Group Homes for Troubled Girls

The term "group home" has meant many things over the last several decades. First, group homes were assistive living programs for the mentally or physically disabled. Later, group homes were used to describe foster care facilities. However, while the aforementioned usage of the group homes is still in use, within the last twenty years, group homes have more popularly become a trending style of treatment for troubled youth.

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Those who believe in the viability of group homes, do so, because of the environmental aspect of these programs. As its title suggests, group homes operate and function more like a residence than a residential treatment program.

This home-like setting allows the staff of group homes to operate and function as a family. This intimate form of mentorship and counseling works on a few different, but simultaneous levels.

Firstly, teenage girls (who more than likely were not adept at functioning in their own homes) are able to learn how to successfully function in a family unit. Secondly, the small group of staff and the limited number of troubled teen residents encourage bonding, more one-on-one attention from counselors, and are better prepped for returning home after spending months or even a full year in a simulated home.

Thanks to their preparatory aspects, Group homes are often used in conjunction with more traditional-styled residential treatment centers as a subsequent treatment where teens (who have already spent 9 months to a year at a regular program) live in there for a few months before returning home. However, there are plenty of group homes that simply operate on their own.

The Cons of Group Homes

While there are plenty of pros in sending your teenage daughter to a group home, these facilities are not without their unique limitations and overall downsides. For instance, due to their small size, group homes typically don’t have the academic resources or level of curriculum compared to say, therapeutic boarding schools.

Group homes are also typically expensive. Even when compared to residential treatment facilities or boarding schools. This is largely thanks to the fact that 24-hour live-in staff is expensive to employ and the fact that most group homes are not covered by any type of insurance.

What's more, group homes are also known to have an extensive waiting list (due to their small size). Unfortunately, due to the inherently dangerous nature of troubled teen behaviors, time is of the essence when it comes to finding adequate treatment; invaluable time that group homes generally do not have the luxury of capitalizing on.

Clearview Girls Academy: a viable alternative to group homes for troubled teens

For 20 years, the Clearview therapeutic boarding school has helped young women solve difficult emotional issues such as attachment disorders, attention deficit, eating disorders, anxiety, depression, self-destructive or antisocial behavior, and issues involved with adoption.

We will help your daughter get past her emotional and trauma struggles, as we have done for so many others. Please inquire online or call us.

What's more, unlike group homes, Clearview Girls Academy offers insurance such as Blue Cross, Providence, and United Health Care, to name a few.