Christian Therapeutic Boarding School for Troubled Teens  |  Christian Boarding Schools Behavioral Therapy Programs for Teens  |  Counseling for Teens

What Our Past Residents Say

Parenting is an adventure and the restoration of your family may be the adventure of a lifetime. Each of you is at a different place in your adventure as you search the Internet for treatment programs, boarding schools, and Christian facilities.

Teens GraduateFor each parent there is often confusion and fear around what it means to place your child in a residential treatment facility. While placement in a boarding school might feel like a last ditch effort or a big financial and emotional risk, at Shelterwood, we see this decision as a new beginning. The at-risk youth that attend our treatment program crave structure and boundaries. While their risky behavior might seem like they want distance, teens are often searching for connection in their lives. We believe that we can help troubled teens find their way through adolescence and enable them to reconnect in a much deeper way with their parents.

Shelterwood has stood out among other boarding schools, treatment facilities, programs for at-risk teens and even other Christian boarding schools for more than thirty years. Through the years, our nonprofit ministry has helped hundreds of teens grow and become the people they were intended to be. Read just some of the testimonials that we have received over the past year. They provide a snapshot of families reunited and lives redeemed.

The following entries are directly from letters and emails, misspellings and all.  Check out more reviews.

Sarah Conner, former Shelterwood student

Teenagers are not especially well behaved when they are not getting what they want, and I was no exception. I was an abrasive, dishonest, eating-disordered teenager who stopped at nothing to get what she wanted. I wanted to graduate with my class, to be in the senior theater production, to call my best friend, and none of those plans included a flight to Missouri. My parents, however, knew what I needed, and I thank them every day for providing me with it despite my efforts to make them miserable in their decision. I wonder now how long I would have lasted without their guidance (Not very long).

My mind now, immediately goes back to the caring people of Shelterwood, and how they had loved me at my worst, and never stopped praying for me even after I left. I will always aspire to show love like they did, and I can only hope that I can reciprocate the incredible caring that I found there, even when I least appreciated it.

Shelterwood is an amazing opportunity for a lot of teens to learn these life lessons in a safe environment, instead of learning the hard way in their adult life. While this seems like a hard decision in high school, it has the potential to save so much pain and heartache. I cannot tell you how much I love and respect my parents for making the hard choice to put me on that plane.

God has blessed my life now with incredible healing that I could never imagine nor deserve. I love telling people about how my life has changed since then, and give the glory to God and those who do his work, which I can wholeheartedly say personifies those at Shelterwood. I graduate college next year, and I can’t wait to work in ministry and change lives to the extent that mine has been changed.

To find out more about the Shelterwood difference or to receive a list of alumni parents that you can talk to directly, just call us at (800) 584 5005. We would love to visit with you and discuss our approach to treatment, education and building strong, healthy and happy families. We’re in this together.