Counselling Adolescents: The Basics

Adolescence is a primary developmental period characterised by major changes, from the sweeping physiological changes through emotional and cognitive developments to major shifts in how relationships are conducted: all from a radically evolving sense of personal identity. Unsurprisingly, the teenager – with fairly minimal life experience as a guide – is hugely vulnerable to mood swings and worse. The National Survey of Mental Health and Well-being reported that 13 percent of adolescents were identified by parents as having mental health problems, while 19 percent were identified as having problems in reports by the adolescents themselves. Yet only 31 percent of the adolescents identified by parents and only 20 percent of the adolescents who self-identified as having problems had received any professional service for their problems in the six months before the survey. Clearly, if there were ever a time for receiving professional support, the teenage years are it. Yet those clinicians who would work with the adolescent client must balance a complex range of considerations. The purpose of this course is to help clarify the developmental picture of adolescence, examining teen counselling needs and delineating the key issues. What are the main risk factors for mental health and conduct issues and what are the protective factors, which enhance resilience? Which interventions have met with success? By understanding the developmental and social needs which underlie adolescent behaviour, clinicians can facilitate therapeutic change that goes beyond what seemed initially possible. Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to: list the five major issues/concerns for young people in Australia; cite the developmental stages of both Erickson’s and Kegan’s developmental sequences which have implications for counselling adolescents; explain the chief research findings which reveal adolescent counselling needs and their attitudes to seeking help; name the chief risk and protective factors related to adolescent mental health; detail two interventions in adolescent counselling which have been successful; identify the primary characteristics of the “language” of teen therapy.