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 Valdosta, Georgia and around the nation; 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 daughter, families in Valdosta, 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, all without success. 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 Christian boarding school for troubled teens, like the Teen Challenge Columbus Girls Academy.

The usual prospective resident from Valdosta, 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 is academic failure. Where there were once athletic, artistic or musical abilities, there is disdain for what she held dear. The young girl 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 follow them down a dark path in life.

While changes usually happen in the moods of 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
• 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 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

As a result of such factors, girls from Valdosta, Georgia who enter our our the Teen Challenge 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

Often, prior to selecting CGA, families in Valdosta, Georgia have sought help from psychiatry and the prescription of medication. While such medications can help alleviate the symptoms of deeper issues, we have achieved great success in weening girls off of them once and for all. All but the most severe mental 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 care of our physician and the prescribing psychiatrist.

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

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

Progression of a usual Teen Challenge resident from Valdosta, Georgia:

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 actions. Essentially, she is sad for being caught in her actions, but she has yet to experience a turning away from that behavior. This may be very similar to the ups and downs that parents have been living with at home — pledges to change, periods of peace, that cycle back to repeat and crisis. Regret does not change behavior, repentance does.

Often, teenagers have been spared or delayed the trouble of the full-blown consequences for their negative decisions; sometimes by well-intending adults. So, as a result, adolescents are not always confident of the need for a different way of living. However, the parent is convinced of the need for intervention, because their teenager is obviously headed for lifelong trouble 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 dangerous lifestyle.

We can be reached at (334)855-3695 or inquire using the online inquiry form to learn young women from Valdosta, Georgia year-round.

Christian boarding school near Columbus, Georgia, a Teen Challenge school for young girls in Valdosta, Georgia and from 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 Valdosta, Georgia, but it accepts girls from Valdosta, Georgia.