Troubled Teens Resources

Brat camp counselors know this regimen well. So do troubled teen boarding school teachers as do the many teen help professionals that promote and value instilling discipline. And about the most enjoyable way to learn discipline is through sports.

I often recall the stories an athletic coach would tell of the amazing results that he had teaching troubled teens how to harness and enhance their natural power and prowess in a gym,and especially how well martial arts succeeded in teaching that. He was not alone in his enthusiasm.

“The mystique of karate, which filtered into the United States… has a draw that western team sports, such as baseball or basketball, can’t match, said Brad Binder, a neuro-biologist..

“The main reasons go beyond the physical activity,” he said. “But that aspect is speculative. No one really knows yet.”

A sense of accomplishment is valuable for all human beings. For many teens, that experience is hard to come by. They know failure after failure, and thus, view their lives as doomed. And now it appears that mastering martial arts not only can give the troubled teen that pride, but can also give them a tool to manage ADHD.

“Because karate is fast-paced and visual, it can appeal to children with attention disorders who in the classroom might lash out but are model students on the mat, said Joe Palanzo, president of the Worldwide Kenpo Karate Association in Baltimore.

“It gives you a certain satisfaction you don’t get doing anything else,” Palanzo said.

Sometimes this success extends into the classroom, increasing a student’s concentration.

“It taught me how to sit still and avoid the distractions, how to avoid everything around me, how everything around me is blocked out,” said Larry Calcote, 13, who is diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.”

(Source)

Teen help is seriously hampered by Hollywood celebrities making drug addiction appear to be a walk in the park. Britney will make another album, Lindsay Lohan will make another movie , so what is the big deal? Parents of out of control teens may be wondering if it is even worth their time to put their teen into a drug rehab program. If you use Hollywood as a measuring stick, money spent on rehab certainly appears wasted.

Why bother to enroll your teen into a troubled teen boarding school or any other program if Spears and Lohan are an example. No, rehab doesn’t work all the time and the most compelling reason it fails is because the individual addict has not fully committed to the program. Parents of teens at risk who are undergoing the arduous search to place their teen need not despair at the apparent failures such as Britney and Lindsay.

“..experts say that the more permissive attitude of high-end residential programs is primarily a reflection of the demands of a new generation of affluent addicts, more pampered and less inclined to endure the tough-minded approach of the past.”

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For those who have finally put the demon of addiction behind them, the fallacy in pampering the addict is evident. Consequences are a big factor in making an addict realize the seriousness of their actions and choices. Most understand that you can’t have your cake and eat it too.
Addiction is a complex malady and solutions for long term sobriety vary according to the individual and the addiction.

Despite the variables in treating drug addicts, what is universal is that no addict can be helped if they refuse to recognize that they have a problem. If rehab serves to pamper instead of teach the hard lessons of addiction, the likelihood of relapse seems inevitable.

Brat camp, wilderness therapy program, boot camps all strive to “jar” the troubled teen into rethinking their lives, to examining new paradigms. This is achieved by a variety of methods, and yes, there have been those various villains who ran a shoddy show and thus have muddied the waters for those legitimate programs that benefit teens immensely.

In many cases a teens at risk that would have been likely candidates for a troubled teen boarding school can be diverted from a self-destructive path when attending a “condensed” educational and behavioral program lasting several weeks. With summer upon us, it maybe something that you will want to investigate if you have an out-of-control teen.

Having personal experience observing a local program, I can attest to how powerfully it can work in an open and willing teen’s life. Here is an excerpt from their website. The principles enunciated here are universal in their efficacy in empowering a teen towards redirecting their life. Check your community to see if a similar program is available.

“The YES program consists of a six-day residential course and a supportive coach/mentor for each student for duration of the academic school year. The program is produced in three stages: the Development stage, the Intensive Course, and the nine-month long Follow-Through Program.
[..]

The Intensive Course is held over a 6 day period in a rural camp-like setting. Approximately 50 youth participate in group discussion/therapy type sessions and physical challenge activities (including a ropes course experience). Under the guidance of the program leaders, their volunteer coaches (called Committed Partners), YOU staff and volunteers, the youth begin to break through their feelings of fear and resignation. For the first time in their lives, they get in touch with their innermost feelings. They become willing to hear a conversation based on the YOU Four Cornerstones: RESPONSIBILITY, COMMITMENT, CHOICE and POSSIBILITY.”

Youth Opportunities United

Teens at risk can manifest symptoms of behavioral problems in peculiar and very destructive ways. An acquaintance recently enrolled her daughter in a troubled teen boarding school. She had been having problems for almost two years prior to coming to the conclusion that Jenny would not get the support she needed from the public school system. When I asked her what the last straw was she had a one word answer.

“Cutting. I’d read about it and thought it too weird to contemplate- never thought for a second that Jen would do something that harmful, but, well, I walked into her room when she was getting dresses and saw all of these fresh scabs and scars and when I confronted her she broke down into a sobbing mess. That’s when I knew her depression was beyond what I could handle. I needed help.”

Believe or not, such a painful practice can become addictive. Here is how one teen on a bulletin board described it.

“Before you make that first cut remember: You will enjoy this. You will find the blood and pain release addictive. Even though you think you can make a couple tiny cuts that’s aren’t deep and that will heal easily, they will get deeper. They will scar. They will take sometimes months to heal and years for the scars to fade. If you think you can limit the cutting to one part of your body, think again; it will spread when you run out of skin.”

(Source)

To educate yourself about cutting, or self-harm, Psyke.org has information, testimony and a collection of very unpleasant pictures.