Columbus Girls Academy is an affordable Christian boarding school located near Columbus, Georgia, offering a safe haven for young women in Athens, Georgia and around the country; girls who have sought to fill a void in their lives through misbehavior, self-harm or negative peer influences.

After trying every option in their quest to help their girl, parents in Athens, Georgia turn to the Teen Challenge Columbus Girls Academy. They have usually tried counseling, medication, relocation, mental health approaches, and social service interventions, and getting nowhere. Some have been told by loved ones that it would be a good idea for their girl to get away from the negative influences in her life and away from home for awhile. That is when they seek the help of a Christian boarding school for troubled teens, like the Teen Challenge Columbus Girls Academy.

The typical girl who comes to CGA from Athens, Georgia at the Teen Challenge Girls Academy was that she was once bright and talented; however, as a result of self-destructive choices, her life may end up far different from what everyone hoped for. Where there was once excelling grades, there is academic failure. Where there were once athletic, artistic or musical abilities, there is disdain for what she held dear. The young girl who once looked to her parents for direction, love, approval and acceptance, now depends on her peers to fulfill those needs; she is willing to follow them down an alternate and dangerous 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:

• Death of a parent or loved one
• Childhood abuse (known or hidden)
• Divorce of parents
• A difficult or especially critical parent
• Bullying from others/Loss of friends
• Loss of economic status or a change to a new home or school
• Medical issues with a loved one
• Physical invasion or mental intimidation
• Gang participation
• Excessive interest in pornography
• Negative peer influences

Resulting from such factors, young women from Athens, Georgia who enter our our program typically exhibit issues and behaviors such as:

• Low self-esteem
• Rebellion/Anger/Defiance
• Self Injurious Behaviors or Thoughts
• Deceitfulness/Cheating/Theft
• Manipulation of family and parents
• Promiscuity
• Dangerous Behavior
• Self-Hatred

Often, prior to selecting CGA, parents in Athens, Georgia have sought help from psychiatry and the prescription of medication. While such medications can help reduce the symptoms of deeper issues, we have achieved significant success in helping girls get off of them once and for all. All but the most severe psychological issues are generally triggered by deeper emotional issues, which must be addressed and solved with a clear mind. Psychotropic drugs are reduced over time with the care of our physician and the family’s psychiatrist.

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

• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
• Difficulty with Distractions in a Classroom Setting
• Being oppositional and defiant
• Mood disturbances
• Issues from adoption
• Sadness or Over Exuberance

Progression of a usual Teen Challenge resident from Athens, GA:

When a young woman 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 student begins to feel some sorrow for the consequences of her previous actions. Essentially, she is sad for being caught in her actions, but she has yet to begin a turning away from that behavior. This may be very similar to the ups and downs that the family has experienced at home — promises to change, moments of peace, that then again turn to repeat and crisis. Regret does not change individuals, repentance does.

Often, teens have been spared or delayed the trouble of the full-blown consequences for their negative decisions; sometimes by well-intending authorities in their life. For these reasons, teenagers are not always confident of the need for a different way of living. However, the parent is certain of the need for intervention, because their teenager is obviously headed for lifelong trouble if such actions persist. The Teen Challenge Columbus Girls Academy is an intervention program, hopefully intervening in troubled adolescents’ lives before they go on with life habitually living in a self-destructive lifestyle.

We can be reached at (334)855-3695 or contact us using the online inquiry form to register girls from Athens, Georgia year-round.

Christian boarding school near Columbus, Georgia, a Teen Challenge school for adolescent girls in Athens, Georgia and around the country who are troubled by life-controlling issues. Visit the remainder of this website to learn more about Teen Challenge.

The Columbus Girls Academy Teen Challenge program isn’t in Athens, Georgia, but it accepts girls from Athens, Georgia.