Teens in Therapy: Making It Their Own

Engaging Adolescents in Successful Therapy for Responsible Lives

Richard Bromfield

Praise for Teens in Therapy:

"Anyone who is interested in adolescent psychology or who has ever struggled with adolescents or adolescent clients in therapy will benefit from reading this book."

—Choice

"This is a highly readable book that captures the essence of working with adolescents in treatment. Dr. Bromfield focuses on the importance of understanding events from the perspective of the adolescent, in order that the teen ’takes ownership’ of the therapy. The chapters cover the many interpersonal problems that arise when working with this age group, along with the author’s take on the real issues that are disturbing both the therapist and the patient. Just as this book is written in direct, jargon-free language in a way that communicates with the reader, these same qualities are suggested by the author as those that will facilitate the therapist’s work"

–Phebe Cramer, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, Williams College

"Teens in Therapy is an invaluable resource for both beginning therapists and seasoned professionals. Richard Bromfield’s eloquent emphasis on the importance of empathy, helping teenagers feel understood, and balancing the need to challenge as well as push is well-stated. He highlights the importance of gently probing through a difficult or brusque exterior to connect to teenage clients and using the therapeutic relationship to effect change. Throughout the book, he uses striking clinical examples to illustrate different practices and ways of communicating with teenagers. His clear writing is instructive and engaging, and his no-nonsense style is refreshing. This book should be required reading for anyone working with teenagers."

–Sally Theran, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, Wellesley College

"With Teens in Therapy, Richard Bromfield has contributed his most important work since Playing for Real. A pleasure to read, this book explores the essentials of adolescent therapy without jargon or over-reliance on theory. Indeed, Bromfield’s gift as a writer and teacher can be found in the way he captures the dynamic unfolding of interpersonal contact between him and his patients, finding within it hope and insight. He relates to the reader with equal skill, and the result is a suspenseful, engaging, and truly wise text that deserves to become a standard in the field."

–Harry G. Segal, Ph.D., Senior Lecturer, Psychology and Human Development, Cornell University

“Indispensable for young therapists, this guidebook will also be of interest to more seasoned practitioners and to supervisors of psychotherapy. It would also serve well as a text for clinical coursework in adolescent treatment.”
—New England Psychologist

Overview – Contents

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.

About the Author –

Richard Bromfield, Ph.D., is a psychologist at Harvard Medical School and author of Handle with Care: Understanding Children and Teachers and Playing for Real. He lives in Brookline with his wife and teenage children.

ISBN: 0-393-70464-5