Columbus Girls Academy is an affordable Christian boarding school located near Columbus, Georgia, offering a safe haven for adolescent girls in Winter Garden, Florida and around the country; teens who have sought to fill a void in their lives through misbehavior, self-harm or negative peer influences.

After trying every option in their search to help their daughter, families in Winter Garden, Florida 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 best for their girl to get away from the negative influences in her life and away from home for awhile. So, they make the call for the help of a Christian boarding school for troubled teens, like the Teen Challenge Columbus Girls Academy.

The typical girl who is enrolled from Winter Garden, Florida 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 a loss of interest. The young woman who once looked to her parents for direction, love, approval and acceptance, now depends on her peers to fulfill those needs; she is willing to follow them 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)
• Family split
• An absent or abusive parent
• Bullying from others/Loss of friends
• Loss of 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, girls from Winter Garden, Florida who enroll in our boarding school typically demonstrate attitudes and actions 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

Many times, prior to choosing CGA, families in Winter Garden, Florida have gotten help from psychiatry and the prescription of medication. While such medications can help reduce the symptoms of deeper issues, we have found significant success in weening girls 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 reduced over time with the care of our physician and the prescribing psychiatrist.

Most girls who come to CGA in Columbus, Georgia, from Winter Garden, Florida 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 typical Teen Challenge resident from Winter Garden, FL:

When a young woman 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 student begins to experience some regret 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 ups and downs that the family has experienced at home — pledges to be different, moments of peace, that then again turn to repeat and crisis. Regret does not change individuals, repentance does.

Many times, teens have been spared or delayed the trouble of the full-blown consequences for their inappropriate decisions; sometimes by well-intending adults. So, as a result, teenagers are not always entirely certain 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 lifelong trouble if such actions persist. The Teen Challenge Columbus Girls Academy is an intervention program, hopefully helping make a change in troubled adolescents’ lives before they become an adult habitually living in a dysfunctional lifestyle.

Please call at (334)855-3695 or contact us using the online inquiry form to discover more. We enroll students from Winter Garden, Florida year-round.

Christian boarding school near Columbus, Georgia, a Teen Challenge academy for adolescent girls in Winter Garden, Florida and around the nation 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 Winter Garden, Florida, but it accepts girls from Winter Garden, Florida.