This is a description.

Many therapists don’t like working with adolescents because of their high risk behavior. Although adolescents may appear disconnected and uninvolved, they are extremely sensitive to family moods, expectations and conflicts and their behavior is often a refection of what is happening in the family at any given time. Substance abuse, self-mutilation, violence, depression and suicidal symptoms are some of the destructive behavior that can be identified and changed by this family centered approach. Guidelines for clarifying issues,correcting distortions, opening up significant areas of communication and establishing positive interactions with family members will be demonstrated with video tapes that show the step-by-step process of change.

The educational objectives are listed.

1. To define the triggers both inside and outside the family that contribute to the destructive behavior of the adolescent.
2. To describe two resources within the family that can be used to arrive at mutually satisfying solutions.

Session may be edited to preserve confidentiality.