Learning by doing is one of the most effective ways of teaching life skills. At Havenwood Academy, we focus on this in all of our programs. Learn more about this method of teaching life skills, so you can see why it’s the best for teen girls.
About Experiential Therapy
Traditional therapy involves a lot of talking. If you have ever tried to sit your teen daughter down to just talk, you know that it can be a struggle. However, with experiential therapy, teen girls learn what they would of through communication, but with activities, movements and actions.
This form of therapy was developed in the 1970s. It sought to identify and address hidden or subconscious issues. Through imagery, play and the use of props, it’s believed people are able to release what bothers them much easier. Once the problems are identified, solutions can be worked on and put into action.
How Havenwood Academy Uses Experiential Therapy
Teen girls are active. They want to keep their body and mind busy. We do this by incorporating activities into all of the lessons we teach as part of our programs.
For instance, if we are focusing on peer pressure, we may have the girls come up with ways to deal with the situation effectively. They will then act out what to do to help them see how it works. Not only do the teens learn ways to deal with peer pressure from each other, but they know how to use those solutions in a social setting.
In addition, we sometimes bring up issues that may be happening around them at the school. Conflict resolution is one of the most common lessons we teach our girls. Many times, we will first speak to the girls about what happened, and then help them come up with ways to handle the situation. Once they are satisfied with a solution, they can proceed with using it while having a moderator present for coaching purposes.
Teaching Teen Girls How to Succeed in Life
Experiential therapy is something that our girls can use forever. After they leave our school, they can use the life skills they learned with confidence because they have already used them in a safe environment. As they move on with their life, they will be able to engage in experiential therapy on their own. They will learn they need to identify the problem at hand, brainstorm solutions, and then use them.
Some teenage girls need the extra help Havenwood Academy can provide them. We are a secure, safe boarding school for troubled girls that offers all they need to turn their life around to become responsible and productive members of society.
Contact us today for more information about our school’s programs.

Think Havenwood Might Be For You?
We encourage any visitors considering placing their daughter in treatment to fill out our online assessment as soon as possible. This two minute form will give our admissions team all the information needed to determine if your daughter is a good fit for our program.