A variety of alternative schools, therapeutic schools, and treatment programs serve teens who struggle with significant behavioral, emotional, mental health, and substance abuse issues. Some programs, such as alternative high schools and  boarding school focus primarily on education while being sensitive to students’ mental health and behavioral challenges. Other programs, such as residential treatment programs, therapeutic boarding schools, and wilderness therapy programs, focus primarily on mental health, emotional and behavioral issues, while including an educational component.  Effective therapeutic boarding schools address mental health, emotional, behavioral, and educational issues simultaneously. Other boarding schools focus on specific learning disabilities while also paying attention to the whole student. In short, different programs give different degrees of emphasis to personal and academic issues.

Parents of struggling teens – particularly teens who are oppositional and defiant – may be tempted to place their child in a school or program that promises to impose needed discipline and structure. Often these schools and programs – such as some military boarding schools and those that advertise their mission as “character education” – do not provide the mental health services many struggling teens need. These schools and programs can cause more harm than good for struggling teens who have personal and mental health issues that contribute to their challenges.

It is strongly advised to consult a mental health professional or educational consultant when choosing a program or school.  They are knowledgeable about the programs and schools because many of them visit these programs and investigate thoroughly.