‘Sleeping beauties’: succession problems of adolescence

The author explores the succession problems of adolescence. She uses the Brothers Grimm’s fairy tale Sleeping Beauty to consider various characters and narratives possible in the analytic field during the succession process. Use of the characters in a fairy tale allows an analyst to play with the different roles the patient unconsciously assigns her. The author conceives of the avoidance of adolescent turbulence as a common reaction to adolescence, but one that can also become entrenched, and result in a restriction of emotional growth. The paper explores the psychic isolation of adolescence and the splitting required to manage the conflicting desires of the phase. The persistent absence of passion, including in the analytic process, constitutes a psychic retreat from developmental turbulence. The analyst of such an adolescent may need to allow them to be ‘somnolent’ for some time, but may eventually need to wake them (metaphorically) or even pierce the somnolent, avoidant state. The author uses clinical vignettes of late adolescents to demonstrate such transitions, exploring her countertransference experience as well as the reaction of adults to the succession process of adolescence.     

The Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy of Dissociative Identity Disorder in the Context of Trauma Therapy

Homosexuality is most probably variable in its pathway of origin. Reports of instances of when it has been possible to follow its development from childhood into adulthood are lacking in the literature. In this paper, the author describes his experience of treating two nine-year-old girls who had had serious problems in their relationships with their parents and who developed lesbian relationships when they became adults. In each instance, there were extremely traumatic experiences with the girl's father and failure of the mother to intercede on the girl's behalf. One patient was treated up into adolescence, with a follow-up later on, and the other was treated well into adulthood. Psychological factors that seem to have contributed to the eventual development of a lesbian sexual orientation are discussed in this paper.     

The poison of racism and the self-poisoning of adolescents

This paper describes the effect of racism on families when children reach adolescence. It is suggested that racism may contribute to distortions of the process by which adolescents, especially girls, negotiate increased autonomy. Racism may increase parental protectiveness, which is resisted by adolescent children. Sometimes this may lead to conflict culminating in a crisis in which the adolescent attempts suicide by overdosing. Symbolic aspects of racism, family and individual boundary maintenance and overdosing are discussed. Some implications for the therapy of families who have experienced racism are described.     

On the adolescent neurosis

The author discusses the lifelong impact of adolescence in shaping the adult psyche. Some patients may appear to be as influenced by conflicts of adolescence and the individual solutions arrived at during this period as they are by conflicts and solutions of the oedipal phase, the author maintains. The subphases of early, middle, and late adolescence are discussed both in terms of a review of the psychoanalytic literature and of representative works of literary fiction. Illustrative clinical vignettes are presented as well.     

Anxiety in adolescence and its significance for psychoanalysis

The theme of this paper is the well-known resistance of adolescents to participate in analytic treatment and analysts' reservations about treating adolescents, which is perhaps less well known. Several reasons are discussed: For adolescents, the revival of separational and fusional anxieties during the process of individuation as well as resistance to the analytic setting are held responsible; analysts may lack sufficient awareness of their own adolescence and its resulting anxieties to be able to confront this developmental period. In addition, there are countertransference anxieties that are triggered and kept alive by the behavior of the juvenile patient. The different types of analyst anxieties as well as those of the adolescent under analysis are explained and their significance in the process of individuation and the course of therapy is noted.     

Counsellors perceptions of adolescence

School mental health professionals' attitudes toward their potential client populations can determine what strategies they apply vis-à-vis their clients. Therefore, it is important that they be aware of their personal orientations. In this vein, the present study investigates, through both quantitative and qualitative methods of collection and analysis of data, the perceptions Israeli secondary-school counsellors have of adolescence. Questionnaires filled by 199 counsellors showed that, in general, counsellors have a favourable view of adolescents and do not perceive adolescence as a 'difficult stage'. Counsellors also believe that they are perceived positively by their adolescent students. Interviews conducted with 41 counsellors (a group randomly selected from the initial sample of counsellors) revealed a more complex view of adolescence. The interviewed counsellors identified five type of adolescents: the drive-oriented adolescent, the intellectually-oriented adolescent, the grouporiented adolescent, the community-oriented adolescent, and the isolated adolescent. The study also explores counsellors' opinions regarding each of these types' main characteristics, the leading reasons that may prevent adolescents from approaching a counsellor, and the considerations that may influence them to independently refer to a counsellor. Implications for school mental health professionals are discussed.     

Identity Strategies Among Adolescent Girls of Moroccan Descent in the Netherlands

Sometimes it is assumed that Moroccan girls in the Netherlands have a problematic adolescence: They are supposed to be "caught between two cultures." Adolescence can be seen as the stage of life in which individuals should develop their own identity by exploring different alternatives. Moroccan girls, however, may not have these possibilities for exploration during adolescence; they seem to be restricted in many ways. This article first looks at these presumed restrictions. In the specific context of belonging to a minority group, the girls' parents regard the traditional rules to be very important. The notion of virginity, for instance, can be a (symbolic) boundary between the migrant community and the society. However, the girls themselves may also choose these traditions. Especially religion provides a "proper" set of rules in a sometimes confusing world. Should these girls, then, be seen as primarily foreclosed in their identity process? And, if so, is that why their adolescence is supposed to be problematic? The girls in this research, however, do not seem to have many problems in the process of their identity construction. They do mention other kinds of problems or challenges. Following traditional rules in a non-Muslim society can cause practical problems or even loyalty conflicts. In response to this, the girls seem to have developed certain strategies that they use to combine the conflicting values.     

Friending, IMing, and hanging out face-to-face: overlap in adolescents' online and offline social networks

Many new and important developmental issues are encountered during adolescence, which is also a time when Internet use becomes increasingly popular. Studies have shown that adolescents are using these online spaces to address developmental issues, especially needs for intimacy and connection to others. Online communication with its potential for interacting with unknown others, may put teens at increased risk. Two hundred and fifty-one high school students completed an in-person survey, and 126 of these completed an additional online questionnaire about how and why they use the Internet, their activities on social networking sites (e.g., Facebook, MySpace) and their reasons for participation, and how they perceive these online spaces to impact their friendships. To examine the extent of overlap between online and offline friends, participants were asked to list the names of their top interaction partners offline and online (Facebook and instant messaging). Results reveal that adolescents mainly use social networking sites to connect with others, in particular with people known from offline contexts. While adolescents report little monitoring by their parents, there was no evidence that teens are putting themselves at risk by interacting with unknown others. Instead, adolescents seem to use the Internet, especially social networking sites, to connect with known others. While the study found moderate overlap between teens' closest online and offline friends, the patterns suggest that adolescents use online contexts to strengthen offline relationships.     

Working with the complexities of adolescent mental health problems: applying time-limited adolescent psychodynamic psychotherapy (TAPP)

This article discusses the application in a CAMHS setting of a distinctive intervention for adolescent mental health difficulties, time-limited adolescent psychodynamic psychotherapy (TAPP). TAPP has been developed specifically for working with adolescents and the characteristic developmental and psychosocial complexities they present to mental health services. It is widely recognised that supporting the developmental process in adolescence is central to therapeutic interventions and the therapeutic aim of TAPP is to enable recovery of the capacity to meet developmental challenges. The key factors of TAPP are described, including the formulation and working with a developmental focus, the therapeutic stance, working with transference and counter-transference, working with time limits, and the emphasis is placed on engagement of adolescents in therapy in TAPP. The experiences of introducing and developing TAPP in the CAMHS service are discussed with two brief and one extended case examples and this leads to a discussion of the kinds of outcomes achieved. It is concluded that TAPP is a key and relevant intervention for adolescents in complex and vulnerable situations; further work will be undertaken to continue its application in these settings and to formally assess outcomes.     

Adding the Voices of Jewish Girls to Developmental Theory

Abstract

Feminist psychologists do not often include Jewish representation when they discuss issues of difference and diversity. Jewish female adolescents have not been included in the current research on teen-age girls and voice. The author finds that Jewish female adolescents do experience themselves as different from the majority culture. This difference is associated with respondents emerging from early adolescence while maintaining relational competence.     

Ferenczian Elasticity in the Analysis of an Adolescent

Psychoanalytic work with adolescents poses a challenge for analysts who adhere to standard analytic technique as many adolescents who need analytic intervention resist such a structured approach to analysis. The author finds that elasticity of technique is currently widely used by analysts when working with this difficult age group even though they may be unaware that this is, in fact, a Ferenczian technique. Clinical examples are presented to illustrate how frequently the technique is used in cases of resistant, troubled youth. The author outlines an approach that is sensitive to these resistances and makes compromises in technique based on the principle that engaging a troubled youth in a therapeutic venture is preferable to refusing treatment based on the patient’s not being able to adhere to standard analytic technique. In this sense, Ferenczi was an early herald of the type of contemporary analytic work that is practiced currently especially with a difficult population of patients.

     

Implications of developmental theories for counseling adolescents in groups

This paper presents a rationale for the use of group techniques in counseling adolescents, based on selected developmental theories. In addition, it delineates specific practical implications and guidelines for group counselors to consider. Specifically, group selection, group size and composition, and topical content are discussed as they relate to developmental issues during adolescence.     

Preventing Depression Among Young Adolescents: Preliminary Process Results of a Psycho-Educational Intervention Program

The authors present a psycho-educational group intervention designed to help youth manage the transition to and through adolescence. The program attempts to help adolescents learn skills that will decrease their susceptibility to depression during adolescence. Some preliminary results are also reported regarding the implementation of this program in three schools. The process variables of interest include the number of sessions attended, group cohesion, the degree to which the program was implemented as intended, and leader-rated impressions of session effectiveness. The article concludes with the potential uses of process results for informing the design, implementation, and revision of psycho-educational programs.     

Mourning and the symbolic process

Abstract: This paper describes the analysis of a patient whose difficulty symbolizing absence had prevented her from being able to mourn the loss of her father in her adolescence. Through a series of symbolic enactments and synchronistic events, she was eventually able to carry out a mourning ritual that enabled her to lay her father to rest. Some implications for symbolization are discussed, developing Segal's view of symbol formation as reparation: symbols are embedded in a context of communication and can only develop in the context of a relationship; they represent relationships as well as objects; and they are emergent in the sense that they exist within a complex web of interactive, multiple meaning and cannot be reduced back to any one object that they represent.     

中晚期青少年的个人规划及其与亲子、朋友沟通的关系

采用未来取向问卷（中文版）、亲子沟通和朋友沟通问卷调查了1741名高中生和大学生,从探索和投入两个方面考察了中晚期青少年个人规划的基本特点以及亲子沟通、朋友沟通与个人规划的关系。研究发现：青少年对未来教育的探索和投入水平高于未来职业和婚姻/家庭;从青少年中期到晚期,个体对不同领域的探索与投入遵循不同的发展模式;女青少年对未来教育的投入更多,而男青少年对未来婚姻/家庭的探索和投入更多;城市青少年对未来教育的探索和投入更多,而农村青少年对未来婚姻/家庭的投入更多。亲子沟通对中晚期青少年成就领域的规划具有较大影响,且影响大于朋友沟通,而朋友沟通对青少年未来婚姻/家庭规划的影响更大     

Motherhood as a dominant feature in the self-image of female adolescents of low socioeconomic status

Groups of socioeconomically and educationally disadvantaged young women in late adolescence have shown that, when they project themselves into a future role, predominantly they come up with the image of being a mother, even in the near future. This creates a direct transition from daughter role to mother role while excluding such roles as spouse or career woman. This distinguishes them from other groups of female adolescents. Some possible explanations and educational implications of this phenomenon are discussed.     

Coping Strategies in Adolescents

Children and adolescents report that they experience stress in their lives and that they attempt to cope with that stress. Although most research on stress and coping has focused on adults, recent attention to adolescents suggests there are developmental changes in coping during adolescence and that particular coping strategies vary with gender and the type of stressors adolescents experience. This study examined coping strategies used by male and female students in early, middle, and late adolescence when they were coping with two different types of stressors: daily hassles and major life events. Older adolescents used a greater variety coping strategies and used methods that directly reduce the impact of the stressor and involved a cognitive component (e.g., planful problem solving; reappraisal) more often than younger adolescents. Adolescents in all age groups varied their strategies in relation to the type of stressor, but there were no significant gender differences. The findings suggest that significant changes during a relatively short period during adolescence may affect adaptive processes and have implications for intervention efforts aimed at reducing the negative effects of stress during this period of development.     

The development of intimate relationships in late adolescence

Adolescence is a time of burgeoning social relationships. Further, adolescents begin to develop the capacity to be intimate. Yet, little attention has been paid to the development of intimacy in adolescence. In this paper, relationship maturity, a developmental conception of intimacy, is presented as a unifying conceptual framework for understanding these intimate involvements as part of a major developmental process. Relevant empirical literature is reviewed. Issues addressed include: specific contexts of intimacy in adolescence, the role of gender in intimacy development, the interplay of identity and intimacy development, and the effects of social issues on this process.     

Adolescent pregnancy: contributing factors, consequences, treatment, and plausible solutions

Adolescence, although not always necessarily a period of extreme stress, is a time of profound physical changes which increase the adolescent's awareness of and interest in sexual behavior. This issue of sexuality, which begins in early adolescence, creates new challenges to personal and gender identity formation as the person matures. Sexual maturation is a three-fold process, requiring growth in understanding of oneself as a sexual being, in the ability to handle interpersonal relationships effectively, and in the capacity to plan behavior in view of future outcomes and present problems. A current concern is that today's adolescents, including early adolescents, may be making important life choices such as parenthood before they are developmentally ready for such roles (Chilman, 1980). This paper deals with pregnancy in adolescents and modes of responding to this phenomenon by those in the counseling and other helping professions.