I read the Meeks chapter. At first I was very intimidated by his forewarnings of working with adolescents. They presented the kinds of problems that come up and the idea that youth shouldn’t be forced. For some youth group therapy can be more damaging to good. They presented the case of Anne who was so emotionally abused and rejected by her mother, she had physical and psychotic symptoms. It was also a concrete example of the damage parental rejection can do. Luckily, Anne did do well in one-on-one therapy.
They went on to illustrate the kind of group therapy for adolescents that works well; and honestly, I will keep this article as a premier guide for when I do group work with teens.
Such things were discussed as handpicking the adolescents to create a balance of personality, having the adolescents each write an individual contract that becomes a guiding star for keeping individuals and the group on task while defining the role of the therapist, and suggestions for psychodynamic or gestalt interventions when needed, and much more. The chapter was inspiring in that it showed how a thoughtful set-up and implementation can make effective psychotherapy groups possible for teens.