You have been looking at options for your troubled teen and have tried many of them. The therapy didn’t work. The group sessions led to nothing. Even juvenile detention (or the risk of it) seems to have had no impact whatsoever. Your teen is struggling as much as they have from the beginning and seem to be getting worse.
In the meantime, their grades have slipped so badly that their future is uncertain. You don’t know what else to do anymore but to contact a therapeutic boarding school and enroll your child. Hopefully, with such focused help on both their academic performance and their therapeutic needs, they will come out the other side able to overcome their obstacles.
But sending them away is difficult and they have never been gone for long periods of time from your home. How long will they have to be away and what can you do to help them to adjust to their new situation?
The Average Length of a Stay In a School For Troubled Teens
Unlike an average school year, there is no single stretch of time that all students attend. Part of the appeal of a therapeutic boarding school is that it has been tailored to the unique needs of your teen. Each plan is individualized and changes based on their progress while in the program.
It is rare that a teen attending one of these schools will be there less than six months. While shorter term programs do exist, they don’t often provide the amount of time and attention your teen needs in order to improve their situation. Six months is a minimum amount of time for seeing lasting changes.
Most teenagers who attend therapeutic boarding schools will be there between twelve and eighteen months. Half of this program will be spend assisting them with their academic needs and getting them caught up (or even ahead) of their peers. The rest of the time will be spent focusing on their mental and emotional health.
Students who have longer stays have been found to benefit more and have lasting effects on their behavior. That is likely thanks to the stability these programs offer, the security of the facility and the attention given by trained professionals who specialize in handling teens with multiple disruptive disorders and behaviors. They will get the direct help they can’t in school settings where there are more students dividing the time of teachers and administrators.
Find out more at Sundance Canyon Academy.