Columbus Girls Academy is an affordable Christian boarding school located near Columbus, Georgia, offering a safe haven for teen girls in Elkhart, Indiana and around the nation; girls who have sought to fill a void in their hearts through negative peer influences, self-destructive habits, or risky activities.

After exhausting every option in their search to help their daughter, families in Elkhart, Indiana turn to the Teen Challenge Columbus Girls Academy. They have usually tried relocation, counseling, and medication, 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 therapeutic boarding school, like the Teen Challenge Columbus Girls Academy.

The typical girl who is enrolled from Elkhart, Indiana at the Teen Challenge Girls Academy was that she was once bright and talented; however, because of poor choices or an uncaring attitude, 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 teenage girl 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 allow them to lead her down a dark path in life.

While shifts usually happen in the attitudes of girls going through early adolescence, some precipitating factors can leave a void in a young woman’s life and bring out extremely self-destructive and angry behaviors. These factors include:

• Death of a parent or loved one
• Childhood abuse (known or hidden)
• Blended family
• A difficult or especially critical parent
• Bullying from others/Loss of friends
• Loss of 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 influences

As a result of such factors, girls from Elkhart, Indiana who enroll in our program generally exhibit attitudes and actions 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, families in Elkhart, Indiana have sought help from psychiatry and the use of medication. While psychotropic medications can help alleviate 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 psychological issues are generally precipitated by underlying emotional issues, which must be dealt with having a clear mind. Psychotropic drugs are reduced over time with the care of our physician and the girl’s psychiatrist.

Some students who come to CGA in Columbus, Georgia, from Elkhart, Indiana have been previously diagnosed with psychological disorders including:

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

Progression of a typical Teen Challenge student from Elkhart, Indiana:

When a young woman enrolls in Columbus Girls Academy it is typical for her to exhibit blame-shifting, avoidance of responsibility, and sometimes complete denial of wrongdoing. Soon after enrollment, the student begins to experience some regret for the consequences of her prior behavior. Essentially, she is “sorry” for being caught in her behavior, 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 be different, periods of peace, that then again turn to repeat and crisis. Sorrow does not change behavior, repentance does.

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

We can be reached at (334)855-3695 or contact us using the online inquiry form to discover more. We enroll girls from Elkhart, Indiana year-round.

Christian boarding school near Columbus, Georgia, a Teen Challenge program for teenage girls in Elkhart, Indiana and around the nation who are struggling with 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 Elkhart, Indiana, but it accepts young women from Elkhart, Indiana.