Child & Teen Therapy
Children and adolescents rarely arrive in therapy able, let alone willing, to name what's wrong. Instead, distress often presents itself through behavior, withdrawal, family conflict, or school struggles. Working effectively with young clients presents unique challenges as you must often learn to emphasize attunement over technique and to view your presence as a central intervention. These pieces explore how to engage caregivers, navigate school-related complexities, and translate developmental theory into interventions. Learn how to better support regulation, resilience, and healthy identity formation in child and teen clients.
The Clinician Game Master
How Dungeons & Dragons Can Help Clients Explore New Skills
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Exploring What It Really Means in Therapy
According to therapist Ron Taffel, author of Breaking Through to Teens, kids who need the extra boost from medication need their therapists to go the extra... Read more
As a psychologist and a mother, I’m haunted by the children of immigrants we’ve all been reading about, stolen from their parents and callously detained... Read more
Helping teenage girls navigate the tumultuous terrain of adolescence in today’s world. Read more
We all want to build strong relationships with our clients, but when working with adolescents, don’t overdo the empathy, says therapist Janet Edgette... Read more
Ron Taffel reflects on navigating teen rebellion and parental fear, finding that honesty around uncertainty can preserve trust and connection. Read more
Most therapists are aware of the perils of trying to connect with teenage clients. Teens are often brought to therapy against their will by adults, which can... Read more
A school counselor’s patient work with a sad, uncommunicative young boy demonstrates what a difference just being there can make. * Commentary by Janet... Read more
Connecting with today’s youth doesn’t mean being able to recite Justin Bieber’s latest hit. According to Janet Edgette, author of Adolescent Therapy That... Read more
PN Founder Rich Simon talks with Ken Hardy about finding the heroism amongst young clients that helps them survive. Read more
To work as a school social worker in the Bronx’s high-crime, low-income Hunt’s Point neighborhood is to become an expert at expecting the unexpected. Read more
Daniel Hughes has many techniques to suggest when working with troubled children who have put up a wall. Read more
The word psychopath distinguishes hard-bitten predators. Research shows a treatment center—run by shrinks, not wardens—has reduced new violent offenses by... Read more
It’s probably fair to say that most teens loathe the very idea of therapy. Yet, with confused and troubled adolescents needing our help more than ever, the... Read more
While some believe the incidence of school bullying has reached epidemic proportions, therapists remain largely uninformed about the nature of the problem and... Read more
Turning problems to be diagnosed and medication into skills to be taught. Read more
In our culture, we don't take kindly to children who won't do as they are told. Now a new treatment approach offers hope for kids who defy standard diagnoses. Read more
Helping kids with ODD begins with getting past the many myths surrounding the disorder. Read more
Using one's own anger may be the key to success with difficult teen clients. Commentary by Janet Sasson Edgette Read more
What to do when your teen clients give you the silent treatment. Read more
A professor skeptical of the clinical value of family therapy may be doing more to extend the legacy of systems therapy than anyone working with adolescents... Read more
A veteran therapist draws from her years of clinical practice and personal experiences to meet every teenage client where they are. Read more
A good education is preventive medicine. It strengthens one's mental, emotional and spiritual immune system. Read more
What to do when the standard techniques of joining provoke furious silence Read more
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