Girls outdoor therapy programs are truly effective for troubled teens. For a complete program that gets results, Shepherd’s Hill Academy offers a unique and effective approach to healing. Science and experiences have proven the therapeutic value of being in nature and the outdoors. Our girls outdoor therapy programs apply scientifically demonstrated techniques and experiences to help troubled teens heal and excel.

Unplugging for Girls Nature Based Therapy

Therapeutic programs in an outdoor setting help teens heal by combining the benefits of nature with getting away from negative technological distractions and influences. The physical interactions associated with living in an unplugged environment work wonders on a teenager’s critical, constructive and creative thinking skills. These skills oftentimes fail to develop in today’s toxic culture and digitally-addicted age.

At Shepherd’s Hill Academy, students learn wise habits that help them lead healthy lifestyles. Our girls nature based therapy programs focus on a well-rounded approach. In addition to helping each girl with her emotional well-being, our therapeutic approach also benefits the girls psychologically and spiritually. In fact, 70% of students coming to SHA on medications graduate SHA medication-free or with significantly reduced regimens! Everything at SHA is based upon biblical principles and are scientifically supported to work and help!

A Living Environment for Girls Outdoor Therapy

The residential component of SHA is a therapeutic environment that offers a simple living experience. Your teen will benefit from a positive natural environment free of tech-heavy overstimulation and distractions. This simple, natural approach allows them to enjoy a place where they can grow, learn, and thrive. With outdoor therapy, your teen will be challenged to learn skills such as regulating their emotions and building adaptive coping mechanisms that will ultimately benefit their life.

Our nature based therapy for girls also teaches them practical lifelong skills in leadership, accountability, work ethic, and responsibility. Without the distractions of technology, they learn how to develop healthy face-to-face relationships and enjoy holistic therapeutic interactions that improve their overall well-being and mental and physical health. In a positive inspired environment like this, good behavior becomes their idea because it’s rooted in the experiences that life in the woods promotes. Teens can slow down, think, heal, and hear the still small voice of God and focus on the tenets of a biblical worldview.

Adapting to the Wilderness: Therapy for Girls That Works

When they first arrive, our students definitely feel out of their comfort zones. That is a normal part of the process, but will prove to be a foundation for success. Troubled teens need a change, and many have not spent much, if any, quality time outdoors. However, it doesn’t take them long to adapt, acclimate, and actually enjoy the experience.

Teens participating in our girl’s outdoor therapy programs become re-oriented to more wholesome activities and interactions. Many students have even called their year at SHA the best year of their lives! Though loving Jesus Christ is in no way a prerequisite to their success through the program, they will likely never find a better and more freeing atmosphere for knowing God and His Word.

The wilderness experience with SHA is one of a kind. The female students reside in structurally sound rustic cabins located about a quarter-mile (2 1/2 city blocks) from Shepherd’s Hill Academy’s main campus. They experience simple living in a safe environment. The wilderness-like communities have no running water or electricity. All cabins are heated with wood-burning stoves.

Girls Nature Based Therapy Plus Full Amenities

While our programs focus on simple rustic outdoor experience, students also have access to all the educational facilities they need to excel academically. The main campus of Shepherd’s Hill Academy provides full functional amenities such as shower facilities, restrooms, laundry machines, a cafeteria, and classrooms. The girls daily attend their classes, eat three healthy meals, and maintain personal hygiene on campus.

Shepherd’s Hill Academy is a licensed Outdoor Child Care Program and meets all rules and regulations set forth by the state of Georgia. All teens are supervised 24/7 with a 5:1 student-to-staff ratio by the Girls Residential Team.

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Activities

While at Shepherd’s Hill Academy, our Girls Nature Based Program provides your daughter with the opportunity to regularly engage in wholesome, exciting, healthy, and relaxing activities both on and off-campus.

On-Campus Activities

Our approximately 200-acre facility provides ample opportunity for your daughter to experience virtually unlimited creative activities. Some of these activities include:

  • Access to exercise & fitness, including free weights
  • Basketball, soccer, flag football, volleyball, GaGa ball, disc-golf & other recreational activities
  • Walking trails & nature paths
  • In-ground swimming pool with an activity pavilion
  • Creative activities
  • Opportunities for maintenance, demolition & construction activities
  • Pond & dock area for fishing

Away From Campus Activities

Each month, the girls are given an off-campus activity. This means they will participate in any number of activities in the surrounding communities, which can include, but are not limited to:

  • Camping and fishing
  • Movie and dinner
  • Amateur and professional sporting events
  • Local festivals and community affairs
  • Museum, planetarium, and aquarium visits
  • Hiking near parks, lakes, streams, and waterfalls

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Homestead Projects

While living in a simple, rustic setting as part of our Girls Nature Based Program, your daughter will have the opportunity to learn how to take care of the Shepherd’s Hill Academy barn by collecting chicken eggs, feeding a variety of animals, and learning how to shear sheep. These activities are fun and simple, and help promote healing.

The Girls Program utilizes a self-reliance therapeutic strategy, our Sustainable Development Program, that brings confidence to your child. Your daughter will learn that she can accomplish things beyond what she thought herself capable. This learning, confidence, and self-esteem all transfer into greater expectations in behavior. Each day, her heart will transform as she becomes a stronger, healthier person.

Team Building

The Girls Nature Based Program focuses on community and team building. Every individual is expected to contribute to the group. This provides an opportunity for your teen girl to learn valuable team-building skills that will help her throughout her life. Other therapeutic components such as accountability meetings, Equine Therapy, and low ropes course activities all teach relational skills that contribute to the healing process.

Every program focuses on your teen’s health and well-being. For more information on how our nature based therapy can help your troubled teen, please contact us today.

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