R112: Working with Reluctant Adolescents

Thus, the early sessions with a teenaged client can consist of a standoff-skeptical or contemptuous teen on one side of a dialogue that isn't happening with an uncertain therapist on the other. This Reading Course offers a variety of perspectives and methods that can lead to more productive therapy with teens. William Doherty offers a new nomination for the problem of the decade: that childhood is becoming a rat race of hyperscheduling, overbusyness, and loss of family time. Janet Sasson Edgette shows how to be more genuine and benevolently candid with even the most difficult teen client. Ken Hardy demonstrates how to create a context of safety and connection in work with angry black teens in which the potentially explosive issues of race and chronic rage can be confronted. Jerome Price lays out the four most common mistakes in treating teens. Matthew Selekman offers a systemic approach to the problem of the self-harming adolescent.

Course Readings

See How They Run: When Did Childhood Turn into a Rat Race? by William Doherty

Getting Real: Candor and Connection with Adolescents by Janet Sasson Edgette

Breathing Room: Creating a Zone of Safety and Connection for Angry Black Teens by Kenneth V. Hardy

The 4 Most Common Mistakes in Treating Teens by Jerome Price

The Therapeutic Roller Coaster: Working with Self-Harming Teens Is Dramatic and Unpredictable by Matthew Selekman

Learning Objectives

1. List 3 interventions to help overscheduled families reconnect
2. Identify the do's and don'ts for connecting with an angry black teen
3. Discuss the 4 errors therapists make working with teens
4. Describe the special demands of working with self-harming teens