By Rich Simon As therapists, many of us practice in two different worlds. In the first, we see polite, well-behaved, articulate clients with solid values. They engage fully in therapy, talk cogently about their problems, listen attentively to our responses, make reasonably good-faith efforts to follow our suggestions, and sooner or later get better. No wonder we genuinely like these people! 
By Rich Simon A thousand years ago, during the palmy days of generous insurance reimbursement, therapists could maintain the illusion that, since therapy was paid for by an unseen hidden hand, clinical practice was somehow untouched by the tacky subject of money. Even the style of therapy reflected this disjunction: 
CE Credits: 3 • Price: $39Thus, 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
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