environment of a troubled teen can often be the root cause or factor in the troubled adolescent’s negative behavior. When an impressionable teenage boy or girl is surrounded by negative peers, it is common for these teens to develop negative behaviors themselves. It is for this reason that parents should be aware of their child’s social surroundings and environmental influences. If a teenage boy or girl is troubled, a total change in their environment may be in order. By replacing a troubled teen’s negative environment with that of a therapeutic, nurturing and rehabilitative environment, troubled adolescents are able to emotional, therapeutic and behavioral restoration.
where teens get religious counseling × Counseling
coun·sel·ing The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines counseling as the provision of assistance and guidance in resolving personal, social, or psychological problems and difficulties, especially by a professional. Counseling can come in many different forms. These forms include, but are not limited to, child development, eating disorder, substance abuse, rehabilitation, mental health and educational counseling. The type of counseling needed for an individual depends on the type of issues or problems he/she happens to be facing. Counseling Troubled Youth Counseling offers hope to all kinds of troubled youth. Teens who struggle with personality disorders, emotional trauma, psychological disorders and/or learning disabilities, are all great candidates for counseling. These types of teens are often times, in desperate need for some type of counseling, and if some form of counseling is not achieved, are at high risk of fateful, dire consequences. These consequences may include drug addiction, imprisonment, or in some cases, even death.
and support × Support
Support / sup·port/ n. Noun Support is defined as the act or instance of supporting; serve as a foundation for something else. Support can be given to many different ways. Through the encouragement to perform and progress and also through being there for someone who needs help. Support is usually shown through family and peers but can come from anywhere from support centers, rehab centers, and treatment centers. Without a support, confidence would be very difficult to find. Support is key to getting through trials and problems. The ability to have someone that is supporting you and encouraging you to move forward and progress is important to growth and change. Especially with youth, that as they are trying to find out who they are that they feel supported in all of their doings. This is important because as support and encouragement is shown the youth feel confident to become the best they can be.
in a residential environment. Many double as high schools, so students are educated in academic subjects while also addressing their problem behaviors. 

Many religious boarding schools focus on spiritual health. They present religious theology and instruction with the hope that the biblical training will change the heart of students. Teenagers are involved in a highly structured program that includes religious instruction and counseling. 

Most religious boarding schools aren’t designed primarily to deal with troubled teens × Troubled Teens
Troubled Teens /trou.bled/ /teens/ n. Noun A troubled teen is defined as a person that is between the age 13-19 that is beset by problems or conflict. Every Teenager faces problems that they must encounter in their life.  Problems arise in every person’s life both big and small yet sometimes we allow even the most insignificant of problems affect our lives.  Sometimes with teenagers they allow trials in their life greatly affect them in negative ways.  Typically when a person (typically teenagers) face problems in their lives, the ability to cope with the problem does not exist.  When teenagers turn to other things to cope with the feelings of the problems that they usually face  things such as drugs and alcohol, pornography, criminal activity, etc. It is important to find help for troubled teens as soon as possible.  There are many different programs that are available to help troubled teens with the problems that they face each with a different approach and nature to the program.
. While they may accept students with behavior problems, their primary focus is on delivering religious instruction. Many have a strong focus on academics × Academics
Academics /ac·a·dem·ics/ n. Noun Academics is related to education. Its definition is anything relating to studies that are liberal or classical rather and also technical or vocational. Today in the world of academia new demands for structure and curriculum are a usual case. The Academic programs today are constantly being improved. However, academics will always relate somehow to the self-improvement of a person’s mind through the use of different types of studying and also through technical and practical work. Academics also relates to the belonging to or the relating to a place of learning more specifically: college, university or academy and also any place of the furthering towards a higher education of any degree.
. 

So what happens when a parent sends their troubled youth to this environment? If religious instruction does not create the desired change, the staff may resort to negative punishments and even conversion strategies to try to change behavior. Conversion strategies, which try to force a child into a particular religious belief, can be particularly damaging for teens that are already struggling with their mental health × Mental health
Mental health is “a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.”1 It is estimated that only about 17% of U.S adults are considered to be in a state of optimal mental health. The mental health in teenage boys and girls is a crucial issue and concern for parents. Teens, for a variety of reasons, tend to struggle with mental health more than adults or children who have not yet reached their teens. This is because of the turbulent time that comes with adolescence and the individual teen’s inability to cope with said turbulence. Parents of troubled teens who struggle with mental health issues, actually have a plethora of treatment options to choose from. The type of treatment option that best fits the individual teen, greatly depends on the individual teens mental health issues.
and lack of good self-esteem. Though they have their place, religious residential programs may not be therapeutic in nature and these schools rarely have trained therapists on staff. 

Catholic boarding school has its place. Religious families can help their children embrace their personal faith in this rich religious environment. Teenagers that are showing some concerning symptoms, but who are not yet completely withdrawn from their families, may get the reset they need by attending a Catholic boarding school or similar Christian residential program. However, this may not be appropriate for troubled youth dealing with psychosis or trauma because of the lack of therapy × Therapy
n.noun ther·a·py Therapy is a treatment intended to relieve or heal a disorder or disease. Therapy generally consists of two kinds: medical and psychotherapy. Medical therapies treat diseases of the human body such as cancer. Psychotherapies treat the mind of therapeutically or emotionally damaged individuals. Different Types of Psychotherapy: – Psychoanalytic Therapy – Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy – Group Therapy – Behavior modification – Biofeedback – Collaborative therapy – Family therapy – Marriage counseling – Music therapy – Parent management training – Relationship counseling – Social Therapy – Systemic therapy – Therapeutic community – Twelve-step programs – Wilderness therapy Therapy for troubled teens has become an increasingly popular opportunity for troubled adolescents today. Therapies are offered at many services for troubled teens such as, wilderness therapy programs, residential treatment programs and boarding schools for troubled youth. The most effective type of therapy greatly depends on the individual teen and what psychological and emotional issues the particular adolescent struggles with.
offered.