Columbus Girls Academy is a therapeutic boarding school located near Columbus, Georgia, providing a safe haven for teen girls in Hartselle, Alabama and around the nation; girls who have sought to fill a void in their hearts through anger, self-harm or negative peer influences.

After trying every option in their quest to help their daughter, parents in Hartselle, 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 loved ones that it would be a good idea for their girl to get away from home for awhile and from negative influences and peers. So, they make the call for the help of a therapeutic boarding school, like the Teen Challenge Columbus Girls Academy.

The typical girl who is enrolled from Hartselle, Alabama was once moving toward a bright future; 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 teenage girl who once sought her parents’ 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 negative path in life.

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

• Death of a parent or loved one
• Early abuse (known or hidden)
• Family split
• 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
• Rape or intimidation
• Gang participation
• Excessive interest in pornography
• Negative peer influences

Resulting from such factors, young women from Hartselle, Alabama who enroll in our boarding school generally demonstrate issues and behaviors 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

Usually, prior to choosing CGA, parents in Hartselle, Alabama have sought help from psychiatry and the use of medication. While psychotropic medications can help reduce the symptoms of deeper issues, we have found significant success in weening girls off of them once and for all. All but the most severe psychological issues are generally precipitated 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 Hartselle, Alabama have been previously diagnosed with behavioral disorders such as:

Progression of a typical Teen Challenge student from Hartselle, AL:

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 feel some sorrow for the consequences of her previous behavior. Essentially, she is sad 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 roller coaster that parents have been living with at home — pledges to change, moments of peace, that cycle back to repeat and crisis. Regret does not change behavior, repentance does.

Usually, teens have been spared or delayed the heartache of the entire consequences for their inappropriate decisions; sometimes by well-intending parents. For these reasons, adolescents 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 girl 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 demonstrating a self-destructive lifestyle.

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

Christian boarding school near Columbus, Georgia, a Teen Challenge program for young girls in Hartselle, 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 Hartselle, Alabama, but it accepts young women from Hartselle, Alabama.