Teen Rehab: Finding a Mentor for Your Son
Helping your teenager walk through their recovery isn’t more than just following a checklist of tasks. It is an all-encompassing venture that requires time and care from both parents, friends and your son. The goal is for the recovery process to last. One viable option for making sure your son’s recovery isn’t just a flash in the pan is mentorship. Helping your son in teen rehab isn’t just about programming and following an agenda. It’s about building real relationships with people who care for your son. Ozarks Teen Challenge wants to walk through why mentorship can benefit your teen.
What Does Mentorship Look Like?
Finding a mentor isn’t what most people think that it is. While mentors can exist in the workplace or in athletics, the mentor we are talking about should connect with your son on a more personal level. In this space, the mentor and the teen are free to walk through the issues of life without hindrance. While the mentor is ideally an older person with more life experience, this relationship is built on conversations. Not simply on the mentor giving your son advice, but also with the mentor listening to your son and giving him a space where he can feel safe and speak about things that they wouldn’t ordinarily be able to.
This incredibly important in the recovery process of getting your teen rehab because it develops him as a human being. Teenagers can often feel like they’re being talked at. They can feel like they’re being told what to do but not really knowing the purpose. This allows your teenager to work through things organically with someone they trust and who has been through similar circumstances and trials.
Finding The Right Mentor
There is no perfect formula for finding a mentor. In fact, there really isn’t a formula at all. It’s more about your son and the people around him. The thing that will kill a mentorship faster than anything else is a forced mentor. It has to be a real, organic relationship, which is tough to find sometimes.
As a parent, the biggest thing you can do is surround your teenager with good influencers. And fathers, don’t discount the idea that you could be your son’s mentor. Most importantly, encourage your teenager throughout the process, even if they aren’t connecting with people who could serve as mentors. The goal of teen rehab is creating lasting change and that can take time.
Teen Challenge Wants to Get Your Teen Rehab
At Ozarks Teen Challenge, our mission is helping teenagers find the help they need in the teen rehab process. We believe that mentorship can play an integral role in that and our trained staff can help you through it. Contact us today at (417) 272-3784 or visit our website for more information on teen rehab.
