Counseling Adolescents

The adolescent population is often referred to as “young adults,” but in some ways, this is a misrepresentation. Adolescents are not children, but they are not yet adults either. This transition from childhood to adulthood often poses many unique challenges to working with adolescent clients, particularly in terms of disruptive behavior. In your role, you must overcome these behaviors to effectively counsel clients. For this Discussion, as you examine the Disruptive Behaviors media in this week’s Learning Resources, consider how you might assess and treat adolescent clients presenting with disruptive behavior.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Assess clients presenting with disruptive behavior
• Analyze therapeutic approaches for treating clients presenting with disruptive behavior
• Evaluate outcomes for clients presenting with disruptive behavior

To prepare:

• Review this week’s Learning Resources and reflect on the insights they provide.
• View the media, Disruptive Behaviors. Select one of the four case studies and assess the client.
• For guidance on assessing the client, refer to pages 137-142 of the Wheeler text in this week’s Learning Resources.

Post an explanation of your observations of the client in the case study you selected, including behaviors that align to the criteria in DSM-5. Then, explain therapeutic approaches you might use with this client, including psychotropic medications if appropriate. Finally, explain expected outcomes for the client based on these therapeutic approaches. Support your approach with evidence-based literature.