Therapeutic Boarding School for Girls 9 – 14
WELCOME TO
the therapeutic boarding school
where girls find
healing through play
The Lake House Academy Story
Hannah, an 11-year-old, was struggling in school, and floundering in relationships. She had a hard time picking up on social cues, which resulted in difficulty maintaining friendships and low self-esteem. While at school and church she was pleasant and kind, she often exploded at home, yelling, isolating herself, and sometimes threatening suicide. Hannah's relationships with her parents seem to be more and more strained as she got older.
After Lake House Academy, Hannah was caught up in school and had developed the study skills to manage increasingly heavy workloads at school. After months of practice, she understood social cues from her friends, and built strong relationships with her peers. Perhaps most importantly, Hannah built a healthy relationship with each of her parents. She allowed her mother to parent her, support her when she was having a difficult time, and enjoy life alongside her.
Who is a Lake House Student?
We understand how scary it can be to think about sending your young daughter away for help. Lake House Academy’s exclusive focus on this age group allows us to adapt all aspects, especially clinically, to the needs of our young girls’ developing brains.
You may have noticed that your daughter often acts before thinking, struggles with mood regulation, has maladaptive social behaviors, and has “fight or flight”-type responses. These behaviors are common in pre-adolescence and early adolescence because this age group relies heavily on the “limbic”, or primitive/emotional, center of the brain.
Attachments are formed in the limbic part of the brain. Adoption, trauma, and other events big or small can prevent your daughter from forming a secure attachment style. Without secure attachment, your daughter is likely to experience difficulty in relationships, anxiety, loneliness, low self-worth, and other related challenges.
"Autonomy grows out of attachment."
Our approach at Lake House is tailored to intervening at the limbic level. Our clinical model, which includes Theraplay and attachment-focused therapy, allows us to support girls struggling with:
- Attachment struggles, including adoption
- Anxiety, depression, and other mood disorders
- Social anxiety, challenging peer relationships
- Trauma
- Grief and loss
- ADHD and similar disorders
While these challenges can seem insurmountable for both your daughter and your family, we can help your daughter heal from these struggles in a way that makes sense to her now, and prepares her for healthy relationships and behaviors in the future.
Letter from the Executive Director -
I know that life’s not easy when you’re looking for out of home care for your young daughter. You’re probably overwhelmed by feelings of doubt, fear, stress, and guilt. I’ve worked with girls like yours for many years, and I know that they are fun, talented, smart, wonderful girls. I also know that they can be really hard. Parenting is never easy, but it doesn’t have to be this difficult.
I want to express to you in this challenging time that there is hope for your daughter and your family. We can help you, like we’ve helped hundreds of other families, to heal from unhealthy attachment styles and improve your relationship with your daughter. And it can happen in a fun, safe environment. We believe in letting kids be kids. Your daughter can play and truly enjoy her time on campus while doing her healing work.
I invite you to come visit us at Lake House Academy. Take a tour and meet the people who would be working with your daughter, experience the program, and get a feel for how your daughter would do in the environment.
Whether or not we’re the best fit for your family, I wish you the best on this difficult journey. There is hope for your daughter. Our admissions team is standing by at [email protected]
Warmly,
Heidi Strand, Executive Director
"... More free play for children would reduce the incidence of ADHD. Any therapist who can capture the therapeutic moment in mutually shared play episodes will have brought the client to the gateway of happy living"
WILL YOUR DAUGHTER GET BETTER?
Our answer at Lake House is a resounding
Lake House Academy has been committed to helping middle-school age girls since 2010. Based on our most recent outcomes report, 91% of all Lake House Academy students report that they no longer struggle with the primary issue that prompted treatment at discharge.
"As much as I wanted to go home and didn’t want to be “sent away”, this place really helped me and I made friends that I hope will always be my friend."
Lake House Academy is truly a very special place and it’s the amazingly talented and dedicated team of professionals who are there to help that make it so!
Lake House Academy has already after just 3 months had such a positive impact on our family. Yes, family, it is a parallel process to healing and growth. Their caregivers are truly caregivers.
When you enroll at Lake House Academy, here you will get:
Customized healing for your whole family, not just your daughter.
Your daughter’s emotional struggles have affected your whole family, and so the healing process shouldn’t only focus on your daughter. Through use of the MIM Assessment and our outcome tools, we will create a customized family assessment and treatment plan focused on healing your family’s unique struggles.
Your involvement doesn’t end with the assessment & planning. We involve you in every step of your daughter’s healing journey, from weekly family therapy sessions via video conferencing to parent visits and an in-home study, our first priority is making your family healthy. We rigorously embrace outcomes and use our outcome tools to monitor your family’s health and progress on a weekly, monthly, and quarterly basis. We’ll even follow up with you years after graduating from our program to ensure that our treatment was successful.
Your daughter caught up to her appropriate developmental, emotional, and academic level.
We’ll help your daughter fill in the missing gaps in her development. We specialize in helping with:
Emotional Development
- Using our developmentally-sensitive attachment model to help her grow in the way that’s appropriate for her age
Healthy Relationships
- Connection through play
- Our staff engage in coregulation with students and provide healthy nurturing
- Freedom to grow, play, and heal
Academic Readiness
- We are a therapeutic boarding school, which means that our academics follow high standards that prepare your daughter to return to a traditional school
A solid foundation for your daughter’s future.
We'll help your daughter fill in the missing gaps in her development. We specialize with:
- Essential life skills such as regulating emotions, balancing relationships with work and play, and social skills
- High quality, accredited education
- In-depth therapy to help your daughter fully worth through the issues holding her back
See if Lake House Academy is the best fit for your family.
Call us now to schedule a tour of our campus and get your family’s Customized Family Assessment while you’re here. We can’t wait to talk to you!
447 Lily Pad Lane
Flat Rock, NC 28731
© 2020 Lake House Academy
Admissions:
877-267-5888
[email protected]
