When Home Is Not Enough;  Boarding School Help For Teenage Substance Abusers by Mathew Kyle

Many of us have the idea that all you have to do is just quit drugs and/or alcohol.  Adults find it very difficult.  How much more difficult is it for a teenager?  To coin a phrase from Nike, “just do it,” is much easier said than done. In order for most teens to quit, they need help. Most parents want to do the best thing possible for their children. Some parents believe a teenager can get all the support they need at home to kick those ugly and destructive habits.  These habits sometimes combine both drugs and alcohol.  There are options when home is not enough.  When home is not enough to help your teenager, look into the boarding school choices that will help see your family through this time of crisis.  In addition, crisis is exactly the term needed to describe this downward spiral to self-destruction. Boarding school fills the following needs:

  • 24-hour support needed for accountability
  • Removed access to alcohol and/or drugs
  • Emotional support
  • Therapy, to define the roots of addiction objectively
  • Very structured environment
  • Removal from the triggers to use
  • Education on behavior caused by substance/alcohol abuse

Boarding School Options:  Military boarding school used to be a choice for many parents. However, there are other alternatives. Various types of boarding schools include the following:

  •  Working ranches
  • Therapeutic
  • Christian-based programs
  • All-boys or all-girls schools
  •  Specialty programs like Wilderness
  • Residential treatment schools to continue earning school credit

All of these options require research from the parent to find the best choice for their teenager.  Many of the schools in this category focus on other diagnoses like depression, social exclusion or self-harm. Although not focused on here, these other issues are sometimes the root causes of drug and alcohol abuse.

It is very important for parents to understand that drug and/or alcohol abuse does put their teenager in crisis.  That means hard decisions are necessary to help them.  Working parents often become frustrated when curfews and rules are broken when they are absent. These parents are all too aware of the lack of structure and accountability.  They understand with a little more insight the fact that home is sometimes not enough to get a teenager through this crisis.

Boarding schools provide an option for parents to take a stand for their teenager.  It is probably the first critical step that needs to be taken to get their teen the help they need. Parents take a look at the boarding schools in your area.  Gather the information and move forward to help your teen kick the destructive habits of addiction.