Controlling The Difficult Adolescent

Introduces specific methods for parents and for therapists on how to teach parents to control difficult and oppositional adolescents. The oppositional/defiant adolescent engages in behavior that can be described as abusive to and inconsiderate of other family members. Such teenagers do not typically respond well to traditional methods of psychotherapy and often therapists commit these youngsters to psychiatric hospitals. The methods introduced in this book are based on years of research and can be effectively carried out in the home setting, removing the need for hospitalization. Simple rules of conduct and clear expectations for the teen's behavior are established at the beginning. Enforcement of these rules is carried out by systematically controlling the teen's economic resources (The Real Economy System for Teens.) Both parents and practicing therapists can benefit from the information contained in this book. Contents: How Did it Happen; Discipline and Punishment; How Control the Difficult Adolescent: The REST Program; Special Problems-Lying and Aggression; Special Problem-Poor School Performance; Special Problem-College; Special Problem-Drug and Alcohol Abuse-Hardcore Behaviors; Special Problems-Acting Out Behaviors - Runaway Reaction, Suicide Attempts, and Delinquent Behaviors; Special Problems-Divorce; Communications; A Case Study; Not the Final Chapter.

Every teenager rebels against authority at some point--talks back, breaks curfew, or disobeys. But literally millions of teens take their rebellion to a point where it disrupts their families and endangers their own futures or even their lives. If one of these teens is yours, you've probably lived through years of conflicting advice and pat solutions that don't last. Finally, this breakthrough guide from a master therapist will show you the seven steps to positive, permanent change for you and your teenager: 1. Learn the real reasons for teen misbehavior. 2. Make an ironclad contract to stop that behavior. 3. Troubleshoot future problems. 4. End button-pushing. 5. Stop the "seven aces" -- from disrespect to threats of violence. 6. Mobilize outside help. 7. Reclaim lost love within the family. Clear, compassionate, and packed with real-life solutions to real-life problems, Parenting Your Out-of-Control Teenager gives parents the tools they need to turn their families' lives around for good.

This book illuminates the causes of severe adolescent behavioral problems and presents a research-based fifteen-step model for helping families bring about real, lasting change. Incorporating structural and strategic principles, the author's cohesive approach focuses on setting clear rules and consequences; changing the mood and direction of confrontations; neutralizing such problem behaviors as disrespect, truancy, running away, violence, and threats of suicide; and restoring positive, nurturing relationships among family members. Special treatment issues covered include working with single-parent families, outside systems (peers, school, probation officers), divorce and stepfamily problems, and substance misuse. Clearly written, practical, and accessible, the book uses actual case examples to demonstrate each step of the approach.

Adolescence is a time when youth make decisions, both good and bad, that have consequences for the rest of their lives. Some of these decisions put them at risk of lifelong health problems, injury, or death. The Institute of Medicine held three public workshops between 2008 and 2009 to provide a venue for researchers, health care providers, and community leaders to discuss strategies to improve adolescent health.

Adolescenceâ€"beginning with the onset of puberty and ending in the mid-20sâ€"is a critical period of development during which key areas of the brain mature and develop. These changes in brain structure, function, and connectivity mark adolescence as a period of opportunity to discover new vistas, to form relationships with peers and adults, and to explore one's developing identity. It is also a period of resilience that can ameliorate childhood setbacks and set the stage for a thriving trajectory over the life course. Because adolescents comprise nearly one-fourth of the entire U.S. population, the nation needs policies and practices that will better leverage these developmental opportunities to harness the promise of adolescenceâ€"rather than focusing myopically on containing its risks. This report examines the neurobiological and socio-behavioral science of adolescent development and outlines how this knowledge can be applied, both to promote adolescent well-being, resilience, and development, and to rectify structural barriers and inequalities in opportunity, enabling all adolescents to flourish.

This book shows parents the communication skills they need to teach their children to govern themselves. With the proper family environment and understanding of childhood behaviors homes can become happier.

A growing number of adolescents arrive in the therapist's office beyond adult control. Their behavior is outrageous, they use drugs heavily, and their moods fluctuate wildly. Nothing seems to work. If they stay in treatment, they make a shambles of the process. If they terminate prematurely, therapists may feel they never really got hold of the case; worse, they are not sure how they could have done so. Therapists looking at their interactions with patients will usually notice distinct patterns. The out-of-control patient usually shows a preference for one of five pathological patterns: narcissism, masochism, the paranoid stance, the schizoid defense, and affective lability. This book studies the five patterns of interaction typical of out-of-control adolescents, showing therapists how to recognize each and introducing interventions to interrupt them. When patients are forced into new, less comfortable experiences of themselves and their therapists, more honest exchanges become possible and more conventional treatment approaches become feasible.

Adolescents obviously do not always act in ways that serve their own best interests, even as defined by them. Sometimes their perception of their own risks, even of survival to adulthood, is larger than the reality; in other cases, they underestimate the risks of particular actions or behaviors. It is possible, indeed likely, that some adolescents engage in risky behaviors because of a perception of invulnerabilityâ€"the current conventional wisdom of adults' views of adolescent behavior. Others, however, take risks because they feel vulnerable to a point approaching hopelessness. In either case, these perceptions can prompt adolescents to make poor decisions that can put them at risk and leave them vulnerable to physical or psychological harm that may have a negative impact on their long-term health and viability. A small planning group was formed to develop a workshop on reconceptualizing adolescent risk and vulnerability. With funding from Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Workshop on Adolescent Risk and Vulnerability: Setting Priorities took place on March 13, 2001, in Washington, DC. The workshop's goal was to put into perspective the total burden of vulnerability that adolescents face, taking advantage of the growing societal concern for adolescents, the need to set priorities for meeting adolescents' needs, and the opportunity to apply decision-making perspectives to this critical area. This report summarizes the workshop.