Getting Past Resistance In Psychotherapy With The Out Of Control Adolescent

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.

"This book belongs on the desks of mental health professionals in a range of settings, including clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, family therapists, and school psychologists and counselors."--BOOK JACKET.

Power struggles between parents and teens are nothing new, but chronic control battles are destructive to teen development as well as the entire family. According to psychotherapist Neil Brown, these battles occur as the result of self-perpetuating negative relationship patterns. This book will help you understand and end the painful tug-of-war with your teen and foster a peaceful and loving home environment.

Many therapists can attest to the fact that adolescents can be difficult and frustating clients-problems are seldom well defined, clearly delineated symptoms are more exception than the rule, and troubling situations often involve the entire family. Gestalt therapist Mark McConville draws on his more than twenty years of professional experience to offer clinicians an effective model for understanding and treating adolescents. He outlines the Developmental Tasks Model, which describes adolescents' struggles, "temporary insanity," and ultimately, triumph of development. He clearly demonstrates that the Gestalt therapeutic model bridges the theoretical and clinical gap, and offers an indepth exploration of the various aspects of clinical work. Adolescence offers valuable nuts-and-bolts advice on initiating therapy with adolescents who are not yet ready to do the self-reflective, exploratory work. In addition, the book examines the therapeutic method of engaging and cultivating the adolescent's emerging inner world. With perception and sensitivity, McConville explains how the clinician can guide the adolescent in the very personal and subjective process of birthing and existential self. The book details the process of the creative reorganization of the self during adolescence and explores the changes that take place in the adolescent's relationships with peers, parents, and others in the adult world. The author also tracks the interplay of intrapsychic and interpersonal boundary development and shows how this interplay manifests itself in relationships and evolves from early through late adolescence. The Gestalt model of therapy allows the clinician to make sense of the confusion of the adolescent world and map out the multiple possibilities of clinical interventions.

Emotional Disorders in Children and Adolescents states that individual psychotherapy is a nonspecific label. It is done when two people interact in a prolonged series of emotionally charged encounters, with the purpose of changing the behavior of the dyad. The motives and dynamics of individual psychotherapy are explained in detail as well as the history of the approach. The book discussed the concept of child psychoanalysis. This section includes its historical background, the similarities and differences between child and adult psychoanalysis, the age of the child that should be treated and frequency of treatment. The text also covers some techniques in the application of psychoanalysis. A broad section of the volume is focused on the modification of the child’s behavior as a type of treatment. This chapter is followed by a section on the behavioral approaches in adolescent psychiatry. The book will provide useful information to psychologist, psychiatrist, behavioral specialist, students and researchers in the field of psychology.

Transference-Focused Psychotherapy for Adolescents With Severe Personality Disorders is a manual for clinicians who wish to learn an effective psychodynamic treatment for young people with personality disorders (PDs). Despite converging evidence that PDs emerge in childhood and are clearly evident in adolescence, research on effective treatments has been limited. The editors have therefore created a book that details treatment models with strong theoretical foundations and examines systematic interventions designed to explore and resolve the conflicts and behaviors, common to PDs, that impede normal adolescent development. The book begins with an overview of psychopathology and normal adolescent development from a psychodynamic perspective. The next section offers therapeutic approaches, including a discussion of the major goals and strategies of TFP-A, the clinical evaluation and assessment process, establishment of the treatment framework and collaboration with parents, and finally, the techniques and tactics of TFP-A. The last section of the book reviews the phases of treatment and discusses the strengths and competencies a therapist must have to successfully conduct transference-based therapy. Authored by experts in the field (including Dr. Kernberg, a pioneer in object relations), Transference-Focused Psychotherapy for Adolescents (TFP-A) with Severe Personality Disorders teaches clinicians how to conduct TFP-A, with the ultimate goal of resolving the intrapsychic restrictions that interfere with normal adolescent development.

There is growing evidence for the powerful role that music plays in enhancing children's cognitive, social, and emotional development. Written for a broad audience of mental health professionals, this is the first book to provide accessible ways of integrating music into clinical work with children and adolescents. Rich case vignettes show how to use singing, drumming, listening to music, and many other strategies to connect with hard-to-reach children, promote self-regulation, and create opportunities for change. The book offers detailed guidelines for addressing different clinical challenges, including attachment difficulties, trauma, and behavioral, emotional, and communication problems. Each chapter concludes with concrete recommendations for practice; an appendix presents a photographic inventory of recommended instruments.