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Teens in Therapy: Making It Their Own: Engaging Adolescents in Successful Therapy for Responsible Lives
Every therapist knows that adolescents are difficult and challenging clients.
Push a teen too hard for change and you risk upsetting the fragile balance of trust, distracting from the work at hand, and possibly leading therapy in the wrong direction. Take too light an approach, however, and an adolescent becomes disengaged and bored, unwilling to work at therapy or likely to terminate therapy prematurely.
Therapists need to strike a balance between being respectful and directive. But how do you show understanding for the immediate problems of teens while helping them to become more confident, connected, and fulfilled individuals in the longer term? Bromfield answers this question by offering therapists key insights and helping them to understand that, in the therapeutic context, adolescents as well as their therapists often feel lost and sometimes are unsure as to why they meet and what therapy can achieve. Teens in Therapy is the perfect guidebook to this difficult clinical terrain.
Drawing on years of clinical experience, Bromfield shows therapists that in order to affect change in their clients, adolescents have to want to change, realize what their problems are and how they contribute to them, and, most important, take ownership of their therapy and their lives. Organized into 18 chapters that explore specific treatment techniques―valuing the adolescent, promoting honesty, facilitating self-revelation, spotlighting conflict, speaking the patient’s language, avoiding the doldrums, working with parents, and more―readers will find an enlightening examination of the problems inherent in adolescent therapy, and come away with effective strategies to foresee, address, and then overcome them.Filled with rich case material, Teens in Therapy focuses on the stories and perspectives of adolescents themselves, arming therapists with a clearer sense of purpose and strategy, and giving them the tools necessary to effectively engage their teenage clients in therapy and help them to assume greater responsibility for their treatments and futures.
Push a teen too hard for change and you risk upsetting the fragile balance of trust, distracting from the work at hand, and possibly leading therapy in the wrong direction. Take too light an approach, however, and an adolescent becomes disengaged and bored, unwilling to work at therapy or likely to terminate therapy prematurely.
Therapists need to strike a balance between being respectful and directive. But how do you show understanding for the immediate problems of teens while helping them to become more confident, connected, and fulfilled individuals in the longer term? Bromfield answers this question by offering therapists key insights and helping them to understand that, in the therapeutic context, adolescents as well as their therapists often feel lost and sometimes are unsure as to why they meet and what therapy can achieve. Teens in Therapy is the perfect guidebook to this difficult clinical terrain.
Drawing on years of clinical experience, Bromfield shows therapists that in order to affect change in their clients, adolescents have to want to change, realize what their problems are and how they contribute to them, and, most important, take ownership of their therapy and their lives. Organized into 18 chapters that explore specific treatment techniques―valuing the adolescent, promoting honesty, facilitating self-revelation, spotlighting conflict, speaking the patient’s language, avoiding the doldrums, working with parents, and more―readers will find an enlightening examination of the problems inherent in adolescent therapy, and come away with effective strategies to foresee, address, and then overcome them.Filled with rich case material, Teens in Therapy focuses on the stories and perspectives of adolescents themselves, arming therapists with a clearer sense of purpose and strategy, and giving them the tools necessary to effectively engage their teenage clients in therapy and help them to assume greater responsibility for their treatments and futures.
- GenresPsychology
216 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 11, 2019
I loved this book. Working with teens, I think this is a great representation of the work and the difficulties. I appreciate that he explains that this isn't a catch-all for everything that might happen in the therapeutic space, but it is a good foundation. I also find many of the techniques he uses (matching language to the language of the teen, suggesting journaling, opening up the space for creative play) have all been really successful for me, and are great recommendations to include. Great to read if you're just starting work with teens.
July 31, 2021
4.5 Stars. I loved the use of examples in this book, and I got a lot out of it. However, the language at times was uncomfortable to read. I do not like that the word "retarded" was used in this book. Additionally, given that this book is now nearly 20 years old, I think it needs a vast update. A lot has changed with the onset of social media, and I think that more insight on that would be very appreciated. While I'm sure texts exploring that dynamic exist by now, I'd especially be interested in hearing about it from this author.
April 9, 2026
An easy read with lots of powerful vignettes from the authors experience. I appreciated the variety in clients he presented through the frequent representation of diverse and special populations. A little repetitive in it's message at times, but overall a great guidebook on how to counsel teens effectively. Big themes include the importance of connecting with teens, supporting agency, and guiding them towards metacognition.
March 22, 2023
I stopped on page 54 when the content turned transphobic.
May 30, 2023
Grossly outdated. I was shocked and dismayed by the language and handling of clients identifying as LGBTQ+. I will not recommend this book to anyone in the field as it is harmful.
February 4, 2016
I don't do a lot of this kind of reading; and by 'this' kind of reading, I mean professionally relevant non-fiction. But reading this book has been so affirming. Not only did I appreciate the candid, narrative style (I MORE than appreciated the absence of hyper-clinical, pretentious writing), there was so much about it that was recognizable and made me feel less alone in the crazy world of therapy with teens.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews