February 11, 2021
Teen Isolation During the Pandemic
Being a teenager isn’t always easy. The teenage years are well known to be a precarious time that bridges the gap between childhood and adulthood. Navigating through these murky and sometimes turbulent waters isn’t always a graceful and smooth process. It’s not uncommon for teens to push boundaries as they strive for independence. The entire family can feel the strain when teens begin to form relationships beyond the family unit while seeking to establish themselves as young adults. This process can be full of challenges for everyone involved—including parents needing to learn how to work with a child who is becoming a young adult.
What Challenges Are Teens Facing?
The COVID-19 Pandemic this past year hasn’t made these challenges any easier for teens or parents. At a time when social learning and interaction with peers and adults is so critical to their development, many teens have been suddenly thrust into a world without those important and critical learning opportunities. Schools have been closed across the nation. This has further caused stress to this precarious bridge teens are trying to cross between childhood and adulthood.
With the lockdown of hobbies, regular scheduled activities, even disrupted home structure, teens have lost the crucial ability to freely interact with others. The fallout from this has become more and more severe. Depression, anxiety, and isolation abound. The result of which can often times lead to frustration, anger, defiance, withdrawal and a deeper sense of isolation. This is especially true for kids that may have had preexisting conditions and challenges prior to the pandemic.
How Can Turn-About Ranch Help?
Turn-About Ranch is here to help! We are a residential treatment program for struggling teens focusing on three main areas. The first is therapeutic. Our students work intensively with licensed counselors to identify areas that need to be addressed while learning skills to work through their issues. The relationships between teens and their counselors teach lessons about honesty, trust and communication. Trained and capable staff provide ongoing coaching in addition to the formal therapy. Working together, the Turn-About Ranch Team makes the most of each experience as an opportunity to learn and grow.
The second area of focus is academics. Turn-About Ranch students go to school during their stay. They can complete a fully accredited semester with credits that will transfer to any school in the county. Our classroom environment is limited to four to six students at a time which allows teachers to provide individualized instruction. The structure provides support for learning disorders and ADHD while allowing mental and behavioral health to be the primary focus. Accountability and pride in their efforts are just the beginning of the educational experience at Turn-About Ranch. For more detailed information about our accreditations and academic programs, make sure to check out our Academics page.
The third focus of Turn-About Ranch is ranch life itself. This environment provides a real life setting where teens can practice the skills they are learning in therapy. Rather than talk therapy, the experiential nature of life on the ranch reinforces student awareness and growth while opening the door to real change. The Ranch provides a values-based atmosphere:
- Responsibility for the care of farm animals.
- Accountability in fulfilling ranch duties.
- Relationships are built with their horse as well as staff and students working for the betterment of one another.
- Honesty and Integrity in opportunities to learn leadership skills and provide healthy examples to one another.
The principles and skills practiced throughout each day establishes a foundation for real change from the inside out.
Let’s Talk About Your Teen!
Teenagers increasingly struggle with mental, emotional, and behavioral health while resources and healthy activities continue to be limited due to the COVID Pandemic and social unrest. The teen years are so short, but so critical. Now is the time to reach out for help. Turn-About Ranch is admitting new students on a limited basis. Call 800-842-1165 to speak with an admissions counselor or visit our admissions page.
As a Psychotherapist, I had the opportunity to visit Turn-About-Ranch in the Fall before the Pandemic became a National Crisis. I was beyond impressed with the Program and the benefits it provides to adolescents in need of additional support while navigating through tough times. I witnessed a solid therapeutic clinical approach provided by the staff and Program Director. Furthermore, the Ranch offers life experiences that are challenging, yet builds resiliency in each youth. As each teenager learns to navigate these challenges and problem solve as members of a team, they gain confidence that they will take with them beyond their… Read more »