Boarding Schools for Girls

"When no boys are in the classroom girls take part more. They answer more questions, and they argue more. I guess you would say they debate more, but I remember the same situation happening when boys were in the class and a couple of them yelled out "Cat Fight!" The girls got angry, and they stopped debating."

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Copper Canyon Academy: Bringing Your Daughter Back Home to You

By Jane St. Clair

It seems like only yesterday when she was an adorable little girl in a pink dress, holding my hand tightly, too scared to go to kindergarten. I don’t know who she is now. She's like a stranger to her father and me.

We never thought we would find ourselves posting pictures of our daughter, just 15 years old, a kid who ran away from home. Like someone from an unhappy family.

She doesn't care about us. All she cares about are her crazy dopehead friends.

If this sounds like how you feel about your daughter, you are not alone. More girls than ever are struggling through the difficult years between 12 and 20. Today’s girls are actually outpacing boys in terms of smoking, drinking, and using illegal and prescription drugs.

The consequences of drug and alcohol abuse are harder on girls. It is easier for them to become dependent on substances and to suffer damage to their bodies because girls metabolize drugs and alcohol less quickly and efficiently than boys.

Teenage girls who abuse substances can be depressed and trying desperately to self-medicate through drugs or alcohol. However, abuse of drugs or alcohol can actually increase the risk of teen depression and depressive episodes.

Recognizing the Signs & Getting Help

Parents may think the signs of substance abuse are a normal part of adolescent development before they realize that their daughters are abusing drugs or alcohol. Indications that your daughter is abusing drugs or alcohol can include:

• Extreme moodiness
• Social withdrawal
• A drop in grades and achievements
• A loss of interest in activities that she used to enjoy

Parents who recognize these signs in their daughters may try professional interventions, but many young girls do not respond well to talk therapy during weekly office visits to psychologists or to anti-depressant drugs.

Sometimes what is necessary is a complete change of environment, such as a therapeutic boarding school. A teenager who is dependent on substances can better confront her addiction in a new place where she does not come across what “triggers” her use, such as her drug-using friends and familiar party spots.

Copper Canyon Academy

Copper Canyon Academy, located in the beautiful Southwestern scenery of Arizona, has been helping troubled girls find new directions for their lives for many years. This all-girl therapeutic boarding school provides teenagers with second chances. This time, they can get it right by making positive friends, undergoing daily therapy with professional counselors, developing new goals, and experiencing success in academics, often for the first time.

Each Copper Canyon girl is treated as an individual. The caring staff designs a personalized program of learning and interventions around her unique needs, and then works with her on a consistent 24-hour basis until she's ready to go home.

Family involvement is an important component of the program. Teens participate in family therapy and workshops along with their parents and siblings. Copper Canyon's after-care program keeps every graduate on track after she returns home.

Another key component of the Copper Canyon program is working with animals. Teenage girls often “open up” emotionally after they learn to love a dog or a horse. Equine and canine therapies are ideal for young women, particularly those who have not responded to traditional therapies or who are struggling with attachment or bonding issues. Animals can help troubled girls learn to nurture and care for others, and to form bonds beyond themselves.

Copper Canyon Academy is open to girls ages 13 to 17 years old, and enrolls students year-round. Its college preparatory curriculum is accredited by the North American Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement.

What are the different types of girls boarding schools? Learn about specialized boarding schools for girls, such as boarding schools that specialize in learning disabilities, Asperger's syndrome, oppositional defiance, and substance abuse issues

What do the studies show about girls-only boarding schools? Statistics and other studies on how girls' only schools impact girls' learning, education, and academic performance >>

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