Eagle Ranch Academy Turns Struggling Teens into Promising Young Adults
By: Arthur Cooper
Submitted: 2010-12-29 21:16:46 | Word Count: 664
The rate of recidivism among struggling teens who have already been through a series of programs designed to help them, has led many people in society to give up on them, but not us here at Eagle Ranch Academy. Even parents at their wit’s end feel that their child will never go to college, never hold a job for any length of time, and in general never become a productive member of society. Dealing with struggling teens is a complicated issue that requires caretakers and care providers to have stamina and an unfailing sense of hope. Since they often feel powerless, it is particularly devastating for a teen in distress to sense that someone is giving up on them.
Here at Eagle Ranch Academy, we won’t. We are the most comprehensive residential treatment center for troubled teens, and our staff will not give up on your child. Our purpose is not to simply “clean” your child of their addiction or problem, but to teach them how to stay on the path they want their lives to take after they graduate from the program. We accept gifted teens who are performing below their abilities because they are struggling with:
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• alcohol and/or substance abuse,
• depression,
• being unable to manage their responsibilities because of a clinically diagnosis of ADHD or ADD,
• the emotional fallout of their parent’s divorce,
• avoidance issues (running away
We know that these struggling teens can become promising adults later on if they can get a sense of control and choice back. In other words, if they can get themselves back. Eagle Ranch Academy’s multi-faceted staff is full of medical professionals, therapists, and certified academic and fitness instructors, who never give up on your child. Each troubled teen’s care is approached from the standpoint of individual solutions. In addition, each teen is placed in a group / class of 12, with an instructor and an embedded therapist present 40 hours per week.
Why embed a therapist? Well troubled teens, especially those who are gifted academically, artistically, or athletically, can become very manipulative in coping with others during their experiences. Often they will present themselves and their problems in a different light if they are in an “official” therapy session. Although we provide weekly individual and group therapy sessions, and embedded therapist has the ability to interact with a teen throughout the day, to listen to them, see how they interact with others, and obtain first hand knowledge about how their particular issue id affecting them (e.g. not being able to concentrate or finish a task because of ADHD). Our embedded therapist can provide counseling at critical points during the day, and even give a teen who is acting out during an activity a 1 on 1 counseling session without them knowing it.
This knowledge is then applied not only during official therapy sessions, but throughout the course of the program, all the while encouraging the teen to become introspective about themselves so that they can get to a place where they see themselves and their lives honestly.
When this happens, it is a breakthrough for a troubled teen; it can make the difference between success and recidivism after they leave the program. The length of stay for each troubled teen at Eagle Ranch Academy is different because no two people get to this point at the same time. Once they reach this stage, we switch gears to provide them with the answers they seek, as well as the academic training and life skills they need to leave ERA feeling confident that they can deal with the challenges that lie ahead of them in adulthood.
This is why Eagle Ranch Academy has had so much success turning struggling teens into promising young adults: we give them themselves back.
