If you have recognized worrisome signs from your teen that indicate a problem, there are many available parenting teen resources that offer help with troubled teens. It is important to seek professional assistance as soon as possible to aid your at risk youth in resolving these worrisome issues.

Early and effective intervention will enable your teen to lead a much more satisfying and fulfilling adolescence. Unresolved issues can result in academic, family and legal problems that can affect teenagers for the rest of their lives. Therefore, it is important to provide a means of help for your teen and yourself to cope effectively and keep from having easily resolved concerns escalate into major long lasting problems.

Counseling and Out-Patient Treatment

Counseling is the place to begin when seeking parenting teen resources to help you with your troubled teen. Finding a counselor who is experienced with adolescent issues and works well with both parents and teens is important.

Ask other parents, teachers and even therapists if they can offer recommendations for counselors that specialize in working with teenagers. Make sure you interview several candidates before choosing one to treat your teen.

Both parents, your struggling teen and often times your other children should all be involved in any counseling, so finding one everyone likes is a personal imperative.

Allowing your teen to talk about her problems in a safe, unbiased environment can help your daughter to express issues she may be uneasy discussing with you, her parents. Learning effective communication skills from trained therapists can also help open the lines of communication so you can become more involved in your teenager’s life and allow your teen to eventually trust talking with you.

While working along side the therapist in the treatment of your teenager, seek advice from your child’s counselor or other sources if necessary on additional parenting teen resources. This supplementary guidance should including effective discipline techniques, building good communication skills and other parenting tips to further improve your teen’s and your whole family’s chances for success.

Outpatient treatment programs might be the next step recommended by the therapist or school if individual or family therapy is not effective or if the problems seem to be at a level of severity to warrant further or more structured treatment.

There are many good community based outpatient programs you can look into with recommendations from therapists and schools alike.

If your teen has already reached a level where he is out-of-control or has sever addiction problems, more drastic measures may be needed to set your teen back on the right track. If this is the case with your adolescent, you may need to look into residential type programs that can last from one week to as long as one year.

These programs can be quite expensive and are not the best option for all teens so make sure you carefully examine less drastic parenting teen resource options before considering taking this step for your rebellious adolescent. If however, this seems to be the correct decision for your teenager then get help from professionals to carefully consider the different types of treatment programs and alternative schools.

Below is a brief overview to help get you started.

Boot Camps

Military boot camps are the training ground for potential soldiers in the U.S. military branches. They are intense, short-term programs that develop skills and attitudes necessary in a soldier. They are successful because people who join are already motivated adults who chose this life.

Boot camps for troubled teens are similarly designed. They use intimidation and physical exertion for a short period of time to attempt to motivate teenagers into changing destructive behavior.

This can be effective with certain types of at risk youth. However, studies show the success of these programs for long-term improvement is minimal.

A troubled teen that is not willing to attend this type of program or is not suited to this type of severely negative treatment may be intimidated and home sick enough to pretend to show some improvement just to get released from the program, but may rapidly decline back into bad habits after returning home.

They may even hold more resentment for being forced into such a drastic negative environment and decline even further then they would have without the program.

Wilderness Camps

Wilderness camps that combine positive activities with counseling are a good alternative to boot camps. These options are generally effective for teens that are just starting to develop behavioral issues or have mild problems with self-esteem, motivation or disrespect for authority. The activities are designed to build useful skills while promoting an environment of cooperation.

Residential Treatment Centers

A residential treatment center, commonly referred to as RTC, is a viable solution for teenagers with more severe emotional issues or substance abuse.

These are long-term facilities where teens can receive therapy from licensed therapists and medical staff. Counseling is performed individually and in groups to promote communication and get to the underlying cause of the negative behavior.

These centers are generally considered to be for use in crisis and can assist your child in overcoming destructive behavior. However, once released, maintenance in an outpatient facility is recommended to help maintain the positive behavior.

Boarding Schools

Specialized boarding schools for at risk youth provide an academic environment while also focusing on behavior modification and character development. The inclusion of parent activities help the parent and adolescent communicate more effectively and allows the parent to become more involved with their child’s development. These schools will help your teens develop socially and academically, providing them a sound foundation for their future.

Conclusion

If your teenager exhibits signs of defiance, low self-esteem, substance abuse, or any

other troublesome behavior it is important to seek help immediately.

Finding the right solution can mean the difference between a happy teenager with a good family relationship and an angry teen that adversely affects their future life. Research the options available and get recommendations from other parents and teachers before deciding on the method that suits you and your child.