The Rise and Rise of the Selfie
Do any of these statements apply to you? How about to anyone you know, including any clients? »
Adolescents
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? »
Counselling Dilemma: Parenting Decisions
James is a 13 year old teenager in Grade 7 at school. His parents have recently divorced and share custody of James. His father Brett has noticed a shift in James’s behaviour over the last few weeks. During conversations, James is abrupt, curt and tries to avoid conversation. Most recently, James’s English teacher at school requested a parent-teacher interview because James has been ca... »
Book Review: DBT Skills in Schools
Mazza, James J., Dexter-Mazza, Elizabeth T., Miller, Alec L., Rathus, Jill H., and Murphy, Heather E. (2016) DBT® Skills in schools — Skills training for emotional problem solving for adolescents (DBT STEPS-A). (4th Ed). New York: The Guilford Press. »
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. »
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 of socie... »
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.” »
It is All about Me – Blogs and Teenagers
Blogs (short for weblogs), are websites that anyone with computer access can create to publish online personal journals or diaries. While most blogs take the journal format, some also go further and provide commentary or information on a particular subject such as food, politics or local news. However, personal journals are by far the most popular way of writing a blog, with millions of people a... »
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 may be needed from their parent... »
Parenting a Problem Adolescent: Marnie’s Case Study
Marnie is a 16 year old girl (an only child) who attends a local private girls school in the city. Marnie is always at the top of her class and her report cards are exemplary. Marnie is actively involved with music, drama and dancing in and out of school all of which she excels at. Over the past couple of years Marnie has taken a much greater interest in her looks and how she dresses. She has star... »
Parenting a Problem Adolescent: Aaron’s Case Study
Aaron is a 15 year old boy who attends a local public high school in an industrialised area of the city. He lives with his mum, dad and two brothers, Will aged 9 and Brad aged 11 years. Aaron has recently been in trouble with the law (a year ago), having stolen some goods from the local bike shop but was let off as this was his first offence and he had previously been of good behaviour. Aaron has ... »
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, leading some to excessi... »
