Emotional & Social Change
When parents decide to enroll their child in Wellspring, it’s often because of concerns that their child seems depressed, withdrawn, and not interested in school or friends anymore. Unfortunately, the emotional and social impact of weight is powerful, and often very damaging to adolescents’ self-esteem and confidence.
At Wellspring Academies, we take a comprehensive approach to weight loss. Students lose an incredible amount of weight through the Activity and Diet Management components of the Wellspring Plan. But just as importantly, they learn the necessary cognitive and emotional skills to understand their weight loss and use it as a springboard for taking on all of life’s challenges.
The Clinical Program at Wellspring utilizes Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) delivered by Masters or Doctoral level therapists in group and individual settings. Students learn skills that help them with weight loss, but also with basic emotional and social well-being. Skills such as effective communication, stress management, impulse control, positive self-talk, goal setting and self-awareness help students in all areas of their academic and personal lives.
Our approach help students develop the skills and motivation to manage their environments and stay highly committed to success. Students are coached to view themselves as “athletes in training,” rather than the many negative terms they tend to use when describing themselves. Athletes have to use super-normal self-regulatory skills to transform and continually challenge their bodies. So do weight controllers. This perspective helps students feel empowered and inspires them to take on challenges they never dreamed were possible. The result is students who really do become athletes, with healthier bodies and stronger minds.
For more details about the Clinical Program at Wellspring, click here.
To read about the social and emotional changes experienced by past students, visit the Student Success Stories.
