Friends and Equals

After arriving here, a 17-year-old student discovered that his biggest struggle wasn't giving up drugs and alcohol, but girls.  Rules against dating might be unreasonable in a regular co-ed high school, but in a therapeutic high school for troubled teens, for whom sex is often just another drug, the rule is necessary, useful, and even beneficial. 

Over time, the student in question became aware of how often he acted solely to impress the girls.  Many troubled teen girls operate the same way, of course.  But here all students are called on it, not only by staff but by one another, and are reminded that they're here to repair their family relationships, not to get caught up in romantic ones.  That means learning how to treat peers of the opposite sex like brothers and sisters, to see them as friends and equals deserving of respect.