Why Do Trouble Teens Need Boarding Schools?

I found the article "For Some Troubled Teens, Boarding School is Just What the Doctor Ordered, The First Step in Determining If a Boarding School is the Right Alternative for Your Son or Daughter is a Thorough Psychological Evaluation Administered by a Professional" troubling since it did not go much beyond what the title and sub heading stated.

Further in the article the author stated "The first step in determining if a boarding school is the right alternative for your son or daughter is a thorough psychological evaluation administered by a professional. Whether you choose to go through a trusted family physician, psychiatrist, or psychologist: the person who administers the evaluation to your child should be a person with whom they are comfortable talking with and trust."

Before getting any type of psychological testing done, a child should be seeing a psychologist on regular basis. If a child is not in regular counseling what is the point in getting the psychological testing, done? It is putting a band-aid on a mortal wound. Three years ago, our granddaughter came to live with us. At that time, she was 13 years old. A month after her arrival, she tried to commit suicide. To say we were bewildered would be an understatement.

We knew she had gone through a very rough period, and she commented often on how much better it was living with us. In our wildest dreams, never did we think she would try to commit suicide, but she tried. Luckily, we had put her in counseling the first week she came to live with us. In the recent past, she had tried to take her own life. After her first appointment with the counselor, she told me she did not like her counselor. I told her she was not required to like her counselor and that she was going to go whether she liked her counselor or not.

Our granddaughter's mother had taken her to counselor and when our granddaughter said she did not like the counselor, her mother never made another appointment. Rarely does someone establish a connection with his or her counselor or psychologist on the first visit, and it is especially true of teenagers. Although a teen may trust the family physician, most family physicians are not trained in psychology enough to make a recommendation regarding treatment.

The article also failed to mention what exactly is a troubled teen? Is it a teen that is sneaking out at night? On the other hand, is the teen in danger of hurting themselves or others? Is it a teen that is doing poorly in school? Or is the teen addicted to drugs and/or alcohol? Or a teen in trouble with law? Many of these problems can be caused by depression. Most teenagers are troubled to one extent or the other. Statistics show that 1 in every 10 teens suffer from serious depression and that most parents are in denial of teenage mental illnesses.

Depression is a legitimate illness. If a child has diabetes, you would not think twice about seeking medical attention. Depression, which if left untreated has serious long-term implications (or even the risk of suicide), deserves the same attention and compassion as any other illness. We need to forget the old time stigma attached to the disease.

It was also confusing, since the type of boarding school was not mentioned. If the article was referring to a therapeutic boarding school, it missed what qualities to look for in such a school. Therapeutic boarding schools vary in types of services they offer. Some are for 1 year, others are for four. In addition, most therapeutic boarding schools require that their own doctors and psychologists perform an assessment. The school needs to know the problems that a child has for safety as well as success.

Besides getting the teen out of the home, what is the boarding school going to accomplish? If there is no therapy for the teen and/or family sending a trouble teen to boarding school may enhance the problem. The teen may feel like they won and are finally free from their parents, or they may feel rejected by the family that is suppose to love them.

Troubled teenagers may be difficult at time, but sending them to boarding school for the sake of getting them out of home will not solve the problem long-term problems. It may give needed relief to the family and perhaps the teen. Some counseling centers do offer respite programs for families living with a depressed teen. This allows a rest for the family and the teen.

If you know a teen that is having trouble at school or home please educate yourself on teenagers and depression. The teenage years are not always the happiest times of their lives, and many teens are crying silently for help. Happily, our granddaughter is doing excellent. She is an honor roll student and president of a local teen club. We attribute her success to counseling, anti-depression medication, and consistency in her environment.