What Is Heartlight Ministries?

Heartlight Ministries is a Christian residential program committed to help adolescents and their families as they deal difficult situations. It was established in 1989 as a non-profit Christian program, which aims to help teenagers as they bring about changes in their actions, and thinking, which create a better relationship and bond with family and parents. The program lasts for at most one year and can accept 48 participants on a 100-acre facility in Eastern Texas.

Teenagers with the following issues are accepted at Heartlight Ministries:

• Defiance, which results to behaviors that can put him/her and the family in danger. His/her actions lead to stress or constant fear in the home.
• Marked change in behavior from what has been normal such as forgetfulness, aggression, anxiety, hatred, avoiding friends, sleeping too long or too little, lack of motivation, depression, low grades, prefer to be with friends than with family, and wanting to be alone most of the time.
• Open display of rebellion, disobedient, dishonesty, disrespectful, and indifference.
• Open defiance or passive aggression.
• Loss of moral compass or conscience through veiled or outright suicide threats, cutting/self-mutilation, dangerous drug use, excessive risk-taking, and excessive sexual promiscuity.
• Out-of-control or threatening treatment of belongings, pets, and people
• Display of blatant disregard for family members’ possessions, time, and feelings
• Little or no progress with months of counseling
• Shows hatred for the family and has nothing to do with his/her family.
• Destructive attitudes and behaviors due to his/her peer influence.

The Heartlight Ministries Program

The therapeutic program helps and mentors the participant as he/she continues with his/her education with defined boundaries. It offers weekend retreats and seminars for family members as they continue with their healing. It also provides an encouraging and safe living environment in order to give the teenage the time he/she needs to change his/her actions and thinking. The program makes use of biblical counseling approach and the teenager is supported through group and individual counseling and round-the-clock mentoring. A counselor meets each participant weekly and uses the biblical model in counseling. The parents are also updated weekly through phone in order to discuss issues, which have come up during the weekly individual counseling session.

The parents are also involved in the program and are expected to attend the three parent retreats scheduled quarterly in order to ensure that family members have the proper expectations regarding teenager’s behavior in different stages of the program. Such retreats also prepare the family for the return of the teenager to their home.

http://www.heartlightministries.org

Related articles

• Ten practices of effective discipline with your adolescent (psychologytoday.com)
• The Ripple Effect of Defiant Behavior: When Parents Pay the Price (rescueyouth.com)
• Adolescence and therapeutic (life bettering) encounters (psychologytoday.com)
• Intercept By Outward Bound Wilderness (rescueyouth.com)
• Child Anger Management – The “Positive” Way (rescueyouth.com)
• Kids’ Behavioral Problems More Likely If Parent is Depressed (psychcentral.com)
• Identity Loss From Past Family Dysfunction (psychcentral.com)
• Dealing With Aggressive Children (rescueyouth.com)
• How to Get Your Child to Listen: 9 Secrets to Giving Effective Consequences (rescueyouth.com)
• Typical Teen Behaviors: How Would You Describe Your Teenager? (decoder.drugfree.org)

Originally posted 2011-12-18 07:38:08.