Teenagers have an exhilarating time of transition from childhood to adulthood. This time is full of discoveries and developing unique personality traits and skills. On the flip side, however, some challenges follow the process of becoming an adult. As teenagers or adolescents don’t fall under children or adults, it is even more important to understand them to be able to support them better as they grow.
Adolescence is the peak of change for teens and for everyone involved in their lives as well. It is the stage where one develops a sense of identity and independence. Simultaneously, there is a fast-growing pressure lurking upon them to take responsibility and develop trust. It is also the period when teenagers struggle with new issues like drug use, peer relationships, and sexuality. This changing period is highly crucial, firstly because it is a necessary developmental stage and secondly this is the very foundation of personality development and maturity.
Adolescent psychology refers to the unique mental health needs of individuals usually falling under the ages of 10 to 19, primarily teenage. Usually, when it comes to mental health aid, we are all well-versed in traditional talk therapy with adults and might even have an idea of play therapy with children. However, adolescents are a unique group where they are no longer children but not yet adults, giving rise to unique needs and requirements, thereby bringing in the importance of psychological changes in adolescence
Essentially, you are working with someone with very specific needs where the brain development has passed the childhood phase but is not yet fully ready for adulthood. It can be a very challenging and overwhelming period for everyone as they are not only changing psychologically but also biological and physical changes that add to the stress of the adolescent.
Only in the late 19th century did the United States start recognizing the concept of adolescence as opposed to it previously being referred to as "miniature adults". However, time and again research has shown that adolescents undergo significant brain development influencing their behaviour and functioning making them very different from adults, developmentally. Therefore, many psychologists developed theories to understand adolescent development and the specific psychological requirements of this age group.
The contributions of Jean Piaget are significant to the literature on adolescent psychology. Jean was a child psychologist who focused his work on child and adolescent psychological development with special insight into adolescent psychology. He believed that adolescents transition from a ‘concrete operational stage’ to a ‘formal operational stage’. In the concrete operational stage, children are able to comprehend logical thinking and understand that there are more perspectives to things than the ones they can observe. The formal operational stage, however, is where one develops an understanding of abstract thoughts and can grasp symbolism and develop test hypotheses about the things going on around them. He also believed that not every individual could reach the stage of formal operational development and according to him, only one-third of adults were fully able to reach this milestone of mental development.
Erik Erikson studied life span development yet focused majorly on development through adolescence and adulthood in 8 phases. He believed that each phase needs to have a healthy balance in order to undertake specific tasks in that phase. Three of Erikson’s stages, pertinent to adolescence are as under:
1. Industry versus Inferiority: The 4th stage of Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development occurs till the age of 11. Approximately by the age of 12, individuals develop their ability to overcome challenges and acquire new skills.
2. Identity versus Role Confusion: This phase generally occurs between ages 12 and 18 indicating significant identity development and understanding of self, encompassing sexual orientation, gender identity, political opinions, and religious beliefs. This is the stage of questioning the beliefs and opinions around them or the ones taught by their parents. This leads to challenges in the parent-child relationship as the teen grows a sense of individuality or autonomy. This stage is marked by its interpersonal conflicts and changing attitudes of teens.
3. Intimacy versus Isolation: Once they reach the age of 18, almost on the brink of adulthood, individuals develop intimate relationships in order to avoid feelings of loneliness or isolation.
As adolescent brains are different from that of adults, therapy cannot be similarly administered to teens. We know that they require special care and attention sharply focusing on their unique requirements. Let us now look at how therapy with adolescents, if not completely but is slightly different.
Just like any therapeutic relationship, having trust and rapport with the teen is highly essential. This also means that teens require a therapist whom they can fully trust and open up to.
Many times, parents of adolescents are plagued by the curiosity to know what happens in their teen’s therapy sessions. They want to be more involved and demand the therapist disclose information from the sessions. However, this always does more harm than good, whether it is regarding the relationship between the teen and the parent or the teen and the therapist. In such cases, it is always better to let the teen have their privacy and allow them to engage and handle their own sessions. While it may seem scary to leave them on their own, it is an essential part of growth and becoming an adult.
It goes without doubt that therapists are mandated to report any sort of abuse if a child is going through one. Therapists are also under the obligation to report if someone is actively suicidal or plans to hurt someone else or themselves. However, it is always better to have an open conversation with your client and parents to address the limits to confidentiality and demarcate what information is to be shared with the parents.
There is this misconception that teens only wish to have a “chat” with the therapist which often misdirects the parent regarding therapy. Objectively, any topic that is pertinent to the adolescent is an important part of their session. Giving them the freedom to choose and talk about topics bothering them lays down a good foundation to later go deeper into their feelings and emotions. Similarly, in order to go deeper and build relationships, many sessions have games and activities depending on the adolescent’s development level. All this combined with active listening and therapy is a holistic therapeutic way to deal with adolescents.
It is understandable to feel worried and concerned for your teen during their active time of change. On the flip side though, parents cannot essentially control everything that happens to their child. Therefore, it is better to try and recognise their needs and support them as much as you can. This caters to the growth that comes out of good parenting and adult support during this transitional stage of development.
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