Habits are developed by everyone and they can be good or bad. Unfortunately, many of us have teenagers with some bad habits that can lead to detrimental effects now or later in life. If the bad habits of your teenager are worrying you, then it’s time to get started with learning how you can get him to replace the bad habit with a good habit for his own good.

As parents, it’s difficult to break habits ourselves. Making troubled teens break habits can be even more difficult. This is especially true when there is a war between you and your son. Fortunately, there are many programs that can help get your son on the right path to a successful life.

Outpatient Therapy/Intensive Outpatient Therapy Programs

Teenagers who are already set in their ways with the bad habits they’ve developed can benefit from outpatient therapy to work on replacing them with good habits. The benefit of this type of therapy is that the teen can just come to appointments for their therapy where they will discuss progress, ensure accountability, and work through the breaking of their habits with support. An intense version offers teens a more supportive group atmosphere and structure than the typical outpatient programs when the bad habits are severe or harmful.

Individual Therapy Programs

When your teenager needs help with social, depression, anxiety, anger, behavioral, loneliness, or addiction issues; then individual counseling may be effective. A therapist can help your struggling teen with the issues driving their desire for bad habits, such as indulgence in alcohol or drugs. During therapy, a teen is free to say anything and get feedback in a judgement free environment. Individual therapy will help your teen to gain a better understanding and perspective of their problems. Discussions will take place about his or her personal relationships and surroundings. Individual therapy sessions allows for the amount of time needed on a case by case basis to help your child truly figure it all out so they are better equipped to make positive choices. The youth of the 21st century smoke cigarettes and suffer from alcoholism more than anything else. With these two bad habits reigning over teen trends, there is no time to waste to help them now before they become adults with the same bad habits.

Group Therapy Programs

This common type of counseling is effective due to its foundation of connecting people who are already experiencing the same thing or have something in common. Group therapy has numerous benefits and is effective for teenagers. There are a wide array of group therapy programs, many of them include those focused on bullying, girls, boys, anxiety, substance abuse, meditation, anger, divorce, blended families, and DBT skills. The teens find the feedback helpful from other group participants and therapist. Group members improve their socialization skills during therapy and it is much less expensive than the cost of traditional therapy programs. The greatest benefit of the group therapy is that everyone already has something in common and they are working towards the common goal of breaking that bad habit they share. This improves motivation among group members.

Family Therapy Programs

Many families can benefit from family therapy. The time spent in sessions is typically focused on problems within a relationship or within the family. This type of counseling is usually completed on a short term schedule and isn’t as long as individual or group therapy. When parents aren’t modeling the best examples and good habits, it can be difficult to get the teen to break theirs. Family therapy can help everyone within the family dynamic break bad habits and replace them with good ones they can do together.

While these programs can be participated in separately, they can also be joined in a setting such as a therapeutic boarding school. While it may seem daunting to have your son seek professional help away from home, it can be the one thing that will save your child’s life. As parents, we need to do what’s best for them, not what’s most comfortable and easy. A compilation of programs can be the best treatment for your troubled teen to teach him out to break bad habits and insert good habits into his life.