When Therapy Is Not Enough: Saving Your Teen’s Life

For anyone who hasn’t temporarily lost a troubled child to drugs, criminal activity, or other dangerous behaviors, it’s truly difficult to know what to say to a parent going through this challenge. However, as someone who has seen the change that can occur when your kid gets help from the right treatment 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.
, the value is incomparable.

Seeing my children’s lives turn away from a lifestyle that would almost surely result in their premature death was nothing short of a miracle. My advice is always “Get them help now!” But what about when therapy is not enough?

Help for Parents With At-risk Teens

Therapy can and usually does help most people, but only if they are mentally prepared and wanting to change. When a patient is in a treatment program unwillingly, the difficulty factor rises considerably. Fortunately, many of the programs for at-risk youth understand this and use the group/family setting to apply positive peer pressure, as well as one-on-one 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.
to get to core issues that have arrested the child’s development. However, it is never a simple or quick fix.

Modifying behavior must start at the heart and soul of the person, something many young people have a difficult time comprehending.

So what’s a parent to do when therapies fail for their child? Since we can’t give up on them, we keep trying. Keep searching, talk to other parents, join 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.
groups, try different tactics at home. Ultimately the responsibility lies with the child, and through their teenage years, it is a parent’s role to protect and provide as best they can.

Even though it’s scary to try, sometimes we just have to let our kids fail. Hitting rock bottom might be the only thing that will give them the inner desire to change and begin healing.