articles | Troubled Teens

Total Transformation

Teaching teachers the signs of troubled teens

Parents have been guided about the warnings signs of troubled teenagers but now it has been brought to the attention that teachers should know what the signs of troubled teens are as well. Clark County teachers are getting their lessons on how to spot the signs of a troubled teen before he even causes a ruckus in class. About 12 teachers joined a workshop which was held by school police. The kinds of signs of trouble in adolescents which are not that clear were brought to the attention of these teachers in order for them to catch trouble quickly.

America’s Cradle to Prison Pipeline has troubled teenagers in the United States caught in its web. A report by the Children’s Defense Fund says, "At crucial points in their development, from birth through adulthood, more risks and disadvantages cumulate and converge that make a successful transition to productive adulthood significantly less likely and involvement in the criminal justice system significantly more likely."

Just one specific example is Jennifer, a 16-year-old who was released from juvenile detention. "My attitude was bad. A person would say 'Hi' to me and I'd look at them like, 'What are you talking to me for? I was doing everything I could to get shot or killed,” said Jennifer.

Jennifer is actually just one of 103 teenagers from 12 to 17-years-old who are enrolled in the Inspire, Encourage, Achieve (IEA)/ Ben’s Kids program. This program assigns each teen a mentor who will guide him or her through negative behavior and hopefully lead them to positive behavior.

Teenage behavior has been quite confusing to parents for years, especially now when the slightest mistakes can turn a teen to the wrong direction if he isn’t observed correctly by his parents.
Is your teen just in a phase?

“When to Worry” by Lisa Boesky
Lisa Boesky is a child and adolescent psychologist from San Diego. She wrote “When to Worry” in order to aid parents with heavy questions regarding teens.

"One of the big things to keep in mind is that all teenagers are moody. It doesn't mean they have bipolar disorder. They may have a difficult time focusing. They don't all have ADHD," says Boesky. Boesky mentions that as kids become 13 or 14 they will start showing new behaviors that can be considered normal. She says, “Besides moodiness, they sleep more, may be rebellious and just don't want to talk to you.”

Individualized programs for troubled teenagers are now being offered and Resolution Ranch provides a natural setting where such programs can be put to good use for each teen boy. Resolution Ranch is a therapeutic camp located in Texas for troubled teen boys from 13 to 17 years old. The program director of Resolution Ranch meets with each new attendee and assesses him in order to design an individualized troubled teen program which will suit his own needs. The environment which the Ranch provides for the teens is ideal for rediscovering values and de-stressing.

After coming out of her own boot camp experience, years later it’s difficult for Rachael Spinelli Moyers to believe that she did all those things to her own family.

Eight years have passed since Rachael was actually discovered to be living with a group of homeless young adults on the streets of Omaha at the tender age of 15. These were the times when she struggled with drugs, groups of troubled teenagers, and running away from home over and over again. This was also when her parents, Chris and Sherry Spinelli made a decision to stop her detrimental behavior before she fell even farther down the spiral. To really take an effect on her, they knew that they had to make a drastic decision. Rachael had to spend 18 months in Tranquility Bay, found all the way in Jamaica. The sound of the facility may seem like a vacation spot but it actually is for troubled teens, mostly coming from the middle and upper class. It’s owned by the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools which is based in Utah.

"We did our research. We knew what kind of place it was. And we knew it was our last hope," said Sherry Spinelli about Tranquility Bay.

Surprising as it may sound, almost every state in the U.S. has situations where they will allow juveniles to be tried as adults. Troubled teenagers should also have the opportunity to go through rehabilitation because of their young age. Once a teen would be placed into an adult prison system it is believed that chances for reformation are pretty slim. Rhode Island decided to try 17 year-old teenagers as adults, under the assumption that it would also save state money. The Rhode Island prisons chief chose to place these teens in the maximum security wing in order to protect them but it also costs money to ensure these teenagers’ safety in such a prison.

Of course, much research shows how the maturity levels of teenagers differ from adults. The physical brains of teens differ, which researchers believe can explain why a teenager may make an impulsive, irresponsible decision or engage in reckless behavior. But with the right treatment and care provided, a juvenile offender may be seen correcting his younger path of behavior.

Researchers in the United States are offering a new model of combination therapy for the treatment of depressed teens. This combination therapy puts together medication and therapy as a more effective answer to teenage depression.

After observing the response of teenagers to the antidepressant Prozac while also taking therapy for 36 weeks, researchers noted that 86 percent of the teens responded positively.

Notably, a study which can be found in the Archives of General Psychiatry observed the rise in suicidal thoughts and actions in those teenagers who received medication only.

But by simultaneously including cognitive behavioral therapy in the plan of treatment, along with the antidepressant Prozac, the risk of suicidal tendencies lowered while a speedier recovery was also observed. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a kind of therapy which does not have its focus on the past but on a patient’s present emotions.

It may sound skeptical to some, but having your troubled teen join your local choir group can do more for him than exercise his vocals. A new therapy for teens which psychologists have been observing is choir singing. Singing in groups has observed to be therapeutic for troubled teens in a number of ways. First, it relieves them from seclusion. This kind of group-focused activity can get a teenager’s negative focus on inner issues actually outside of himself and onto the group goal, which in this case would be a good performance. It is a positive “distraction.”

James Yant (board member) and Michael Ransaw (executive director) came up with an organization titled Youth Recovery Services, Inc. This organization began in September based upon the core idea that teens who enter into the prison system end up going in and out of it for the remaining years of their lives, in order to stop this cycle Yant and Ransaw came up with Youth Recovery Services, Inc. Their aim was to be able to show teenagers that they are cared for and at the same time provide them with hope and a means to gain self-confidence, ultimately leading to attaining their own skills to attend college, to gain a successful job, and become financially stable. They want to focus on making these teens understand that drugs and hostility is not the answer to anything. They also want to make teens proud of their intellectual abilities.

Parental Don'ts for your Teen

Most times you may read about what you should do to help your troubled teenager but it’s also important to know what you shouldn’t do. Read on to know more about a parent’s teenage don’ts…
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The Yellow Ribbon Campaign for Troubled Teens

On October 23, 2007 Le Conseil scolaire catholique du Nouvel-Ontario (CSNO) unveiled its Yellow Ribbon Campaign in almost 30 schools.

The Yellow Ribbon Campaign is meant to raise awareness about suicide in those students from seventh to twelfth grade. It is the campaign’s goal to make the warning signs of suicide known to these teenagers and make them aware of ways they can get help for themselves or their friends who may be even considering the idea of suicide.

At Dixie College, this year’s Power in You program, a campaign held for 3 years now, had a power tour event of the year this October. In order to motivate troubled teens, Jericho Road had a performance and Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. gave a speech.

Power in You is a campaign with its focus on emotions, and how these emotions affect life-challenges and at-risk behavior so that teenagers are given hope and encouragement to reach their educational potential and life fulfillment.

Rachel Jensen, a Power in You committee member, said "We hope to uplift the teens of Utah and give them an inspirational message to rise above the challenges many face every day and to see the potential they have."

The Mental Health of Troubled Teens

It’s important to note that actually 60 percent of those children in the state’s juvenile justice system are struggling with mental illness. This statistic may not be surprising to those who are in the system, but it should be given its due importance when considering the goal of taking these teens from punishment to therapy.

Judge Christine Keller, the state's chief administrative judge for juvenile matters, says,"If we don't get these kids now, they're going to end up in the adult system, they are going to end up in jail."

If a troubled teenager comes from a broken home, the number of options for him may largely depend on where he lives. At present, Lakeland, Florida is working on providing these teens with another option and a place to go.

At present, founders have been in the process of raising funds for the launching of the Phoenix Hope House. Its goal is to become a home for boys that have experienced programs or treatment for their troublesome behaviors and need a stable environment to return to. The Phoenix Hope House wants to become that “home away from home” for these boys. Eric Holm, Residential Director for Phoenix Hope House said, "We want to be that family that many times, many have not experienced."

After the executive director of the Worcester Housing Authority, Raymond V. Mariano, took notice of the issues with troubled teens who required police presence, the WHA decided to implement an Intervention Prevention program to help those teens within their housing. Initially the program involved the Police Department but will presently even involve the schools themselves. Normally, WHA provides and preserves public housing for those who are elderly or those with low-income. But now they are taking things a step further by helping teenagers.

A juvenile treatment institution in St. Paul, The Renaissance Program at Boys Totem Town, has troubled teens who come from tough backgrounds teaching stray dogs how to be therapy animals.

An 18-year-old delinquent named Eric from Minnesota has been working with Shane, a Doberman who was once abused from Pennsylvania. Superintendent Tom McGinn says that “by teaching dogs the skills and discipline the boys are trying to learn, the boys will improve their own behavior faster.”

A 12th grade senior was caught having sex with his 9th grade freshmen girlfriend. Is this a case of statutory rape?

A recent arrest in West Hartford, Connecticut involved 18-year-old Keith Armstrong who remained in jail because of an “illicit tryst” with his 15-year-old girlfriend. Police reported that consensual sex occurred between the teens. Parents are the ones who take care of managing their teenager’s irresponsible sexual behaviors but now it seems that even the government is stepping in.

The annual Youth Risk Behavior survey conducted by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that almost half of teens in high school have engaged in sexual intercourse. The survey further states that 30 percent of girls in the 9th grade are having sex. Is this where the police should step in?

Teenagers and heart attacks!

The Heart Center at Akron Children’s Hospital in Ohio developed a case series that pointed out that teenagers without heart defects can have heart attacks. This was reported by two of the hospital’s cardiologists. Of course this can come as a shock to any parent with teens out there, but read on in order to find out the details. Drs. John R. Lane and Giora Ben-Shachar studied 9 healthy teens (1 girl and 8 boys), from age 12-20, who actually met the criteria to be diagnosed with having a heart attack. The teens had severe chest pains.

Abnormal EKGs were seen in 8 of the teens while they all experienced abnormal cardiac enzyme levels. The echocardiogram showed abnormalities in three of the teens as four teens experienced heart rhythm abnormalities. Other kinds of irregularities may have been detected but the patients’ anatomy was still deemed normal. Negative results came about from drug abuse tests, cholesterol levels, and blood coagulation rates. This information was reported in a present issue of Pediatrics.

The Community Imagination Studio in Fayetteville, Arkansas is a division of nonprofit agency YouthCAN! For a troubled teen, these slogans-- Art is a journey. Art connects. Art makes me smile. Art helps mend a broken heart.—may be just the start of one’s own personal journey towards a positive light. The studio itself is a 5,000 square foot building with color and art hanging from every wall. Painted banners and flags of inspirational words hang from the ceilings as well. Color is everywhere and the studio’s Executive director Barbara Price Davis could be called a rainbow. Her own office is a sight as well with fuchsia flowers adorning her walls. Price Davis actually has her background in psychology as she has always had a soft spot for troubled teenagers. With the help of YouthCAN!, her artistic prowess and knowledge in psychology were put together as the Community Imagination Studio branched out into a number of services which focused on empowering the adolescents and their families in order to steer them in the direction of the right choices.

A mother of a troubled teen who strangled himself a year ago is speaking out at the time of her son’s birthday in order to raise awareness and understanding about teen pressures. This year Bernadette Speechly is talking about the pain of dealing with her son Jamie’s death at the time of what would have been his 15th birthday in Coulsdon.
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