REBT assessment and treatment with adolescents

Abstract

Historical and clinical evidence is replete with innumerable instances in which adolescents have habitually, rather than merely occasionally or sporadically, acted in the most maladaptive and self-defeating ways imaginable (Ellis, 1971). Various explanations have been offered for this phenomenon, ranging from the hormonal changes of puberty to the psychosocial pressures of growing up. My observations, however, suggest that the self-defeating behavior so common to adolescence is primarily the result of the young persons evaluation and appraisal of his or her life experiences rather than being the result of any particular set of biological, social, or environmental circumstances. This conclusion flows from an ongoing exposure to the beliefs and value systems of countless teenagers, who consistently reveal thinking patterns grounded in ignorance, misconception, and, quite often, utter nonsense. Let me point out that practically every adolescent client I have worked with has managed to distort, exaggerate, and misinterpret, reality and to suffer accordingly. Adolescents seem to find it incredibly easy to turn disappointments into disasters; desires into demands; wants into necessities; difficulties into impossibilities; and failure and criticism into proof that they are subhuman creatures. Although they do so unwittingly, adolescents think themselves into their social and emotional problems. When faced with the teenager as a client, therefore, the counselor would ideally direct therapeutic endeavors at changing attitudespersuading the young person to think in logical, sensible, and scientific ways. Unfortunately, this is not an easy task. Not only do adolescents possess the normal human inclination to resist change, but they are frequently rebellious and contrary, sometimes to the point of sabotaging their own best interests. Add these attitudes to what appears to be a universal distrust of adults and adult values, and the resulting situation is one that is hardly conducive to a therapeutic exchange. In spite of their well-earned status as difficult clients, however, adolescents can be helped to overcome their emotional and behavioral conflicts through psychotherapy. The approach I have found most effective is based on the theoretical principles of rational-emotive, behavior psychotherapy (REBT) (Bard, 1980; Ellis, 1962, 1974; Ellis and Harper, 1975; Walen et al., 1980; Wessler and Wessler, 1980). This approach structures the counseling process according to the following considerations: •Relationship building • Problem defining •Problem intervention • Problem solving Although each area usually requires attention, one need not hold to this particular order, and it is understood that there is overlapping. For instance, one could be developing a relationship while defining a problem, and vice versa. The therapist might also want to concentrate more on one area than on another. Regardless of how it is managed, I have found reliance on this framework is productive in maintaining a therapeutic direction with the adolescent client. © 2006 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.