Therapeutic Boarding School Provides Serious Help for Troubled Teens
Shepherd’s Hill Academy is a therapeutic boarding school that serves boys and girls from ages 12 to 17. We are located in the northeast Georgia Mountains on 185 acres in the town of Martin, Georgia, about 300 miles north of Jacksonville. It takes over a few hours to drive here from Florida, but that’s a good thing: your teenage son or daughter will be farther from the friends and influences that helped cause trouble in the first place. Parents from Daytona Beach, Jacksonville, Orlando, St. Petersburg, Tampa, and Miami have told us that this was very important in their child’s recovery.
Outdoor Therapy Helps Teens Unplug and Heal
Today’s world is fast, complex, and digital, and many teens are so busy texting their friends and updating their social media accounts that they don’t learn how to slow down and correctly manage their lives. They may have issues with alcohol, drugs, or sex; they may be lying, running away, or self-injuring. Perhaps your teen has fallen in with the wrong group of friends and is acting out with defiant and angry behavior, or perhaps they have withdrawn and feel hopeless.
Shepherd’s Hill Academy takes a multi-faceted approach to helping troubled teens. We feature equine therapy, wilderness therapy, academics, group therapy, family sessions for the adolescent, and individualized therapy. Our residential wilderness programs for boys and girls are separate, with an educational campus in the center where classrooms are also segregated.
How does this help your teen heal and change? Without the clutter of today’s cultural and media distractions, our Unplugged Experiential Living program allows your child to explore and discover life’s deeper issues. This back-to-nature experience improves critical, constructive, and creative thinking capacities and promotes a genuine sense of identity, accomplishment, and a renewed desire to learn. We also focus on helping your son or daughter build a relationship with God for true heart change. Our team of loving and caring Christian counselors and professionals never force their faith, but they gently demonstrate it in all they do and say.
After completing the majority of the residential outdoor wilderness program, and if accepted, Shepherds Hill students are eligible to transfer to a house on campus and into our structured Next Step program. Here, they are allowed more individual freedom, are allowed to make more decisions, and are given domestic responsibilities. They also have the chance to earn back some outside world privileges, such as television or video games.
Fully Accredited On-Campus Education
After enrollment at Shepherds Hill, our principal and faculty work with you and your teen to design a classroom schedule that will meet academic goals. A plan will be developed to help your son or daughter advance in areas where he or she may have fallen behind. Our academy offers a wide variety of courses, but if we are unable to provide a needed class, we provide Georgia Virtual School, a program that offers Advanced Placement classes; college preparatory, career and technical courses; and other electives to enhance their learning experience.
Explore Shepherd’s Hill Academy
We may be a bit of a drive from Florida, but we offer a safe, removed environment for your teen, an outdoor program, a transition to domestic living, and a fully accredited Christian boarding school. If it sounds like Shepherds Hill is the program for your teenager, we invite you to learn more about us. All communication is confidential. We hope you will allow us to be the solution that your Florida family needs. Call us today to learn more (706) 703-4188.
