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 Windermere, Florida and from around the country; teens who have sought to fill a void in their hearts through negative peer influences, self-destructive habits, or risky activities.

After exhausting every option in their search to help their girl, families in Windermere, Florida are happy to find the Teen Challenge Girls Academy near Columbus, Georgia. They have usually tried relocation, counseling, and medication, all without success. Some have been told by loved ones that it would be best for their girl to get away from the negative influences in her life and away from home for awhile. That is when they seek the help of a therapeutic boarding school, like the Teen Challenge Columbus Girls Academy.

The typical girl who is enrolled from Windermere, Florida at the Teen Challenge Girls Academy was that she was once bright and talented; 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 woman 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 negative path in life.

While changes usually happen in the moods of young women 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
• Early abuse (known or hidden)
• Divorce of parents
• 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

As a result of such factors, young women from Windermere, Florida who register for our program generally exhibit issues and behaviors including:

• 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 choosing CGA, families in Windermere, Florida have gotten help from psychiatry and the prescription of medication. While psychotropic medications can help alleviate the symptoms of deeper issues, we have achieved high success in helping girls get off of them once and for all. All but the most severe psychological 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 care of our physician and the prescribing psychiatrist.

Some students who come to CGA in Columbus, Georgia, from Windermere, Florida have been previously diagnosed with psychological disorders including:

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

Progression of a typical Teen Challenge resident from Windermere, Florida:

When a girl comes to Columbus Girls Academy it is typical for her to exhibit blame-shifting, avoidance of responsibility, and sometimes complete denial of wrongdoing. Soon after enrollment, the girl 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 experience a turning away from that behavior. This may be very similar to the roller coaster that the family has been living with at home — pledges to change, periods of peace, that then again turn to repeat and crisis. Regret does not change individuals, repentance does.

Often, adolescents have been spared or delayed the trouble of the entire consequences for their bad decisions; sometimes by well-intending parents. So, as a result, teenagers are not always convinced of the need for change in their lives. However, the parent is certain 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 living in a dysfunctional lifestyle.

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

Therapeutic boarding school near Columbus, Georgia, a Teen Challenge academy for teenage girls in Windermere, Florida and from around the country who are struggling with 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 Windermere, Florida, but it accepts young women from Windermere, Florida.