Adolescents and Counseling
Adolescents in Group Counseling
Many children and adolescents face developmental or situational difficulties in areas where they live most of their meaningful experiences—at home, at school, and in the community. While adults who struggle with life events and stressors may look to professional help, young individuals are quite alone in coping with these situations. Perhaps unsurprisingly, most children and adolescents typically do not seek such help, and often resist it when offered. (Shectman, 2006). Adolescents who have a difficult time managing their emotions, such as anger, are often put together in a group setting to help change this behavior. A few of themes for group counseling may include, but not limited to: coping with death or grief, family change (divorce, separation, and adoption), obsessive-compulsive, chemical dependency, anxiety and depression and more.
Therapeutic factors in children’s groups Much like Yalom’s factors, the same therapeutic factors are used in group therapy with adolescents. They include the following (Yalom, 2005):
• Universality
The recognition of shared experiences and feelings among group members and that these may be widespread or universal human concerns, serves to remove a group member's sense of isolation, validate their experiences, and raise self-esteem
• Altruism
The group is a place where members can help each other, and the experience of being able to give something to another person can lift the member's self esteem and help develop more adaptive coping styles and interpersonal skills.
• Instillation of hope
In a mixed group that has members at various stages of development or recovery, a member can be inspired and encouraged by another member who has overcome the problems with which they are still struggling.
• Imparting information
While this is not strictly speaking a psychotherapeutic process, members often report that it has been very helpful to learn factual information from other members in
Many children and adolescents face developmental or situational difficulties in areas where they live most of their meaningful experiences—at home, at school, and in the community. While adults who struggle with life events and stressors may look to professional help, young individuals are quite alone in coping with these situations. Perhaps unsurprisingly, most children and adolescents typically do not seek such help, and often resist it when offered. (Shectman, 2006). Adolescents who have a difficult time managing their emotions, such as anger, are often put together in a group setting to help change this behavior. A few of themes for group counseling may include, but not limited to: coping with death or grief, family change (divorce, separation, and adoption), obsessive-compulsive, chemical dependency, anxiety and depression and more.
Therapeutic factors in children’s groups Much like Yalom’s factors, the same therapeutic factors are used in group therapy with adolescents. They include the following (Yalom, 2005):
• Universality
The recognition of shared experiences and feelings among group members and that these may be widespread or universal human concerns, serves to remove a group member's sense of isolation, validate their experiences, and raise self-esteem
• Altruism
The group is a place where members can help each other, and the experience of being able to give something to another person can lift the member's self esteem and help develop more adaptive coping styles and interpersonal skills.
• Instillation of hope
In a mixed group that has members at various stages of development or recovery, a member can be inspired and encouraged by another member who has overcome the problems with which they are still struggling.
• Imparting information
While this is not strictly speaking a psychotherapeutic process, members often report that it has been very helpful to learn factual information from other members in
References: Adelman & Taylor, 2002, Impediments to enhancing availability of mental ... Childhood Education, 78, 261-268. Asher, Parker, & Walker, 1996; Consortium on the School-Based Promotion of Social Competence, 1996 Bunt, Leslie, & Hoskyns, Sarah., Music Therapy: Seating the Scene (Hove and New York: Brunner-Routledge, 2002 Kaduson, Heidi, & Schaefer, Charles., (2000). Short-term play therapy for children. Guilford Press. Piper, A, Joyce & Ogrodniczuk W,J., (2007). Therapeutic Alliance and Cohesion Variables as Predictors of Outcome in Short-Term Group Psychotherapy. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy 57 (3),269-97 Pratt, RR., (2004) Schectman, Zipora., (2006) Group counseling and psychotherapy with children and adolscents: theory, research, and practice. L.Erlbaum Associates Steen, S., & Kaffenberger, C Yalom & Leszcz (2005) The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy, 5th edition, Basic Books, Preface p. xii