Columbus Girls Academy is a therapeutic boarding school located near Columbus, Georgia, providing a safe haven for teen girls in Albertville, Alabama and around the country; girls who have sought to fill a void in their lives through negative peer influences, self-destructive habits, or risky activities.

After exhausting every option in their search to help their daughter, families in Albertville, Alabama are happy to find the Teen Challenge Girls Academy near Columbus, Georgia. They have usually tried counseling, medication, relocation, mental health approaches, and social service interventions, and getting nowhere. Some have been told by psychologists that it would be best for their girl to get away from home for awhile and from negative influences and peers. That is when they seek the help of a Christian boarding school for troubled teens, like the Teen Challenge Columbus Girls Academy.

The usual prospective resident from Albertville, Alabama was once moving toward a bright future; however, because of poor choices or an uncaring attitude, her future has been compromised. Where there was once excelling grades, there are failing grades. Where there were once athletic, artistic or musical abilities, there is a loss of interest. The young woman who once looked to her parents for direction, love, approval and acceptance, now looks to her peers to fulfill those needs; she is willing to follow them down a dark path in life.

While shifts usually happen in the moods of young women going through early adolescence, some precipitating factors can leave a void in a girl’s life and lead to extremely self-destructive and angry behaviors. These factors include:

• Loss of a parent or loved one
• Childhood abuse (known or hidden)
• Divorce of parents
• An absent or abusive parent
• Bullying from others/Loss of friends
• Change in economic status or a move to a new home or school
• Chronic illness of a loved one
• Physical invasion or mental intimidation
• Gang participation
• Excessive interest in pornography
• Negative peer group

As a result of such factors, young women from Albertville, Alabama who enroll in our the Teen Challenge program typically exhibit attitudes and actions such as:

• Loss of a positive self-image
• Rebellion/Anger/Defiance
• Self Injurious Behaviors or Thoughts
• Deceitfulness/Cheating/Theft
• Manipulation of family and parents
• Promiscuity
• Self-Hatred

Often, prior to choosing CGA, families in Albertville, Alabama have sought help from psychiatry and the use of medication. While such medications can help reduce the symptoms of problems, we have found great success in helping girls get off of them once and for all. All but the most severe mental issues are generally triggered by underlying emotional issues, which must be addressed and solved with a clear mind. Psychotropic drugs are eliminated over time with the care of our physician and the prescribing psychiatrist.

Some students who come to CGA in Columbus, Georgia, from Albertville, Alabama have been previously diagnosed with behavioral disorders like:

• Attention Difficulties
• ADD
• Being oppositional and defiant
• Mood disturbances
• Issues from adoption
• Sadness or Over Exuberance

Progression of a usual Teen Challenge resident from Albertville, AL:

When a student comes to Columbus Girls Academy it is usual for her to exhibit blame-shifting, avoidance of responsibility, and sometimes complete denial of wrongdoing. Soon after enrollment, the resident begins to experience some regret for the consequences of her previous behavior. Essentially, she is “sorry” for being caught in her behavior, but she has yet to experience a turning away from that behavior. This may be very similar to the roller coaster that parents have been living with at home — pledges to change, periods of peace, that then again turn to repeat and crisis. Sorrow does not change behavior, repentance does.

Often, adolescents have been spared or delayed the trouble of the full-blown consequences for their poor decisions; sometimes by well-intending adults. For these reasons, teens are not always entirely certain of the need for a different way of living. However, the parent is convinced of the need for intervention, because their teenager is obviously headed for disaster if such actions persist. The Teen Challenge Columbus Girls Academy is an intervention program, hopefully intervening in troubled adolescents’ lives before they become an adult habitually living in a dysfunctional lifestyle.

We can be reached at (334)855-3695 or inquire using the online inquiry form to learn girls from Albertville, Alabama year-round.

Therapeutic boarding school near Columbus, Georgia, a Teen Challenge school for young girls in Albertville, Alabama and around the nation who are troubled by life-controlling issues. Call us now to learn more about Teen Challenge.

The Columbus Girls Academy Teen Challenge program isn’t in Albertville, Alabama, but it accepts young women from Albertville, Alabama.