Candor, Connection, and Enterprise in Adolescent Therapy [Hardcover]

Janet Sasson Edgette (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0393703568 | ISBN-13: 978-0393703566 | Publication Date: November 2001

Therapists trying too hard to appeal to their un-cooperative adolescent clients risk losing cases before they are even under way. These kids are quick to pick up on the therapist who tries too hard to be helpful, be liked, make conversation, not get upset. So worried is the therapist about saying the "wrong" thing, that he or she might end up saying too little that is useful. With credibility compromised, the adolescent loses faith in the therapist. The client withdraws into silence, becomes sarcastic, or makes fun to show disinterest, even contempt. Some therapists counter with urgent appeals for reason or insight; others may become self-conscious or more gratuitous towards the client. Some get frustrated and simply blame the adolesecent, attributing the problem to "resistance". "Candor, Connection, and Enterprise in Adolesecnt Therapy" speaks about a different way of relating to adolescent clients in therapy. Focusing on establishing relationships between therapist and adolescent that are genuine and unaffected, and on bringing about conversation that is candid, forthright, and emotionally moving, this text offers therapists a different way to help disengaged or un-cooperative young clients and their family members find dignified, face-saving ways out of their problems. It teaches that holding adolescents accountable for their actions and choices is just as important as providing compassion for their plights, but underscores how essential it is that the therapist refrains from imposing injunctions in order to best facilitate change. Case examples and stories from the author's practice are used throughout the book to illustrate how therapists can successfully navigate difficult therapeutic encounters and avert the power struggles and "going-nowhere" dialogues that thwart and bore their young clients.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Janet Edgette lives in Rosemont, Pennsylvania.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (November 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393703568
• ISBN-13: 978-0393703566
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #621,802 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Candor Connection, and Enterprise in Adolescent Therapy, January 7, 2003

By 

Cathy Wellman "shortypa" (West Chester, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Candor, Connection, and Enterprise in Adolescent Therapy (Hardcover)

Janet Sasson Edgette should have been fictitious adolescent Holden Caulfield's therapist. On the evidence of her new book, she is one of those rare adults who understands adolescents' obsession with all things "phony." She writes with chatty authority about what the experience of therapy feels like for teens, mapping the many shoals on which adolescent therapy can founder.

Edgette is savvy about teens' reluctance to participate in therapy. She recognizes that they don't trust the therapist and that they find the entire process hopelessly contrived, potentially pointless, yet vaguely threatening. She knows too that therapists frequently make this bad situation worse by trying too hard to make teen clients like them, or taking on too much of the responsibility for making therapy work.

"Maybe the most important part of our job as therapists to unhappy teenagers is to reinstate a measure of faith in their pleasure at letting a kind adult really get to know them, and allowing themselves to be told what they need to hear, " she writes. Some of the essential steps toward that goal include being mindful of the teen client's need to save face, and instinctive radar for therapeutic artifice.

The book has no theoretical pretensions and consists primarily of tips and case commentary. Still, a kind of philosophy of treatment does emerge - one based on mutual respect, subtle but definite boundaries, and creative responses to the challenges inherent in doing therapy with teens. For clinicians who feel deficient in this last respect, the chapter on "Troubleshooting Individual Session Impasses" will be especially helpful.

Book Review by Jim Naughton
Psychotherapy Networker
September/October, 2002

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A realistic approach to adolescent therapy, November 29, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Candor, Connection, and Enterprise in Adolescent Therapy (Hardcover)

This book was exactly what I needed. As a therapist-in-training, I am working mostly with adolescents. I felt that I needed a little guidance and a few suggestions in how to keep things going. Dr. Edgette's honesty, realism, and simplicity in dealing with teens makes perfect sense. I continue to watch other therapists continue to tell adolescents what they "should" be doing and not listening and comprehending where they are coming from. This book not only helped me by showing me what to do in most situations, but confirmed that I am on the right track in many ways. My only disappointment was that the book wasn't longer! Thanks to Dr. Edgette for a realistic, effective approach to use with teenagers.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best adolescent therapy book in a long time, February 1, 2011

By 

Larry Bayer (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Candor, Connection, and Enterprise in Adolescent Therapy (Hardcover)

This little known book has a wealth of knowledge on building therapeutic relationships with hard-to-reach youth. I have all my interns read it when they ask for readings on adolescent therapy. It changed how I do therapy, and could be an essential read for anyone doing relational therapy (especially with attachment disordered teens). Give this book a try!!