Troubled teens is a phrase that is nothing if not ambiguous in nature. It can mean many different things to different people.Typically troubled teen means a teenager who is struggling with school or with classes or who may be entering into preliminary or more deep explorations into drugs and alcohol.
These problems may be caused by a wide range of different issues. Home life, depression, peer pressure and other factors can all play into the trouble teen's set of issues. An unstable lifestyle, the wrong crowd and even ADHD can play into the problems and the things that are affecting the life of the teen.
No matter what the reason for the problems, finding a solution is imperative and as soon as possible. A teen who is a danger to himself or to others needs help now.
Parents, teachers and counselors have sought for alternative therapies to boot camps, specialty schools and other methods of teen treatment that are effective, but may not work for every troubled teen. One therapy that has consistently come to the forefront in teaching and treating troubled teens is animal assisted teen therapy.
Studies have consistently proven that spending time with a animal can help to decrease stress and to release endorphins that can assist in combating stresss and depression. For this reason, many counselors and even specialty schools for troubled teens will use animals to help them in therapy for teens. These animals are normally professionally trained to interact with the troubled teen and to help the counselor to reach them.
Because many teens are in a consistent state of stress, the use of animals can help to calm them and give them a chance to really think about their behavior. This time can be relatively short in duration, with even as little as ten to fifteen minutes a day being effective for some teens.
Animals that are involved include a wide array, with the most common being canine-dogs, or equine--horses.
If your teen is having problems at home or at school and you're not ready yet to seek out full time residential treatment, one method you may want to review is animal assisted therapy with a qualified counselor.
