This Clinical Case Conference contains a series of three presentations that reflect on how appropriately sensitive observing, listening, understanding, and responding to adolescent concerns and stresses may facilitate therapeutic work. Very few child and adolescent psychiatrists have been trained to work analytically (that is, from the inside) with adolescents. Currently there is greater acceptance of this work as effective either with or without the use of medication. In this panel, presenters look at experiences between an individual adolescent and therapist and the challenges of sustaining individual therapeutic work. Presenters demonstrate the usefulness to the clinician of keeping psychoanalytic concepts in mind in engaging and keeping adolescents in psychotherapy. In addition to evoking strong family support, the clinician has a far better chance of sustaining his patient's interest in the psychotherapeutic work by careful reflective empathic listening, with a particular interest in (and curiosity about) his or her patient's inner subjective narrative and fantasy life. Presenters believe that a clinician working with such psychoanalytic principles in mind has a far better chance of ultimate treatment success.
Thursday, October 29, 2009: 7:00 AM-10:00 AM
Discussants:
Chair:
Co-presenters:
Sponsored by the AACAP
Psychotherapy Committee