The fragile, delicate, often amazingly well-hidden by the adolescent world can be psychotherapeutically approach with a kind of discretion and caution, based on therapeutic alliance. At the same time, as analysts, our role is to make a deep work through the difficulties, the unconscious conflicts, the neurotic or psychotic structures, the personality disorders etc. On the other hand, we can not neglect, also, the so called social aspect of this problematic: the adolescent belong to a relatively specific close family setting and he has to get into a complex and large social environment, that he has to adjust to and he will be finally integrate in.
Therefore, our effort is essentially focused on the adolescence psychopathology and, beyond the aspirations, ideals and values of the adolescents, that we can perceive, understand and manage in the therapeutic setting, we are also trying to “cure”, namely to attenuate or dissolve the inner adolescent’s conflicts, caught between his instinctual urges and those of the external world, and of his/her Superego; we have to restore, to re-build and to strength his/her fragile Ego, allowing a further more harmonious development and a way to his independency. Continue reading “Acting-Out in Adolescence”