Where is the Best Help for Troubled Teens?
Any parent will understands how desperate things can become. Are they taking drugs, are they running around with the wrong crowd, what’s happening at school and are they depressed are just some of the issues of concern.
So finding help is obviously a top priority. But it must be the right type of help and it must be the best quality.
So where exactly does your child sit in the list of problems which cause them to be troubled? Here is a list of situations and one or more of these might apply to your child.
- Failing at school
- Discipline problems with teachers
- Arguing with and disobeying their parents
- Problems with their weight and self-image
- ADHD or other behavioral problems
- Drug or alcohol use
- Promiscuous and other high-risk behavior
As you can see there are plenty of areas in which a teen can find him or herself in trouble. But before you seek the best answers and the quality help both you and your teen need, you must have your son or daughter assessed. What is wrong with them and why is it so? Only then can you seek the appropriate and best treatment.
The best help comes from a number of sources, from medical professionals, from the staff at day centers or residential programs and from you.
Your family doctor is an excellent starting point particularly if they have been the family doctor for a number of years. Remember that discovering the cause of your teen’s troubles is vitally important. It may be an issue with ADHD which triggers the unhappy behavior. Rely on your family doctor to make an initial assessment.
They of course could refer your teen to a specialist who could be a psychologist. A professional who works with troubled teens would be an excellent choice. And there could be any number of treatments including drugs. Of course if dabbling in drugs is the problem then there are rehabilitation centers and programs to assist in breaking the habit or stopping it before it goes too far.
Then there are the day centers and residential programs which are set up specifically to cater for troubled teens. To get the best help you need to know what each facility has to offer. Some deal specifically with defiant and disobedient teens whereas others take a more softly softly approach involving communing with nature and the outdoors. The best treatment for your teen is the one most appropriate to their needs.
Finally there is you. The teen’s family can be a great help. Simple things like creating a contract. This is where you draw up a simple document which lists the rules of behavior. There are punishments and rewards for breaking or keeping the rules. Both the teen and the parent or parents sign the document which needs to be fair but firm.
Your teen deserves the best and the best way to provide this treatment is to think through all the options and choose the one which will give your teen the best chance of success.
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