This Teen Challenge Girls Academy is a non-profit Christian boarding school located near Columbus, Georgia, providing an affordable safe haven for teen girls in Phenix City, 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 exhausting every option in their quest to help their girl, families in Phenix City, Alabama turn to the Teen Challenge Columbus Girls Academy. They have usually tried counseling, medication, relocation, mental health approaches, and social service interventions, all without success. Some have been told by psychologists that it would be a good idea 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 typical girl who comes to CGA from Phenix City, Alabama at the Teen Challenge Girls Academy was that she was once bright and talented; however, because of poor choices or an uncaring attitude, her future has been compromised. 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 has sifted 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 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)
• Family split
• A difficult or especially critical parent
• Bullying from others/Loss of friends
• Change in economic status or a change to a new home or school
• Medical issues with a loved one
• Rape or intimidation
• Gang membership
• Excessive interest in pornography
• Negative peer group

As a result of such factors, young women from Phenix City, Alabama who enter our our program typically demonstrate issues and behaviors including:

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

Many times, prior to selecting CGA, families in Phenix City, Alabama have gotten help from psychiatry and the prescription of medication. While psychotropic medications can help reduce the symptoms of deeper issues, we have achieved high success in weening girls off of them once and for all. All but the most severe mental issues are generally precipitated by underlying emotional issues, which must be addressed and solved with a clear mind. Psychotropic drugs are eliminated over time with the supervision of our physician and the family’s psychiatrist.

Some students who come to CGA in Columbus, Georgia, from Phenix City, Alabama 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 usual Teen Challenge student from Phenix City, Alabama:

When a girl 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 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 experienced at home — pledges to change, periods of peace, that cycle back to repeat and crisis. Sorrow does not change individuals, repentance does.

Many times, teenagers 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 daughter is obviously headed for lifelong trouble 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 living in a self-destructive lifestyle.

We can be reached at (334)855-3695 or contact us using the online inquiry form to register students from Phenix City, Alabama year-round.

Christian boarding school near Columbus, Georgia, a Teen Challenge program for adolescent girls in Phenix City, Alabama and from 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 Phenix City, Alabama, but it accepts girls from Phenix City, Alabama.