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 Saint Marys, Georgia and around the country; teens who have sought to fill a void in their lives through negative peer influences, self-destructive habits, or risky activities.

After trying every option in their search to help their girl, families in Saint Marys, Georgia 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 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 therapeutic boarding school, like the Teen Challenge Columbus Girls Academy.

The typical girl who comes to CGA from Saint Marys, Georgia was once moving toward a bright future; however, as a result of self-destructive choices, 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 teenage girl who once looked to her parents for 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 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 cause 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
• Medical issues with a loved one
• Rape or intimidation
• Gang participation
• Excessive interest in pornography
• Negative peer group

As a result of such factors, girls from Saint Marys, Georgia who enroll in our program generally exhibit issues and behaviors including:

• 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 selecting CGA, families in Saint Marys, Georgia have sought help from psychiatry and the prescription of medication. While psychotropic medications can help alleviate the symptoms of deeper issues, we have achieved 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 eliminated over time with the supervision of our physician and the family’s psychiatrist.

Some students who come to CGA in Columbus, Georgia, from Saint Marys, Georgia have been previously had emotional and motivational issues such as:

• 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 student from Saint Marys, GA:

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 experience a turning away from that behavior. This may be very similar to the roller coaster that parents have experienced at home — pledges to change, moments of peace, that then again turn to repeat and crisis. Sorrow does not change behavior, repentance does.

Often, teenagers have been spared or delayed the heartache of the full-blown consequences for their negative decisions; sometimes by well-intending parents. So, as a result, teenagers 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 living in a self-destructive lifestyle.

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

Christian boarding school near Columbus, Georgia, a Teen Challenge program for adolescent girls in Saint Marys, 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 Saint Marys, Georgia, but it accepts girls from Saint Marys, Georgia.