What is psychotherapy for disobedient adolescents like?

A summary of what is done in psychological therapy for disobedient adolescents.

Psychological treatments, as is evident, depend to a great extent on the target population.

Therefore, there are many possibilities when it comes to therapy. In this case we are going to focus on the treatments focused on the infantojuvenile population, more concretely those of adolescent age, whose behavior is marked by the disobedience..

Possible psychological disorders associated with disobedience

The work of psychologists has to be constantly adapted to the type of patient to be helped. Therefore, when we ask ourselves what psychotherapy for disobedient adolescents is like, we must take into account the characteristics of this group, since they are the ones that will mark the way we do therapy.

Adolescence is usually a turbulent time in people's lives.. Therefore, it is not surprising that many of them, at this stage, begin to manifest some behavioral alterations, which often result in disobedience to authority, represented mainly by their own parents.

One of the psychopathologies that can be generated is the oppositional defiant disorder, characterized, in fact, by a disobedience to authority, mainly represented by their own parents.characterized, effectively, by a negative attitude, defiance and disobedience to parents, teachers and any other person who may represent an authority for them. In data from past years, such as 2016, the prevalence of this pathology accounted for between 3% and 8% of Spanish adolescents.

Before answering what psychotherapy for disobedient adolescents is like, we should know these and other data, which are of great relevance to the topic at hand. Returning to oppositional defiant disorder, this pathology is especially frequent in boys, with two to three times more cases than in female adolescents.

But it is not the only psychopathology that can have a negative influence on the behavior of young people. Another example is dissocial disorderwhich also affects some adolescents. In this case, the individuals who suffer from it constantly transgress all norms, so it is evident that their attitude towards authority is one of absolute disobedience.

Dissocial disorder is another of those that we must take into account when we consider what psychotherapy for disobedient adolescents is like. For this disorder, we found that the prevalence is also higher in males than in females. In the total adolescent population, it is estimated that between 1.5% and 3.4% of individuals suffer from this disorder.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) should not be forgotten either.This, although for other reasons, also causes the adolescent not to obey authority on many occasions. As in the other examples we have seen, this pathology is more common in men. Regarding the total, studies conclude that between 3% and 7% of adolescents are affected by ADHD.

The keys to psychotherapy for disobedient adolescents.

After a first introduction that has allowed us to approach the problem that concerns us, knowing some of the disorders that trigger this type of behavior, we will now delve into the question of what psychotherapy for disobedient adolescents is like.

To do this, we will review what would be the keys to this issue.

1. Diagnosis

In order to be able to carry out a psychological therapy according to the needs of the minor, the psychologist will have to make an evaluation that will allow him to issue a clinical diagnosis.. This will indicate the type of disorder, if any, that the adolescent is suffering from. It could be one of those we have seen in the previous point or another that is also influencing his or her behavior.

You should also estimate the influence of external factors that could be aggravating the problem. One of the most common is the consumption of substances such as alcohol, tobacco or other drugs. The effects caused by some of these substances, as well as the abstinence from them, when there is a certain dependence, could increase antisocial behaviors, such as disobedience.

The sooner a good diagnosis can be made, the sooner the mental health professional will be able to can draw up a plan of action to improve the adolescent's behavior and, therefore, his or her quality of life. and therefore, their quality of life and that of the people around them.

2. The treatment

The next phase will be the treatment as such. We are, therefore, before the Heart of the answer to what psychotherapy for disobedient adolescents is like. Obviously, it is not a simple or unique answer, since it will depend essentially on the diagnosis that has been previously issued.

In this sense, we can already sense that that there is no single way to proceed to tackle the problem of disobedience.. Even when faced with the same diagnosis, two professionals, especially if they belong to different psychological currents, will be able to adopt very different ways of acting, and both may succeed in achieving the objective.

What this means is that, when we talk about psychotherapy for disobedient adolescents, we must be aware that the response will depend on the patient himself, on his individual conditions, on the psychologist in charge of helping him to heal and on the techniques chosen by him.

Therefore, there are multiple possible answers we can give to this question, because, although there will be cases with similar characteristics, the fact is that each one of them will have a treatment totally conditioned to the patient.The therapist and their respective particular contexts.

3. The parents

One element that should never be forgotten when dealing with the question of what psychotherapy for disobedient adolescents is like is that of the parents. Parents are usually the usual authority figure for adolescents. Therefore, if they are displaying disobedience behavior, parents are most likely to be affected by this issue.

Therefore, in order to achieve the most effective therapy, the psychologist should work not only with the adolescent, but also with his or her parents or legal guardians.. On many occasions, acts of disobedience are generated and/or maintained by an imbalance in the relationship between the patient and his or her parents.

This is why it is essential to to analyze this relationship in order to study the points where friction is being generated and to be able to propose solutions to this problem.. Although it always depends on the diagnosis and the chosen treatment, as we have already seen, we are going to describe one of the possible techniques that can be proposed so that both work together.

4. Techniques

This is the token economy. Although this is a technique most frequently used in the child population, if suitably adapted it can also be useful with adolescents. This is an appropriate technique to achieve behavioral modifications through operant conditioning, so it can serve as an example of what psychotherapy for disobedient adolescents is like.

The first thing parents should do is identify all the elements that the adolescent enjoys, which are provided by themselves.. The most frequent are the use of the telephone or computer, internet connection, pay, videogames, etc. Until now, the child had enjoyed all of them in a more or less free way.

By introducing the token economy, this situation changes. What is done is to put a price on each of these activities or elements, but not in money, but in tokens, which will be a symbolic currency that the adolescent will be able to obtain in exchange for performing these tasks, to which he previously refused and therefore showed disobedience.

The objective is obvious: to motivate the minor to obey and comply with the designated activities, since he will perceive that by doing so he will be able to obtain the tokens that will allow him to "buy" his privileges, which he previously took for granted but which he was not able to do.which he previously took for granted but which now entail a cost for him. The point is that this cost ends up being reduced, precisely, to the obedience he did not show before.

In this way, and under the criteria of operant conditioning, light can be shed on the question of what psychotherapy for disobedient adolescents is like, with a technique as well known and effective as token economy. It is important to repeat that this is only one example of a tool.

The choice of the same and of therapy in general, as we have already said, is a matter that will depend entirely on the professional in question and his or her criteria, after observing the characteristics of the patient and his or her environment.

Bibliographical references:

• Céspedes, A. (2007). Children with tantrums, defiant adolescents. Cómo manejar los trastornos de conducta en los hijos. Ediciones B. Grupo Z.
• Gil-Iñiguez, A. (2014). Intervention in a case of an adolescent with conduct problems. Journal of Clinical Psychology with children and adolescents.
• Matalí, J. (2016). Adolescents with behavioral disorders. how can we detect them? What should be done? Barcelona: Hospital Sant Joan de Déu.
• Navarrete, L., Ossa, C. (2013). Parental styles and family quality of life in adolescents with disruptive behaviors. Ciencias psicológicas.
• Soler, F., Herrera, J.P., Buitrago, S., Barón, L. (2009). Token economy program at home. Diversitas.