Therapeutic Boarding School
The Academy at Swift River is a therapeutic boarding school that is dedicated to the mission of helping teens get back on track by restoring relationships, rediscovering academic success, and preparing them to meet the challenges of adolescence and young adulthood.
As a Therapeutic Boarding School — and as our mission statement indicate – although we maintain high academic expectations for our students, we are concerned with much more that how they perform in the classroom. In addition to rigorous academics, our therapeutic boarding school also provides students with significant support services to meet their social, behavioral, and mental health needs.
Enrolling a child in a therapeutic boarding school can be a watershed moment in a family’s life. When the therapeutic boarding school that has been selected is a good match for the specific needs of the student in question, the results can be dramatic, positive, and life-changing. At the Academy at Swift River, our intention is to customize our comprehensive academic and therapeutic programming in order to best meet the unique needs of each student.
Like traditional boarding schools, a therapeutic boarding school provides academic instruction, extra- and co-curricular activities, and residential services. Unlike traditional boarding schools, though, a therapeutic boarding school places significant emphasis on meeting the social, emotional, behavioral, and mental health needs of enrolled students – hence, the “therapeutic” part of the term “therapeutic boarding school.”
At the Academy of Swift River, highlights of our therapeutic curriculum include the following:
- Individualized goal-attainment approach based on needs assessment
- Weekly individual counseling session
- Weekly treatment groups which includes Team Group, Caseload Group, and a Theme group – i.e. adoption, mood management, or grief and loss groups
- Substance abuse evaluation, motivational-enhancement treatments, mutual help groups, and relapse prevention Life Phase Seminars that are experientially based to promote and facilitate the change processes associated with specific phases
- Periodic topic-focused parenting workshops
- Medication consultation and management
One of the many benefits of a therapeutic boarding school is the opportunity to address all issues that are impacting a student’s progress. From personal counseling to family education and support services, the therapeutic boarding school experience features a continuum of care that is designed to identify, address, and develop strategies for overcoming all obstacles that have previously prevented our students from achieving to their greatest potential.
When a student enrolls in a therapeutic boarding school, he or she enters a nurturing and supportive community where students, teachers, and treatment professionals work in concert to create the optimal environment for effecting real and lasting change. Since curricular and therapeutic offerings vary from therapeutic boarding school to therapeutic boarding school, though, it is essential that parents and other caregivers find the program that is best prepared to meet the unique needs of their student.
Some students require a therapeutic boarding school that features a strong substance abuse and/or addiction treatment component, while others may need a therapeutic boarding school that focuses on behavior disorders or learning differences. Within the academic realm, a therapeutic boarding school that is designed for previously low-achieving students or dropouts will vary considerably from a therapeutic boarding school whose primary mission is helping high-achieving students address the non-academic issues that are threatening to derail their bright scholastic future.
At the Swift River Academy, our therapeutic boarding school curriculum is grounded in a firm belief in in the power of a community that fosters a positive peer culture where students help each other to enhance their personal growth, and experienced students assume important leadership roles and responsibilities.