Adolescents

Digital Self-harm and Adolescent Angst

“U R ugly, fat, and stupid.” “The world is too good a place for U – ur pathetic.” “Why don’t you just kill ur self and make us all happier?” These hurtful, horrible messages and many others like them are well-known to kids and teens who have been cyberbullied. Parents, teachers, counsellors, and school authorities, […]

The Dangers of Teen Sexting (And How to Help Their Parents Help Them)

You may have faced this scenario before: anguished parents turn up in your rooms and plead with you for help: their cherished teenager, they find, is now sending and/or receiving sexually explicit text messages, photos, or videos. Oh, what to do? Unfortunately, this phenomenon is now common and increasing in frequency, even as the average […]

Book Review: Acceptance and Mindfulness Treatments for Children and Adolescents

Greco, L.A., and Hayes, S.C. (2008). Acceptance and Mindfulness Treatments for Children and Adolescents. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications. Acceptance and mindfulness based treatments are identified within the field of third-generation behaviour therapies. These approaches seek to move beyond traditional behavioural and cognitive concepts to acknowledge contextual aspects. Acceptance and Mindfulness Treatments for Children and […]

Book Review: Counseling Children and Adolescents

Vernon, Ann. 512 Pages. 2002, USA: Love Publishing Company Children and adolescents of the 21st century encounter challenges and difficulties that are indicative of contemporary society, thus it is important that as therapists we equip ourselves with the most pertinent up-to-date information available. Counseling children and adolescents (2009) by Ann Vernon acknowledges the changing face […]

Challenges of Adolescence

While the definition of adolescent can differ from culture to culture, it is generally accepted that the time referred to as adolescence is the period between childhood and adulthood, a sort of “no man’s land.” Geldard and Geldard (2006) explain that adolescence is a time in a young person’s life where they move from dependency […]

Parenting a Problem Adolescent: Effective Options

In the previous hypothetical case examples (Aaron & Marnie) some recommendations were made, that are based on both practitioner judgement of situations and evidence via the literature and research. Let’s now look at some approaches that identify effective parenting outcomes. Much will depend upon the specific age of the teenager, as to what emotional input […]

Parenting a Problem Adolescent: Ineffective Options

Given that the research literature have identified that problems associated with youth such as, anorexia and bulimia, bullying and other acting out behaviours, substance misuse, marginalisation of certain groups of people in communities, abuse, self-harm and suicide are significant, what do parents go through in attempting to care for their early adolescent child or children? […]

Parenting a Problem Adolescent: Eating Disorders

Now that we’ve covered suicide prevention, there are other problems often associated with youth that are a bit more intractable. Eating disorders tend to fall into this category especially amongst adolescent girls. According to Gillis (2000, cited in McMurray, 2003, 147): ‘Adolescents’ images of themselves are embedded in the way they see their own bodies, […]

Resilience and Suicide Prevention

The literature clearly point to the fact that there are certain factors that protect youth or build resilience in youth against suicide. According to Fuller, McGraw and Goodyear (cited in Rowling, Martin & Walker, 2001, 85-86): ‘The factors that protect young people against suicidal behaviour include social support and their relationships with family and peers, […]

Parenting a Problem Adolescent: Resilience

Tunmore (cited in Regel & Roberts, 2002, 73) outlined various mental health promoting factors (based on evidence) that are relevant to adolescent kids and to parents alike to reflect upon. They include: Individual Self-esteem, sociability and autonomy Social support systems that encourage personal effort and coping Good communication skills A sense of humour Religious faith […]