Helpful Articles About Troubled Teens

If your teenager is exhibiting harmful or concerning behavior, getting them professional help is a must. But what kind of school would be best?

Compulsive Personality Disorder is characterized by an obsession with perfectionism, and control. Adolescents who have this disorder are often highly driven and are more typically first born children.

Eating Disorders in adolescents can be challenging to identify and treat because there are many different forms that they can take. Eating Disorders affect adolescents in different ways depending upon the type of eating disorder they have.

Self harm is a condition where an adolescent causes intentional injury to himself or herself. One of the most common forms of self-injury is cutting, where the young person uses razors or other sharp objects to cause themselves physical harm.…

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is a condition that arises from exposure to alcohol during pregnancy and represents the most severe outcome within the spectrum of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASDs).

Adolescents go through mood and behavioral changes that can lead to odd or explosive behavior. But how can a parent determine if these changes are becoming truly problematic?

Substance abuse is hard on the whole family. It breaks trust, steals potential, hurts relationships and puts children in harm's way. But the cycle can be broken.

The moment has come. You are making plans for your child to attend boarding school. It’s exciting, terrifying, and more than likely, stressful. You may find yourself with a long list of practical decisions and necessary logistics, such as choosing which…

Emotional Intelligence (EI). What does it mean? It means the ability to manage the tides of life, the ups and downs, and to make choices from a place of wisdom and equanimity. To do so requires awareness of self, including…

A quality therapeutic boarding school relies on experts who apply proven therapy methods for long-term success. Get help here for locating, evaluating and choosing reputable programs with real resources and proven methods of success so you make the right choice…

The waiting list is a compilation of students who are qualified to be admitted to the boarding school to which they applied; however, the school did not have enough available spaces to accept these students.

What should you do after your child completes a wilderness therapy program? Your student has developed a new sense of drive, discipline, and accomplishment, among a host of several additional skills...

Is Your Teen Lacking Motivation? Are you finding that your teen seems to be more motivated to accumulate likes and retweets on social media than A’s on their report card? Sounds like the typical teen, right? This behavior is widespread…

Bi-Tapp helps teens self-regulate a little more. It calms them down. They can even focus on the tappers with their eyes closed, while they’re talking to their parents. And it helps them be able to think through what their parents…

There are many behavioral, psychological, and physical changes associated with substance abuse in teenagers. If you suspect your teenager may be struggling with substance abuse, here are the changes and signs to watch for.

The decision to send a child to a therapeutic boarding school is not something anyone takes lightly.  It is a big cost and it is difficult to put the care of your child in the hands of others.  Many parents…

Teens that run away from home may have different reasons depending on the situation. It is important to understand the thought process behind the adolescent’s behavior in order to understand and help the struggling teenager.

Help if you are powerless to change their teenager's troubling behavior -- seek out the best therapeutic boarding schools.

Psychotherapy is a form of psychiatric treatment that involves therapeutic conversations and interactions between a therapist and a child or family. It can help children and families understand and resolve problems, modify behavior, and make positive life changes.

Depression can be paralyzing, and symptoms in teens often affect eating, working, sleeping, studying, and enjoying time with their peers or once-pleasurable hobbies and activities.

Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) helps improve a child's moods, anxiety, and behavior by examining confused or distorted patterns of thinking.

While there are a number of different anxiety disorders, each is marked by intense and excessive fear, dread, nervousness, or worry.

Behavior modification therapy can be very effective for addressing teen issues to help them overcome dysfunctional habits, thinking, and inappropriate conduct.

More and more parents of out-of-control teenage girls are seeking military schools to help turn around their troubled girls. They are searching for military schools for girls to provide their girls with the discipline and structure missing at many public…

Therapeutic residential programs and therapeutic group homes can provide a second chance at life for many troubled teenagers.

Mental health disorders are becoming increasingly common among teenagers, and 50 percent of all lifetime mental illness begins by age 14.

There has been a steady increase in teen suicides globally over the past decade - this article discusses causes and prevention.

Boundaries are not just another set of rules and consequences; they are about respect. Boundaries are your expectations, as moms and dads, for how your teen will treat you. If you are feeling disrespected by your teen, it’s time to…

Anger is an emotional response to not getting something you want––that’s true for adults and teens. But your teens need to learn how to respond well, even when they don’t get what they want.

For the teen who is anxious or suffering from depression, first of all you need to know that your teen doesn’t want to feel this way. Whether they are severely depressed or overly anxious, they don’t like it, but they…

Many parents get angry when their teens don’t behave the way they hoped they would. Respecting someone who has broken your trust, is hard. But respecting your teen doesn’t have to wait until you’ve fixed the trust issue.

Dysthymic disorder is mild form of chronic clinical depression. Though the symptoms are Dysthymic Disorder are typically fewer and milder than those of MajorDysthymic disorder, they also typically last longer.

Acute Stress Disorder goes far beyond ordinary stress. It is a condition marked by extreme anxiety that often produces withdrawal, depression and an emotionally blank state.

Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder that is most commonly characterized by an inability or unwillingness to maintain a healthy body weight and an obsession with not gaining weight.  In most cases anorexia strikes teenage girls, though older women and…

Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) is defined as “a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood or early adolescence and continues into adulthood”.

Anxiety Disorder is a severe and debilitating level of fear that is chronic rather than temporary.  Such anxiety can be characterized by panic attacks, specific phobias which are fears triggered by certain things or situations, and may include social anxiety…

Attention Deficit Disorder, though fairly recently recognized as a specific disorder, is one of the most commonly diagnosed and studied problems among young people today. Often ADD is joined in diagnosis with a similar set of behavioral issues and referred…

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, though fairly recently recognized as a specific disorder, is one of the most commonly diagnosed and studied problems among young people today.

Avoidant Personality Disorder is a characterized by an ongoing pattern of inhibition in social settings, overwhelming feelings of inadequacy, extreme response to negative input or evaluation and efforts to avoid situations that would require social interaction.  Those who suffer from…

Bipolar Disorder is characterized by periods of abnormally high mood and energy level followed by periods of abnormally low mood and energy level. The elevated periods are clinically referred to as manic, while the low periods are referred to as…

Borderline Personality Disorder is characterized by a disturbance of normal personality and function seen in unusual levels of depth and variation of moods.

Bulimia Nervosa is an eating disorder that involves alternating periods of large intake of food with periods of fasting. It also frequently involves purging, either through use of laxatives or enemas or intentional vomiting.

Conduct Disorder is descriptive term for a condition of repeated violations of social norms and the rights of others. The term encompasses behaviors such as verbal and physical aggression, cruelty toward people and pets, destructive behavior, lying, truancy, vandalism, and…

Cutting is a very common form of self harm utilized primarily by young people who though not suicidal are intentionally injuring themselves.  Cutting is frequently seen as attention seeking, however it is more accurate to view it as a coping…

Cyclothymic Disorder is a condition on the spectrum of behaviors identified as Bipolar Disorder.  It is characterized by rapid changes between manic “up” periods and depressive “down” periods. Most people with Cyclothimic Disorder, unlike some other bipolar sufferers, are highly…

Dependent Personality Disorder (once known as asthenic personality disorder) is characterized by an overwhelming psychological dependence on another.

Depression is more than sadness or feelings of impending doom. It is a pervasive sense of helplessness, hopelessness and worthlessness that engulfs life, leaving the depressed person to suffer without relief.

A simplistic description of Oppositional Defiance Disorder is when a teenager: “Constantly disobeys his/her parents and is basically stuck in an outwardly nasty mood when around anyone in authority.” Such behavior is normal to a degree in most teenagers, but…

Anorexia (sometimes referred to as Anorexia Nervosa) is an eating disorder that is most commonly characterized by an inability or unwillingness to maintain a healthy body weight and an obsession with not gaining weight.  In most cases anorexia strikes teenage…

Generalized Anxiety Disorder, or GAD, is a disorder marked by an excessive, often irrational level of worry about everyday events to an extent that exceeds that justified by underlying causes.

Histrionic Personality Disorder (formerly known as Hysteric Personality Disorder) is an emotional disorder that displays excessive attention seeking and need for approval.

Hyperactivity is less severe than Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) but with many of the same overactive symptoms of behavior.

Major Depressive Disorder is a serious condition marked by a low mood and low self-esteem and an inability to find interest or pleasure from normally enjoyed activities.  Major Depressive Disorder can be so severe as to be disabling, affecting all…

Manic Depression, more commonly referred to as Bipolar Disorder is characterized by periods of abnormally high mood and energy level followed by periods of abnormally low mood and energy level. The elevated periods are clinically referred to as manic, while…

Narcissistic Personality Disorder is a disorder that manifests as an excessive preoccupation with self, with symptoms of extreme self-interest — the world revolves around them.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (occasionally referred to as Compulsive Personality Disorder) is characterized by an obsession with perfectionism, and control.  Adolescents who have this disorder are often highly driven and are more typically first born children. Teens who deal with this…

Oppositional Defiant Disorder is a severe behavioral condition that is characterized by a repeated pattern of disobedient, hostile and defiant behavior toward authority figures which goes beyond the stubbornness and anger that are a normal part of childhood.  Children or…

Paranoid Personality Disorder is characterized by a pervasive and ongoing mistrust of others, particularly without any reason or evidence to support the last of trust.

Personality disorders—previously known as character disorders—are defined by long-standing patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that significantly differ from cultural expectations and norms.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder refers to any severe anxiety that follows a psychologically traumatic event. It is commonly associated with military personnel and others in high risk, high stress professions, but it can follow any event that presents a grave…

Attachment Disorders (more commonly referred to as Reactive Attachment Disorder) are found in children or young adults who have not formed strong attachment with their primary caregiver or a young adult who had been neglected in their younger years by…

Reactive Attachment Disorder (sometimes known as Radical Attachment Disorder is a disorder found in children or young adults who have not formed a strong attachment with their primary caregiver or a young adult who had been neglected in their younger…