Handling Disappointment

One of our newer students recently had her first overnight visit with her parents.  It was an event she had been looking forward to, as she was ready to make amends for many of the actions that landed her here.

But as often happens in life, things didn't go exactly as planned.  She had a hard time communicating with her parents, argued with them during their dinner together, provoked her father, and couldn't bring herself to address the amends.

We believe that for at-risk youth to find happiness and success, they need to repair their family relationships. But we also believe it takes more than a few weeks at a therapeutic boarding school to effectively do that.  Only after returning to campus and talking it over with her sponsor, her counselor, and her peers was the student able to put her visit in perspective.  She had done her best under the circumstances, "but your expectations were probably too high," a friend told her.  "That's usually a recipe for disappointment."  She urged her to stay open-minded, stick with the program, "and your next visit is sure to go a lot better."