Therapeutic or treatment-oriented boarding schools deal with specific emotional and psychological behavioral issues. For instance, children suffering from severe depression, suicidal behavior, anorexia and other eating disorders, ADHD and learning disabilities such as autism can find treatment in schools designed to handle their special needs. These schools often provide individual and group or peer-based counseling to enable students to address their problems and learn how to potentially reintegrate into traditional educational settings.
Teens and children who have committed juvenile offenses, started fights or engaged in destructive behavior can find help at boarding schools designed to address these problems. These boarding schools may apply a disciplinary system of rewards and punishments that teach troubled students the benefits and consequences of following or breaking rules. Students who violate the law might have enrollment in a school of this type, often called a "boot camp," mandated by a judge.
Students who've become addicted to narcotics, alcohol or recreational drug use such as "huffing" can enroll in boarding schools that help them break their addiction. These schools are often overseen by trained medical personnel and licensed psychologists. Treatment includes short periods designed to facilitate "withdrawal," followed by longer periods of counseling and group-based therapy to help students deal with the nature of the addiction and learn steps to manage their lives without succumbing to future temptations.
This type of boarding school provides a military discipline and atmosphere and may often be affiliated with a government-sponsored Junior ROTC program or college-preparatory school. According to the Aspen Education Group, military schools can best provide discipline and structure for children and teens who don't suffer from diagnosed behavioral or psychological problems. These schools can provide a structured environment that enables children to succeed in academics while also learning a routine that gives order to their daily life.
Chronic obesity affects a significant proportion of children and teens in America. Parents and educators seeking to help students deal with this behavioral health issue might consider sending their children or students to an obesity- or fitness-oriented boarding school. These schools stress nutrition, healthy eating and physical fitness, and help students adopt good eating habits that will promote better dietary health.