As evidence-based programs (EBPs) are transported to more representative clinical settings from highly controlled efficacy trials, their advantage over usual care (UC) is largely diminished. However, it is difficult to explain this phenomenon without a better understanding of the status quo in mental health care. Knowledge of the nature of UC is…

In recent years, opponents of the gender-affirmative approach to trans youth have argued that it bears homophobic roots and may be tantamount to conversion therapy. This argument is mistaken. In this article, I first argue that there is no evidence that social and/or medical transition is motivated by homophobia. Contrary to the critique's tacit…

As Non-Suicidal Self Injury (NSSI) is increasing in prevalence among adolescents and young adults, College Counseling Centers (CCC's) are tasked with treating this population of students. CCC's are designed to provide counseling services to all students seeking assistance and therapy is typically relegated to short term psychotherapy with…

This meta-analysis aims to inform clinical practice of treatment strategies for adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD). The efficacy of three empirically validated treatments was compared to determine the most effective treatment. These were: cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI)…

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is prevalent in youth involved in delinquency, but it is often not effectively treated. A randomized clinical trial was conducted comparing the outcomes of an emotion regulation therapy (Trauma Affect Regulation: Guide for Education and Therapy, or TARGET) with a relational supportive therapy (Enhanced…

An innovative methodology is presented for describing the therapeutic processes involved in five types of adolescent treatments: psychoanalysis, psychodynamic psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioural therapy, mentalisation-based treatment and interpersonal psychotherapy. Using the "Adolescent Psychotherapy Q-Set" (APQ), 18 experienced clinicians…

Research of childhood psychological maltreatment has documented a range of severe and long-lasting difficulties for children who experience this type of abuse. Consequences can include but are not limited to emotional and behavioural problems, low self-esteem, and relationship difficulties. Accordingly, the development of therapy programs to…

The author describes the development of a model for working with staff members from non-psychoanalytic backgrounds to run therapeutic and therapy-like pupil groups in schools. She draws on her experience of co-facilitating groups at a London-based secondary school and uses examples from recent group work with Year 10 pupils (aged 14-15). Child…

Adolescence is a time of unparalleled threat, change, challenge, and opportunity. Rates of psychopathology increase dramatically during adolescence, yet many therapists find it hard to engage with adolescents. The organization of this book follows the typical emergence of specific syndromes in the course of development. Chapters are: (1) "General…

Presenting a developmentally grounded approach to treating a wide range of adolescent problems, this book shows how troubled teenagers and their parents can be helped to use family relationships as catalysts for growth and change. Case examples, practical discussions of the process of assessment and therapy, and straightforward clinical advice are…

In this column, the author focuses on the ways that family counselors can use solution-based therapies (solution-oriented and solution-focused) to work with families with adolescents in individual and/or family therapy. The theoretical foundation for solution-based therapies suggests techniques that help families focus on solutions and not remain…

Uses metaphor of the wedding in an arranged marriage to describe the process of using a network meeting to overcome resistance and engage a hostile adolescent and her family in a residential treatment program. Review of the literature is followed by description of a clinical case. Practical and theoretical issues are discussed. (Author/NB)

Provides a framework for cooperative therapeutic work with adolescents by drawing on the ideas of solution-oriented therapy and the narrative approaches to counseling. By hearing and understanding the stories adolescents tell about their lives, therapists can recognize and tap into the strengths and resources of their patients. (JPS)

The author views middle class adolescent, drug cult drop-outs as lacking, for a variety of reasons, father figures with whom they could interact in a normal and healthy rebellion. On this basis, he devised exclusion therapy which establishes, for resistive clients, a kind of severity of initiation. The paper describes the process as follows: a…

Subjects were trained in three targeted skills. Game training produced large and consistent gains in all target responses however, no generalization was recorded in covert assessments. Subsequently, an in-situ training procedure consisting of intermittent verbal prompts and reinforcement was used, which significantly increased use of skills in all…