Meeting an adult ally on the way out into the world: Adolescent patients' experiences of useful psychotherapeutic ways of working at an age when independence really matters

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore how adolescents in ongoing psychotherapies prefer their therapists to interact with them when they are establishing a therapeutic bond. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were held with 14 patients. A hermeneutic-phenomenological approach was used to analyze interview transcripts. The participants' descriptions of important experiential dimensions in their interaction with their therapists clustered around five themes: the adolescents (1) feeling vulnerable and ambivalent in relationship with a potential helper when therapy started; the therapists (2) showed them that they were comfortable with being a therapist (3), strengthened their autonomy by establishing therapeutic boundaries, (4) showed that they recognized patients' individuality by respecting their personal boundaries, (5) helped them make their experiences understandable and meaningful, and (6) allowed mutuality and emotional closeness.

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