If you aren’t familiar with it, teen behavior modification therapy can sound like something aliens do in a science fiction novel. However, its actually a therapeutic technique designed to help adjust a teenager’s behavior to move away from what is negative toward that which is more positive. Behavior modification therapy is a key part of how therapeutic boarding schools work, so as a parent, you really need to understand more about how it can help your child.

At therapeutic boarding schools, your teen will be introduced to a step by step plan for behavior modification. It’s particularly effective in dealing with challenges like ADD/ADHD, anxiety, depression, substance abuse, eating disorders and other behavioral issues. At a therapeutic boarding schools, licensed and qualified professionals will work with your teen to set achievable behavior goals and therefore affect change.

No matter who you are, everyone experiences behavior modification to an extent. When you do well at work, you get a raise. When your baby cries, you rush to see what is wrong. It’s the idea of changing our actions for a certain result. Teen behavior modification therapy helps teens become aware of their behaviors and the consequences, and make conscious changes toward more positive outcomes. When blended with individual therapy and sometimes medication, it’s an effective way to treat troubled teens. Experts will analyze your child’s behaviors and note what events predict the behavior. Then, they work with your child to establish what is acceptable and what isn’t and the consequences for each type of action.

Therapeutic boarding schools use the two types of reinforcement for behavior therapy. Positive rewards enforce positive behavior, while negative reinforcement happens with negative behavior. Positive rewards can be anything from immediate praise to earned privileges. It’s important to know that negative reinforcement is not punishment, but the absence of a reward. Negative reinforcement could be anything from ignoring bad behavior to losing privileges. For example, therapeutic boarding schools offer lots of fun activities for students,, like movie outings, dances, water sports, field trips and more. Students could earn the right to attend, or lose that chance through negative behavior.

The goal of the staff at the therapeutic boarding schools is to help your troubled teen develop new and better behavior. Because the school is a safe, secure and consistent environment, your teen will quickly learn what needs to happen behavior-wise for those positive reinforcements. It’s also helpful for your child to see positive behavior modeled by other students and staff members and they will learn new and better coping mechanisms when they encounter challenges and stress in their own lives.

So remember, when you are investigating therapeutic boarding schools and start to read about behavior modification therapy, you aren’t turning your child over to aliens for a brain transplant! Instead, you are allowing your child to receive important guidance on their troubling behavior by licensed experts dedicated to teaching troubled teens how to succeed.

For guidance on choosing the right therapeutic boarding school for your family, please contact us at Help Your Teen Now.