A teen runs away from home after quarrelling with parents and care givers, in order to get independence, indulge in delinquent behaviour, pursue a dream or escape from an unhealthy and unfriendly home environment. The runaway teen usually lives on the street, at the benevolence and expense of peers and acquaintances or in the care of charitable social and religious organizations that provide shelter for runaways. The US National Runaway switchboard reports that “Each year one million teens leave home without permission. Runaways come from every social class, race, and religion.” (http://www.geocities.com/Wellesley/9691/teenrunaways.html)
The life of a runaway teen is full of uncertainty, danger and excitement. The runaway teen in order to survive must decide on what to do to earn income for sustenance. The runaway teen would usually beg or work for food. However since a runaway teen is on the run and with little educational qualification, job opportunities are limited. This forces the runaway teen to engage in unwholesome activities like teen prostitution, robbery, drug peddling etc to earn some money.
According to the National runaway hotline: “There are many dangers involved in running away. Alone in a strange city or on the highway, a teen is an easy target for thieves, pimps, drug pushers, and other violent criminals. The problems at home are replaced by more serious and more dangerous problems on the street. (http://www.geocities.com/Wellesley/9691/teenrunaways.html)
Since teens are usually not yet mature enough to face fully the challenges in an adult world, the runaway teen succumbs to temptation of doing drugs and abusing alcohol in order to deal with the emotional and psychological turmoil that goes with leaving home.
The massive pressure a runaway teen faces can damage the teen’s psyche, make a teen vulnerable and aggressive so that even when such a teen ends up in a shelter or back home, attitudes picked up from the street make it difficult for people to relate with such a teen or to provide psychological help. However, running away especially when it is to escape an unhealthy climate at home can give a teen the extra motivation and drive to succeed in life. Some runaway teens escaping from danger at home seek out help and are open to assistance from qualified personnel. Some are taken in by kind people, make it to foster care or end up in centers that provide for and protect runaways.

When a teenager begins habitually abusing drugs and alcohol, then it might be necessary to seek help from a residential treatment center. Residential treatment centers give teens the opportunity to receive counseling on a 24-hour basis because they live in the counseling center. There are many residential treatment centers that help teens across the country and the world. Finding the one that is right for your teen is one of the steps that you can take to help ensure that he or she will be able to lead a long and healthy life free from alcohol and drug addiction.

At times it may be necessary for a teen to undergo treatment at a residential facility because his or her home life is not conducive to recovery. This might be because the other members of the household are themselves abusing drugs and alcohol, or it might be because other members of the household create an environment that causes extreme stress and anxiety to the teenager. While putting blame on another family member will not help the teen recover from drug and alcohol abuse, it may be necessary to remove the teen from the environment so that recovery can be begin to take place.

Residential treatment centers offer services that outpatient services cannot give teenagers who have drug and alcohol problems. The most obvious advantage that residential treatment centers offer is that care can be provided in a structured environment around the clock. Breaking the habit of abuse is the first step that many teens must take in recovery. By placing the teen in a place where drugs and alcohol are not available this makes breaking the cycle of abuse easier. Teens who are undergoing outpatient treatment can potentially abuse drugs when they are not being monitored. Because residential programs have strict rules, the teen will not have an opportunity to use.

While in a residential treatment program, teens will learn techniques that can help them modify their behavior so that they can handle stressful situations without resorting to drug and alcohol use. Many residential treatment centers work in conjunction with other treatment facilities to make sure that long-term care can be provided to the patient. It is important that the possibility of relapse be minimized after the patient has been discharged from the residential treatment center. Individual and group therapy can help ensure that relapse will not happen.

The rate of substance abuse amongst teenagers and other kids of school going ages are increasingly at alarming rates. Substances have become easily accessible due to modern development in technology and increased need to fit in into particular sects, fraternities or sororities.

EXTENT OF DRUG USE AMONGST SCHOOL KIDS

The recent statistics on the consumption of drugs and alcohol by school kids makes a grim read; the following statistics were released by the U.S Center for Disease Control and Prevention Survey

The majority of these kids are exposed to the use of these substances through, the internet, advertising, movies and music. The popularity of rock and roll boosted the use of illegal substances in the late 1960s; this continued to the early and mid 1970s before the explosion of pop culture which aggravated the use of these substances. A lot of the youths then days are now addicted parents now, who are usually the first point of contact to their teenage kids. The popularity of music genres like Reggae and Hip –Hop that glorifies consumption of Marijuana, act as the convincing factor for the use of drugs amongst these kids.

WHERE DOES IT BEGIN

Teenagers and other kids of school going ages are at greater risks of abusing substances these days than they were a decade ago. With the internet and mobile phone communications the purchase of such may go undetected until it might be too late. With the clicks of buttons and exquisite packaging such substances may be delivered to a parent’s door step and placed into the hands of the parent as a parcel for their kid without suspicion. Experimentation is common amongst teenagers and most of the exposure begins at school

WHY DOES IT BEGIN

These are the basic reasons leading to the abuse of drugs and other substances in schools

• Fitting in syndrome
• Peer pressure
• Risk Taking age
• The need to explore and experiment
• Constant exposure to a chemical society of drugs and alcohol
• TV ads, Movies and the Internet
• Rebellion
• Low self esteem
• Inferiority complex

EFFECTS OF DURG ABUSE IN SCHOOLS

Drugs produce many devastating effects to kids and school communities, such effects may be long lasting or permanent health and emotional issues. They include:

SUBSTANCES MOST LIKELY TO BE ABUSED IN SCHOOLS

• Depressants – Usually of devastating effects when combined with alcohol
• Heroin- It contains very potent hallucinogenic materials, the use has increased because its cheap
• Steroids – powerful compounds related to  the male testosterone, mostly used to increase rates of performance in sporting activities
• Club drugs - popularly known as designer drugs, these are mostly manufactured in make shifts labs and are very dangerous. They include Methamphetamine, Ecstasy and LSD. Some of these drugs are tasteless odorless and colorless.
• Marijuana: Very cheap and assessable. It slows the thought rate of users.
• Over the counter cough, cold sleep and diet pills
• Inhalants

WHAT SHOULD BE DONE

An early intervention and prevention activities should be inculcated into schools drug abuse programs. The extent of the usage/problem amongst kids in schools should be established by authorities with the assistance of local enforcement agents before instituting any new drug prevention program.

Furthermore a collaboration plan with parents should also be considered and assistance sought from the board and external treatment agencies. In addition to this a clear and consistent drug use policy should be established. This will specify drug offences and consequences.

Also security measures to eliminate potential influx of drugs and traffickers should be put in place. Finally school staff should be trained on the discipline and educative approach to tackling drug peddling and usage amongst their students.

If you have a child with a learning or behavior disorder then regular public schools might not be the best way for the child to receive the education and counseling that is needed. Instead, you might want to explore alternative child schools that can give your child the tools that he or she will need to begin a life of happiness and success. There are schools in many areas that have programs that will meet your child’s needs.
St Catherine’s Military School in Anaheim, California offers male students with special needs the opportunity to get the educational and religious tools, and counseling that will help form a solid foundation for him.1 The school was founded by the Domincan Sisters of Mission San Jose in the late 1800s, and still maintains its tradition of turning boys into honorable young men who will be able to attend a college or university that will help prepare him for the challenges of life. It is a boarding school that will be able to give your child the supervision and direction that he needs.
St Catherine’s will not only give your boy a religious and educational background, but also has counseling available. The school understands that many young men face challenges in their lives that they don’t understand how to cope with. By counseling children with behavior and learning disorders, the school can arm the boys with the discipline that they need to participate in life without resorting to unhealthy behaviors like aggression and drug use.
The Devereux Grenholme School also focuses on students that have special needs. The school has a staff of counselors that understand how difficult a learning environment can be for children who Asperger’s, PDD, ADD, ADHD, bipolar disorder, depression, OCD, Tourettes Syndrome, and other learning disabilities. The school offers students individual therapy, in-vivo coaching, which helps students understand how the lessons learned in therapy can be applied to everyday life, group therapy, and family therapy.
Devereux Grenholme School has two programs that will help your child learn the coping skills that are necessary for them to make healthy decisions when faced with life’s problems. The Arts Program helps students learn how to express themselves in positive ways. The Equestrian Program helps students learn how to be responsible and gives them the opportunity to bond with a horse.
Finding the special child school that is right for your child can be a long process. Try to find a place that has experience teaching children with your child’s disorder. If you chose to place him or her at a boarding school, then make sure that it is a place that you are comfortable leaving your child at for prolonged periods of time.

Children with learning and behavior disorders can often get the most of their education by being placed in alternative private schools. Not all public and private schools have the resources that are necessary to educate children with special needs. They may not have teachers with the necessary training. They may also lack counselors that have experience dealing with children that have special needs. It’s important that you find a school that is right for your child if he or she has a disorder that makes traditional learning methods ineffective or if they need the level of supervision that regular schools cannot provide.
One alternative private school that you might be interested in is the St Catherine’s Military School. It’s an all-male boarding school located in Anaheim, California. The school offers boys with learning and behavior problems education and counseling that will prepare them for the bigger challenges in their lives. The school bases its education on a firm religious and military tradition. It was founded by the Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose in the late 1800s and has a strong Catholic influence.
St Catherine’s provides counseling services to its students so that they can learn the life skills that they need to make healthy choices in response to trying circumstances. They have an excellent music program and allow students to use many of the musical instruments that are owned by the school/
You may also want to try the Devereux Grenholme School. This is a co-educational boarding school located in Washing, Connecticut. The school offers students several different types of counseling services. When a child is enrolled at the school they receive individual counseling, in vivo coaching, which helps students learn ways that they can apply their counseling to everyday life, group therapy, and family therapy.
Devereux Grenholme School gives students the opportunity to develop and hone the skills that they will learn at the school through two special programs: the Arts Program and the Equestrian Program. The Arts Program will help students learn ways that they can express themselves in a positive way. The Equestrian Program teaches students responsibility and gives them the opportunity to form a relationship with a horse.
Finding the right private school for your child is an important step in helping to ensure that he or she will be able to develop the skills needed to build a happy, healthy life. Check your area to see if there is a private school that can give your child the counseling and education that he or she needs.

If your child has learning or behavior disorders then it might be necessary for him or her to attend an alternative placement school. Alternative placement schools are available through many public school systems. They help give students the environment that they need to facilitate learning by using non-traditional techniques. Often students will be required by a school system to attend these schools because they are causing disturbances in other classrooms. By sending the child to an alternative placement school, they can receive the attention that they need to be successful in a highly structured environment that will offer them close supervision. Just because the school system might require your child to attend an alternative placement school doesn’t mean that you should necessarily see this as a punishment for your child. By receiving the attention that your child needs, they will be getting an education that will enable them to learn more effectively than they can in traditional classrooms.

There are also private alternative placement schools that you can chose to send your chills to. Even though most public alternative placement schools are staffed by teachers and counselors who understand the special needs of children with behavior and learning disorders, placing them at a private school will give you more choices and allow you to have some control over where your child is educated and what services he or she will receive.

Two well known private alternative placement schools are the Devereux Glenholme School in Washing, Connecticut and St Catherine’s Military School in Anaheim, California. Both of these schools offer counseling services that might fit your child’s special needs.

Devereux Glenholme School is a coeducational boarding school that gives students individual counseling, in vivo coaching, which helps the child understand how to apply the skills learned in counseling sessions to everyday life, group therapy, and family therapy. The also have an Art Program and an Equestrian Program to help your child learn healthy forms of expression and responsibility.

St Catherine’s is an all-male Catholic boarding school. They offer students counseling services and have an exemplary music program. The school specializes in teaching children with a wide range of disorders like Tourettes Syndrome, ADD, and bipolar disorder.

If you’re unhappy with the alternative placement school that your local public school system has assigned your child to, then you might want to look into these or other private schools that have staffs that are trained to educate children with special needs.

Some people find that traditional counseling methods do not work effectively for them. For these people it might be necessary for them to seek out alternative counseling methods that will give them the necessary tools to live a healthy and happy life. If you’re experiencing difficulty with traditional counseling techniques, then you might want to find an alternative counseling method that is right for you. There are many different types that you can choose from. Here are just a few examples of alternative counseling methods that are frequently used.

Faith - based counseling- Faith-based counseling helps people connect with their personal religious beliefs as a means of finding solace and the strength to change their lives for the better. Counseling is available through many churches, synagogues, and other religious institutions. Some people feel that they can be better counseled by those who share their religious believes and can use religious texts to help them draw inspiration to make the changes in their lives that are necessary for them to lead healthy lives. Regardless of whether you are Catholic, Baptist, Jewish, Buddhist, or a member of any other religion, you might find that faith-based counseling is the right for you to learn the coping skills that you need.

Equestrian counseling - Also known as hippotherapy, equestrian counseling has helped many people develop the skills that they need to lead happier lives. Hippotherapy uses a horse’s movement to stimulate the patient with graded sensory input. This has been shown to improve the neurological function and sensory processing of many patients. Hippotherapy has been shown to increase gross motor skills, fine motor skills, speech and language abilities, and behavioral and cognitive abilities in many people.

Art therapy - Art therapy gives patients the opportunity to express their feelings through mediums like paint, clay, and chalk. It’s an expressive form of therapy that can be beneficial for people who are having a difficult time verbalizing the problems that they are facing. Therapists who are trained in art therapy know how to recognize symbols that might be used to express emotions that the patient doesn’t seem able to talk about. Sometimes art therapy can help patients communicate problems that they aren’t consciously aware of. Sometimes it helps to point to the root of the person’s problem.

There are many different types of alternative therapies available. If you’re currently undergoing traditional therapy, and you’re not making the process that you would like, then you might want to try traditional therapy in combination with alternative therapy methods to see which works better for you.

It’s difficult to say how long a troubled teen will need to be at a boarding school. It depends a lot on the problem that the teen has and how cooperative he or she is with the program. The average stay for a teen at a boarding school is between 12 and 15 months. This will give the teens enough time to get the counseling that they need to modify their behaviors so that they can be healthier.

Some schools have programs that last only three months. These programs will let you test out the facility to see if it’s right for you. Some teens only need the three-month program to get back on the right track. That’s all the time that they need to learn the healthy behaviors that will help make them happier, healthier people.

On the other side of the spectrum, though, are teens that are extremely reluctant to counseling, even in the boarding school environment. For these teens, it may take longer. They may end up being there for several years. In the end, though, most parents find that their teens learn the skills that they need to behave in an acceptable way.

There are several boarding schools that you can choose from. Talk to representatives of the schools to figure out which one will work best with your teen. Horizon Academy, and Red River Academy excellent places to start your search. If you find that none of these meet your needs, then you might want to contact an organization like Help My Teen. They maintain relationships with many schools, so they might be able to help you select the one that’s right for your teen.

WHO IS A SCHOOL COUNSELOR
A school counselor can be regarded as a professional that notices and wades into a crisis situation before its aggravated. They also help resolve already aggravated crisis situations. They are problem solvers, who are professionally trained educators and whose specific job is to aid students and teachers in solving education or attitudinal and career related problems. School Counselors are also known as guidance counselors or educational counselors.

TYPES OF SCHOOL COUNSELORS

There are basically 3 types of school counselors:

Elementary School counselor - They deal with early graders

Middle/Junior High counselor - They deal with Middle school students

High school counselor - They deal with high school kids preparing for post secondary life

Other type’s of counselors are those that work in:

District supervisory roles
Counselor Education
Post secondary settings  

MODE OPERATIONS
The operations mode of most school counselors are only differentiated by the attention to developmental stages of students’ growth, including needs, task and student interests related to these stages. They basically address the academic, personal/social and career development needs.

WHAT THEY DO
Counselors are trained to assist all students regardless of abilities; they also work in tandem with school heads, health professionals, teachers, parents and law enforcement agencies.

ACTIVITIES OF COUNSELORS

They deal with personal, family and social problems pertaining to students concerns

In higher classes, counselors help students plan their academic programs
They develop and maintain records on students
They help coordinate information about requirements for school entry and scholarships for colleges and vocational schools
It is expected of a counselor to be knowledgeable on school policy on attendance, dress code, alcohol and drug abuse, pregnancy and weapons
They also develop special plans for some students needing referrals to medical and law enforcement agents.
www.special-ed-careers.org
WHO IS A COUNSELOR

A counselor is an individual who is interested in the personal/social, academic and professional development of a child. They are required to have a high level of education sometimes to the doctorate degree level, mostly, degrees in counseling, educational psychology or counseling psychology.

Their qualities are, but, not necessarily limited to patience, resourcefulness, capability to inspire youth, trustworthiness and confidence. They also posses skills that stand them out as leaders with excellent listening skills who are very adaptable to individual or group mode of attendance.

WHERE TO FIND A COUNSELOR

Counselors abound in most western countries; it’s a profession that is widely needed now, not only in school settings but in general living. Most countries have associations that govern the practice of counselors. They are easily accessible from the various search engines on the internet.

Counselors make a good living from the profession these days as their professional needs are required in schools, the military, civil service e.t.c