DCES 897 - Counseling Difficult, Defiant Adolescent

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This course is intended to provide a comprehensive, eminently practical range of therapeutic techniques, strategies, and approaches for working with difficult, defiant, and aggressive adolescents. The focus is on the application of the precursors model of change, which provides dozens of techniques and strategies designed for use with difficult clients in general. The relevant theories integrated in this course are family systems, cognitive, behavioral, existential, Adlerian, psychodynamic, and Gestalt approaches. Group therapy is also covered in depth, as well as social justice, multiculturalism, and diversity. Therapeutic approaches to such behaviors and attitudes as suicide, depression, anger, blaming, defiance, violent impulses, criminality, gang involvement, drugs, alcohol, stealing, sexuality, lying, manipulation, attention seeking, and peer pressure are included in the course. Emphasis of the course is on family issues, existential themes, resistance, empathy, belonging, separateness, qualities of the effective counselor, and establishing the therapeutic relationship, with therapeutic change as the goal of counseling for families, groups, and individuals.