Do you have a teenager that is suffering with anxiety, trauma (PTSD), mood disorder, or using substances to self-medicate? Studies have proven that dog therapy (and most animal therapies) is a beneficial tool in treating adolescents struggling with mental health concerns as well as substance abuse disorders.

Since 2001 we have assisted and educated parents in finding the right schools for troubled teens, specifically for their unique child.

Parenting a difficult teenager is stressful, however after experiencing your child being engaged in animal therapy you will gradually start to see positive changes.

3 Benefits of Dog Therapy with Troubled Teens

1. Reduces anxiety and stress.  Research has shown when troubled teens work with dogs, horses, and/or most animals, especially if they are involved with training a dog, it can help reduce a person’s anxiety as well as help those suffering with PTSD.
2. Helps with depression. When working with animals, specifically therapy dogs, they are trained to be attentive to a person’s needs and offer unconditional love. This can often help stabilize intense emotions and allows your teen to express themselves without fear of judgment.
3. Eases loneliness. Yes, teens are lonely. Research has uncovered that many teens suffer from isolation and loneliness. Caring for a dog or an animal gives you purpose, makes you feel needed as well as helps decrease depression.

Success of Animal Therapy with Teens

“Our 16-year-old daughter just graduated from her therapeutic program two months ago. I am not sure you remember us, but you answered the phone when we were panicking about placing our daughter when we were in a crisis. Your information was priceless. Our daughter loved animals, yet we didn’t realize through these difficult times that this could help us. We were so focused on finding therapeutic schools near me that we were lost in seeing what was best for her. Thankfully you guided us to learn more about programs with animal therapy and it changed all of our lives. We have our family back together now, thank you for your time and support.” – Vivian and Jack

“The dog therapy my son experienced at his program changed his life. He still has his Labrador today. It has taught him responsibility and accountability. He has empathy, respect, and most importantly self-worth. He even started a dog-walking and sitting business in our neighborhood. I can’t thank you enough for sharing your knowledge of animal therapy programs with us.” – Kathleen

“Horsemanship was important to our daughter at one time, but once she started down her dark road, I never thought she would want to ride again. You were the first person to ask me ‘what my daughter’s passions were (before hitting this dark road)‘. After you told us about therapeutic boarding schools with equine therapy, we finally felt like there was hope again. I’m so thrilled to tell you that she’s been home for a few months, she’s emotionally healthy and back to riding regularly! Thank you so much for your knowledge and help when we needed it most.” – Colleen and Mark

“My ADHD son was so angry, full of rage and completely out-of-control when I called your office. You suggested animal therapy and told me to research more about how it can help troubled teenagers. Although I wasn’t sure how my son would relate to dogs or horses, I’m writing to tell you that the journey was incredible! He was apprehensive at first but soon he became calm, loving and so caring. While he was in the program, anytime he would talk about his dog you could see his face light-up, his whole demeanor would change. Of course, we brought the dog home. I’m happy to report that both my son and his new friend are doing wonderful.” – Marlene

Do you want to learn more about animal therapy boarding schools? Contact us for a free consultation.

Also read:

Do Therapeutic Schools Work?

How to Interview Therapeutic Schools

Safe Schools for Teens

The post How Dog Therapy Can Help My Troubled Teen first appeared on Help Your Teens.

It’s important to better understand why your troubled teen is reluctant to speak with a therapist. There can be several reasons, including the stigma of needing help for mental wellness.

Other reasons teens might refuse therapy is:

• They don’t think they need it; they believe they are fine the way they are.
• They believe the therapist or counselor will make them take medicine.
• They don’t believe therapy or medicine will work.
• They may have tried it when they were younger, and didn’t like it.
• They are feeling hopeless, and simply don’t want to try.

5 Ways to Help Your Troubled Teen Without Talk Therapy

1. Certified Teen Life Coach: As parents grow more desperate to get help for their troubled teenagers, Certified Teen Life Coaches have been able to fill a void as an option for some families. The mental health crisis is not diminishing anytime soon, it’s time to learn about all resources available to us to get adolescents the treatment they need. 

Marissa Terron, founder of Families in Need of Direction – Therapeutic Life Coaching, (F.I.N.D.-TLC) and a Certified Teen Life Coach, works with many adolescents (tweens and teens) and shares that although most have refused to attend counseling sessions, some simply preferred the style of a life coach for emotional support.

Teen Life Coaching also requires the parent(s) to be involved privately or as a whole to learn new strategies that will help them continue supporting their teen as they work through their issues, set and achieve goals and move toward a brighter and productive future.

2. Animal Therapy: Animal therapy has been proven beneficial for youth struggling with trauma (PTSD) and develop coping skills for anger and stress management. Research has shown when troubled teens work with dogs, horses, and/or most animals, especially if they are involved with training a pet, it can help reduce a person’s anxiety as well as help those suffering with PTSD and reactive attachment disorder (RAD).

When working with animals, specifically therapy dogs, they are trained to be attentive to a person’s needs and offer unconditional love therefore helping with teen depression. This can often help stabilize intense emotions and allows your teen to express themselves without fear of judgment.

3. Art Therapy: Studies suggest that art therapy can be very valuable in treating issues such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTDS) and even some phobias. It is a great way to express your emotions without words, process complex feelings and find relief.

Clinical art therapy can be effective for adolescents who usually see it as a nonthreatening form of treatment. The art that the adolescent produces can help the therapist gain some idea of the youth’s concerns and life circumstances, especially those situations that are too risky to reveal or too personally embarrassing to relate. This awareness better equips the therapist in efforts to protect and support the adolescent during this turbulent time of life.

4. Gardening (Horticulture) Therapy: Gardening can make you feel more peaceful and content. Focusing your attention on the immediate tasks and details of gardening can reduce negative thoughts and feelings and can make you feel better in the moment. Just spending time around plants eases stress for many people.

Self-esteem is how much you value and feel positively about yourself. Helping a plant grow is a big feat. When you see your work pay off with healthy plants, your sense of pride gets a boost. By building self-confidence, your teen will make better choices.

5. Music Therapy: Research shares that music therapy has had the power to help teens overcome chronic depression music therapy increases communication, socialization and memory in children and teens. Because music therapy bridges the gap between art and science, and the artistic nature of the therapy allows teenagers to open up and explore their feelings. It also helps them cope with their mental health issues.

Music therapy provides teens with a positive, creative, and fun outlet. They can build a strong identity of themselves focused on who they can become versus their past choices. Teens involved in music therapy will also be discovering new interests and perhaps even a greater talent that needs to be nurtured.

Animal, art, horticulture and music therapy are typically offered in residential treatment in addition to talk therapy. These therapies are excellent alternatives to help reach your teenager that is refusing talk therapy at home.

Also read:

How to Convince Your Teen to Attend Therapy

How Boxing Helps Teenage Mental Health

The post How to Help My Teen Without Talk Therapy? first appeared on Help Your Teens.

The post Success of Animal Therapy for Troubled Teens first appeared on Help Your Teens.

Animal-assisted therapy can be an effective alternative or addition to traditional therapy models, whether it’s physical therapy, occupational therapy or cognitive behavior therapy.

Even though animal-assisted therapy may not be able to fully heal a person or cure their disease, this life-changing interaction and companionship can improve a person’s mobility, increase their self-esteem, foster learning and simply make life more enjoyable.

Benefits of animal-assisted therapy for teens

Animal assisted therapy can help teens to feel less stressed, decrease anxiety, become more cooperative and open, gain confidence, and improve interaction with others. Teens can also grow in their empathy toward others as well as their willingness to take responsibility for their own actions.

Why is animal-assisted therapy effective for teens

As to why animal-assisted therapy effectively treats mental health-related issues, there are numerous theories, contributing factors, and scientific studies to refer to.

For instance, Edward O. Wilson, famed biologist, posits through the biophilia hypothesis that our attachments to animals stem from our ancient, prehistoric ancestors’ reliance on animals for survival. Wilson points out that our ancestors relied on signals from animals that indicated environmental conditions to determine whether they were safe or threatening.

Wilson’s hypothesis posits that if we see animals in a peaceful or restful state, we feel a reciprocated sense of “safety, security, and improved well-being.” Incidentally, Wilson suggests this reciprocated connection with animals may enable a triggered state in us – one in which we can experience personal and healing change. 

Mental health benefits of animal-assisted therapy for teens

Animal therapy has been especially beneficial for teens struggling with ADHD, defiance (ODD), depression, sadness, anxiety, anger, rage and more:

• decreasing anxiety and stress
• decreasing perceptions of pain
• reducing feelings of fear or worry
• increasing feelings of social support
• providing motivation, stimulation, and focus

Also read:

Where Can I Send My Troubled Teen?

How Much Is Too Much Screen Time?

5 Benefits of Therapeutic Boarding Schools.

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If you are at your wit’s end with a good teen making bad decisions, there are excellent programs that can help through animal-assisted therapy.  Contact us for a free consultation.

The post Benefits of Animal Assisted Therapy for Troubled Teens first appeared on Help Your Teens.

Who doesn’t feel happier, a little less stressed and much better overall after cuddling with a furry feline purring on our lap? What about the adrenaline rush we experience after playing with a playful, little dog and that feeling of joy while we’re interacting with them?

We’ve seen many examples in hospitals and senior care facilities when these animals provide friendship, love and comfort to those who are aging and ill. This interaction brightens their spirit and aids in an overall healing process. But do these pets offer the same type of benefits to a much younger crowd, especially teenagers who may be struggling with depression, drug addiction or other difficulties that often comes along with the struggles of dealing with adolescence? Does this type of interaction actually work?

How Does This Type Of Animal Connection Actually Work?

Providers of these programs looked into a hypothesis that suggests our continued connection, interest and interaction with animals stems from ancient history. It’s believed that during this distant past, we received and witnessed certain signals from wild animals warning of us of possible impending doom.

During these ancient times, it’s suggested we eventually began to pay more attention to wildlife that were showing us predictions of unforeseen weather patterns, the rising and falling of tides and other indications that we were oblivious to without much knowledge of these events. As we continued to watch and interpret their behaviors, this led us to a unique trust and eventual bond  associated with them.

Repeatedly recognizing and interpreting these signs, we began to become more dependent upon them. We intensely watching them for these types of reactions that exhibited a “fight or flight” type of mentality. Other times, we witnessed them being safe and secure, depending upon the circumstance, and our dependence, interaction and love for them continued to grow and flourish. Eventually, we came to domesticate them, invite them into our lives and connect with them further.

Using This Type Of Knowledge Today

The ultimate goal of today’s animal-assistance programs use interaction with these loving and intuitive creatures to help strengthen a teenager’s ability to communicate, bond and interact with pets rather than people. With an animal’s unique gift of unconditional love, in return these pets don’t judge kids or otherwise put them into an uncomfortable position where they may feel threatened or isolated. Instead, it gives them a sense of a safer environment that builds their trust and develops a bond they may not feel otherwise.

Contributor:  Amy Williams

Also read:

Success in Therapeutic Boarding Schools.

Why Residential Treatment Works When Home Therapy Fails.

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If you are struggling with your troubled teenager and you have exhausted your local resources, learn more about how therapeutic boarding schools can help your teen. Contact us today for a free consultation.

The post Animals Helping Teens in Crisis first appeared on Help Your Teens.