It can be a lonely, frustrating world for parents seeking solutions for their difficult teen. By the time parents begin researching residential treatment options for troubled teens, generally it is because they have exhausted typical resources such as restriction of privileges, school counselors, advice from clergy, help from family, bargaining and bribing, family counselors or therapists, and have been unsuccessful in turning things around.

They keep hoping they have found a fix, and sometimes things do seem to get better for a short while, only to have things begin to unravel again, and usually worse than they were before. It is a frustrating and emotionally draining experience.

Parents can end up feeling overwhelmed, isolated and like failures. Not exactly what they pictured when parental life began anew.

The good news for those parents is that there are many top rated boarding schools available that will provide reliable solutions for their teen and family. Residential Boarding Schools help youth at risk to regain self-esteem, self-confidence and get their lives back on track.

These schools offer accelerated, accredited schooling which is a real bonus for teens behind in their studies and in danger of failing. Additionally, many schools offer SAT and ACT prep as well. Another piece of very good news for parents to be made aware of is that a high rate of their graduates progress on to college.

The therapeutic boarding schools have a strong therapy component, typically offering both individual and group settings and 12-step programs. Additionally, some have programs designed to also address behavior-specific issues such as eating disorders.

At Christian Boarding Schools they offer a spiritual growth component to their program, something very important to faith-based families.

Some parents are seeking more rigid structure and lean towards a Teen Boot Camp or Military School.

Some schools also offer job skills training, time management and personal budget management to help prepare students to become contributing, self-motivated, independent adults.

Many schools also offer a sports program. Some of these schools physical fitness programs even offer intramural sports teams and compete with other high schools in the area.

At many schools students get involved with community service projects providing an environment of fun activities, doing good for others and reaping the benefits of selfless service.

Some residential boarding schools offer a parent involvement and support component as part of their program. Parents dealing with the problems created by an out-of-control teen are often also dealing with a lot of judgment and criticism aimed in their direction. So a program offering parent support from other parents who have been there, done that, find it a welcomed relief and renewed hope.

When you are in the throes of the chaos and difficulty, it is hard to see very far down the road, but there is light as the end of the tunnel. There are answers for you.

In the words of Winston Churchill, If you are going through hell, keep going. Don’t give up.