Columbus Girls Academy is an affordable Christian boarding school located near Columbus, Georgia, offering a safe haven for young women in Tuscaloosa, 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 search to help their daughter, parents in Tuscaloosa, Alabama 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 make the call for the help of a therapeutic boarding school, like the Teen Challenge Columbus Girls Academy.

The usual prospective resident from Tuscaloosa, Alabama 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 is academic failure. Where there were once athletic, artistic or musical abilities, there is a loss of interest. The young woman 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 destructive path in life.

While shifts usually happen in the moods of young women going through early adolescence, some precipitating factors can leave a void in a girl’s life and cause extremely self-destructive and angry behaviors. These factors include:

• Death of a parent or loved one
• Early abuse (known or hidden)
• Blended family
• A difficult or especially critical parent
• Bullying from others/Loss of friends
• Change in economic status or a move to a new home or school
• Chronic illness of a loved one
• Rape or intimidation
• Gang participation
• Excessive interest in pornography
• Negative peer influences

Resulting from such factors, young women from Tuscaloosa, Alabama who register for our program generally exhibit issues and behaviors 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

Usually, prior to choosing CGA, parents in Tuscaloosa, Alabama have sought help from psychiatry and the use of medication. While psychotropic medications can help reduce the symptoms of problems, we have found significant success in helping girls get 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 reduced over time with the care of our physician and the girl’s psychiatrist.

Most girls who come to CGA in Columbus, Georgia, from Tuscaloosa, Alabama 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 resident from Tuscaloosa, AL:

When a young woman 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 regret 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 the family has been living with at home — promises to be different, periods of peace, that cycle back to repeat and crisis. Sorrow does not change individuals, repentance does.

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

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

Therapeutic boarding school near Columbus, Georgia, a Teen Challenge program for young girls in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and around the country who are struggling with life-controlling issues. Call us now to learn more about Teen Challenge.

The Columbus Girls Academy Teen Challenge program isn’t in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, but it accepts young women from Tuscaloosa, Alabama.