This Teen Challenge Girls Academy is a non-profit Christian boarding school located near Columbus, Georgia, providing an affordable safe haven for adolescent girls in Sebring, Florida and around the nation; girls who have sought to fill a void in their lives through misbehavior, self-harm or negative peer influences.

After exhausting every option in their quest to help their girl, families in Sebring, Florida turn to the Teen Challenge Columbus Girls Academy. They have usually tried psychologists, medications, and rehabs, and getting nowhere. Some have been told by counselors 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 make the call for the help of a therapeutic boarding school, like the Teen Challenge Columbus Girls Academy.

The usual prospective resident from Sebring, Florida was once moving toward a bright future; however, because of poor choices or an uncaring attitude, 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 disdain for what she held dear. The young 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 dark path in life.

While changes usually happen in the moods of teenage girls 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
• 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, teenage girls from Sebring, Florida who enter our our the Teen Challenge program typically exhibit 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
• Dangerous Behavior
• Self-Hatred

Usually, prior to selecting CGA, families in Sebring, Florida have gotten help from psychiatry and the use of medication. While such 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 mental issues are generally triggered 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 prescribing psychiatrist.

Most girls who come to CGA in Columbus, Georgia, from Sebring, Florida have been previously diagnosed with behavioral disorders like:

• Attention Difficulties
• ADD
• Being oppositional and defiant
• Mood disturbances
• Issues from adoption
• Sadness or Over Exuberance

Progression of a usual Teen Challenge student from Sebring, FL:

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 resident begins to feel some sorrow 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 roller coaster that the family has been living with at home — promises to change, moments of peace, that cycle back to repeat and crisis. Sorrow does not change individuals, repentance does.

Usually, adolescents have been spared or delayed the heartache of the entire consequences for their poor decisions; sometimes by well-intending parents. For these reasons, teenagers are not always confident of the need for change in their lives. 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 helping make a change in troubled teenagers’ lives before they go on with life habitually demonstrating a self-destructive lifestyle.

Please call at (334)855-3695 or contact us using the online inquiry form to register girls from Sebring, Florida year-round.

Therapeutic boarding school near Columbus, Georgia, a Teen Challenge school for young girls in Sebring, Florida and around the country 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 Sebring, Florida, but it accepts young women from Sebring, Florida.