Group Therapy With Children and Adolescents

/in /by

Group Therapy With Children and Adolescents

Children and adolescents bring both challenges and opportunities to group therapy. To begin with, minors require the permission of a custodial parent or guardian. Before group therapy can begin, a custodial parent will need to provide informed consent for a child/adolescent to be seen. Confidentiality must also be discussed, especially in our age of technology, where it’s very easy to post content on the Internet.

Once informed consent and confidentiality have been addressed, the structure and style of the therapy group should be considered. Teens might not be as willing to engage in group therapy, and they might not understand the concept as well as an adult. Therefore, as a group therapy leader, you might need to take extra time during screening to orient the teen to the group therapy process. Children, meaning pre-teens, might exhibit similar challenges. Most young children are not very verbal, and the therapy group leader might need to do more modeling and provide greater structure through activities.

For this Discussion, review the Learning Resources. Consider how children and adolescents might impact group therapy. In addition, think about how you might adapt your leadership style when working with children and adolescents.

With these thoughts in mind:

Post by Day 4 a brief explanation of three ways in which children and three ways in which adolescents might impact group therapy. Then, explain two ways you might adapt your group leadership style when working with children and two ways you might adapt your group leadership style when working with adolescents. Provide examples to support your response. Be specific and use the Learning Resources and current literature to support your response.

References:

  • Hoag, M. J., & Burlingame, G. M. (1997). Evaluating the effectiveness of child and adolescent group treatment: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 26(3), 234–246.
  • Monga, S., Young, A., & Owens, M. (2009). Evaluating a cognitive behavioral therapy group program for anxious five to seven year old children: A pilot study. Depression & Anxiety, 26(3), 243–250.
  • Rosenthal, L. (2005). Qualifications and tasks of the therapist in group therapy with children. Modern Psychoanalysis, 30(2), 95–103.