Christian boarding schools and therapeutic schools for troubled teens with equine therapy, counseling for teens and troubled teen help.

Family Restoration

Family Restoration is one of the flagship components of Abundant Life Academy. It is one of a number of things that sets us apart from similar therapeutic boarding schools.

At Abundant Life Academy, we do not seek to merely “fix” your “broken” child. In fact, that is not our aim at all.  We enroll youth who have incredibly strong leadership skills, which either lie dormant or have been misdirected toward negative, anti-social behaviors and peer groups. Developmentally, teenagers are at a place where they begin, for the first time, to seek independence. As they do, they often begin to pull away from the source of their current belief system—the family. Unfortunately, in many cases, as the youth pulls away from their family, parents tend to press in even more. This process often creates a disconnect between teen and parent. As the teen pulls further away, stress and anxiety is increased in the home and parents tend to restrict their son or daughter’s behavior even more. The result is that, often, the teen will not only reject their current family values, he or she will seek out peers who will support them in this relational dissonance. This serves merely to widen the chasm between parent and child.

At Abundant Life Academy, we believe in complete restoration of the entire family. While the primary emphasis is on helping each child come to a place where they know themselves, can choose appropriate behaviors and belief systems, and recognize the power of giving back, it is not the end of the journey. We recognize that the family has also been affected tremendously and that, while every parent has poured out their heart and often exhausted every resource possible to prevent their child’s negative behaviors and attitudes prior to enrollment, there are opportunities for growth as a parent as well.

Abundant Life Academy exists to see students revived and families restored.  As such, each family is required throughout their teen’s stay with us to also be engaged in the process. From the moment your child arrives at ALA, you begin your work.

Parent Coaching

Each family will spend the first 60-90 days going through Parent Coaching with a Parent Advocate over the phone. During this time, you will be learning many of the same principles your child will be learning and reading some of the same books they will be reading. Additionally, you will be provided with tools to assist you during your teen’s stay at Abundant Life Academy and beyond.


Parent Conferences

Once you have graduated from Parent Coaching, you are welcome to attend one of our quarterly Parent Conferences. The Parent Conference is a four-day workshop where you will be able to hear directly from our professional staff while participating in the day-to-day life of your teenager. This is also the first opportunity you will have to experience individualized Family Restoration with your child and their Family Representative.


Family Restoration Calls

Upon return from Parent Conference, you will begin bi-monthly Family Restoration calls facilitated by your Family Representative. These are a series of 8-10 lengthier calls centering on the primary issues that our students face in relationship to their family. During these calls, each parent will have the opportunity to “touch” the growth of his or her child even from a distance. Additionally, you will have the occasion to identify some things that have been revealed to you in regards to the session’s topic as you will have taken time to engage in self reflection and self assessment prior to the call. The Family Restoration calls range from past issues all the way up to creation of a Family Covenant prior to re-entry into the home environment upon Graduation.

Family Restoration is one of the many benefits offered to Abundant Life Academy families as part of your child’s enrollment with us. We truly desire to see each family returned to the place where there is open communication, respect, trust, and wholeness in Jesus Christ.

Meet the Family Representatives





Christian Boarding School for Troubled Teens, with residential therapy for teens struggling with anger, depression, reactive attachment disorder (RAD), intermittent explosive disorder (IED), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), attention deficit, attention deficit disorder (ADD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), substance abuse, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), eating disorders, self-harm, or rebellion. Abundant Life Academy is a therapeutic residential program and academy for troubled teenage boys and girls.

THERAPEUTIC CHRISTIAN BOARDING SCHOOL FOR TROUBLED TEENS

We can also help you find the best Christian boarding schools for your teen, Christian rehabs, or therapeutic boarding schools. Ask us about East Coast therapeutic boarding schools, or West Coast boys therapeutic ranches, or Midwest boys boarding schools for troubled teens.

School that provides troubled teens with teen counseling and adolescent therapy. Our therapeutic residential school serves teens from homes in the Midwest, in Texas, in California, in Oregon and in Washington State on the West Coast and in Arizona, in New Mexico, in Oklahoma and in Nevada in the Southwest. In the southern and central states we serve teens from homes in Arkansas, in Kentucky, in Tennessee, in Missouri, in Louisiana, in Florida, and in Mississippi. In the Midwest teens come to ALA from homes in Michigan, in Ohio, in Indiana, in Wisconsin and in Illinois. And in the northern states, from homes in Montana, in North Dakota, in Minnesota, and in Idaho. Along the East Coast we have teens in our therapeutic boarding school from families in Georgia, in Virginia, in New York, in North Carolina, in Pennsylvania, and in New Jersey. Troubled teens come to ALA mostly from the U.S. and Canada.