Introduction
Juvenile counseling provides guidance, information, and advice to youths, typically from early infancy to adolescence. Youth therapy may focus on any issue that creates worries or conflicts concerning school, home environment, relatives, orientation and gender identities, or peer relationships. These issues can hinder a child’s education and impede them from developing into becoming joyful, functioning adults. The purpose of juvenile therapy is to assist youngsters in becoming useful members of society. Private enterprise therapists conduct assessments, establish treatment goals, and help individuals with drug addiction, affective disorders, and troublesome behavioral concerns.
Moreover, private counseling can combat the common feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem among adolescents. However, the teenage phase of development is riddled with complications, as juveniles at various stages of growth vary in what they would share with a specialist, and some will seek psychological help from their peers. Therefore, with such challenges, this essay aims to discuss some of the factors and parameters that characterize counseling adolescents as distinctive and more difficult than consulting adults. In doing so, the paper utilizes four different private counseling articles to provide a deeper insight into the problem statement.
Discussion
Firstly, the adolescent stage provides a significant challenge regarding juvenile counseling. At this growth stage, teenagers attempt to understand their identities and ideas. According to Younas et al., this progression will utilize juvenile advantages and flaws (278). It may be contended that the latter is more significant because they will be evaluated and modified numerous times. When adolescents attempt to make sense of the present stage of their unique rite of passage, these topics can sometimes create challenges for them. The environment’s architecture in which the teenager participates may influence how the adolescent reacts to certain situations. If a clear set of authority boundaries is in place, the teenager will be less confused about where the actual authority sits in a specific company.
During counseling sessions, youth may react differently to therapy due to delinquency and the sensation of perplexity. Younas et al. hypothesize that children from less stable families are more prone to a lack of appropriate school boundaries (280). It is important to note that the steady accumulation of knowledge, autonomy, individuality, and commitment is crucial to maturation. Therefore, an adolescent who pushes the limits of acceptable with educators or parents is not out of the ordinary. Even during counseling, the adolescent’s boundary-pushing behavior could influence the psychologist’s attitude to the situation (Younas et al. 283).
It is debatable whether this would be a beneficial or negative way. It is not uncommon for teenage clients to provide fragments of a broader picture to determine whether the counselor is taking them seriously. The adolescence stage is unique since it involves transitioning from being a dependent kid to an autonomous and self-reliant adult and is one of the most active, extensive, and formative stages of human growth.
Secondly, the teenager’s sense of self-concept might significantly impact their receptivity to therapies or questions. Juliana and Zhooriyati believed that self-concept is a reasonably stable characteristic produced by input from essential others in one’s external interaction, by contrasting one’s achievement with the effectiveness of others, and by self-evaluation of one’s accomplishment (2). Self-concept can be considered a crucial dimension in a field like developmental psychology due to its association with student engagement. Regardless of the specific interview style, the private counselor will apply, not gaining a grasp of the juvenile’s self-concept would lead to a failed session.
To implement a practical solution, it would be logical to guarantee that questioning would include objectives for the future if a teenager had a negative self-concept. For instance, comparing oneself to the most accomplished musicians at a school during an earlier learning period is unrealistic. Once this challenge of adolescent self-perception has been acknowledged during the professional interview, a more structured therapy can be implemented (Juliana and Zhooriyati 3). This challenge of juvenile self-concept is unique as it is a crucial non-cognitive skill for adolescents that functions as the basis upon which other non-cognitive capabilities, such as interpersonal abilities and higher-level analytical thinking, can be built.
Thirdly, few juveniles seek support for their cognitive health problems due to emotional challenges. When they do, they are significantly more likely to seek unstructured assistance from family than formal assistance from professionals. Bustnay contrasted youths with low emotional proficiency, who were poor at recognizing, articulating, and regulating their thoughts, to teenagers with higher levels of psychological expertise (280).
They highlighted the unexpected finding that individuals who were less knowledgeable and required more assistance had the lowest frequency and the strongest willingness not to seek help from anyone. This has been linked to having limited sources of interpersonal aid and, consequently, fewer options to seek support, less productive previous events of requesting help, and humiliation resulting from their inability to articulate their feelings in an interview setting adequately.
These discoveries have practical relevance as it is challenging to acquire accessibility to these more susceptible teens. In addition, the juvenile may not be confident or relaxed enough in an assessment setting to maximize the potential benefits of engaging with a therapist (Bustnay 282). The mental health of adolescents is equally as vital as their physical well-being. Positive mental health gives kids the fortitude to deal with whatever challenges life throws at them and mature into well-rounded, healthy people. Exposure to stress can result in serious problems, such as melancholy, nervousness, self-harm, and anorexia, for some adolescents. Therefore, exposure to traumatic situations can lead to mental diseases.
Fourth, juvenile sexuality presents a critical challenge during the counseling of adolescents. Boys and girls experience adolescence differently, but adolescents are often referred to as the one group (Pullen et al. 1215). Girls are more likely to seek help than boys at all ages. As they go through adolescence, the likelihood of seeking support, including professional service, increases. In contrast, for boys, help-seeking behavior remains constant and low (Pullen et al. 1215). In addition, as they go through adolescence boys do not compensate for reduced reliance on the family by building up supportive peer friendships or seeking professional help. While these findings have clear implications for boys in their need for support, there are separate issues concerning the needs of girls.
Personal concerns and discourses of the juvenile female can become internalized. In some ways, this can be regarded as a strength, as the female can refer to the inner world that contains values and insights, among other things (Pullen et al. 1218). However, the strengths that may be gained from internalizing may often be set against less than full participation in a therapy session. Moreover, female adolescent clients may be vulnerable in the correctional system and may be overlooked due to internalizing specific difficulties.
Consideration may also need to be given to the gender of the private psychologist when working with juveniles. Gender is a unique phenomenon in juvenile counseling as it is a stage of youth exploration and identity development. As such, sexuality stereotypes can limit the prospects and aspirations of teenagers and can also adversely affect self-esteem, cognitive functioning, and interpersonal relationships. Moreover, gender-responsive programs encourage the growth of girls’ perceptions of girls as competent, powerful, and self-directed and recognize the unique way females learn and interact with the world.
Lastly, anxiety disorders are of special interest to a private therapist because they can cause significant problems with interpersonal, economic, and personal functioning. As a result, the independent psychologist must be aware of the prevalence of this kind of issue in teenagers, as it is anticipated that the youth with nervousness problems will occasionally be patient. There exists a high prevalence of mental health concerns among children and adolescents and a greater emphasis on addressing these difficulties. Interviewing teenagers presents a therapeutic setting in which Cognitive Based Therapy (CBT) has the opportunity to be of great use.
Without the established research base for CBT and its particular applicability for managing the anxiousness, melancholy, and strain that is so commonly experienced by adolescents, examining juveniles may appear unfeasible. This area is unique because identifying and treating adolescent anxiety problems as early as possible is crucial for enhancing present functioning and preserving long-term health.
Conclusion
In conclusion, if I had practiced in the private sector, I would have gained an interest in counseling juveniles. My choice is because the juvenile era assists adolescents and their families in identifying approaches that foster their psychosocial development. As a result, counseling helps adolescents feel safe and comfortable about themselves and engage in respectful interactions. In addition, therapy can assist teenagers in better understanding their thoughts, learning good stress management techniques, enhancing their self-esteem, forming positive interactions, and pursuing their future aspirations. Lastly, because the adolescent era is related to socialization, tackling the factors contributing to juveniles’ decisions can enable them to alter their future behavior. For instance, recognizing why a youngster commits a crime is crucial for avoiding future illegal acts.
Works Cited
Bustnay, Tali Gur. “Group Intervention with Parents of Juvenile Sex Offenders.” Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, vol. 29, no. 3, 2020, pp. 278-294. Web.
Juliana, Jesika, and Zhooriyati Sehu Mohamad. “Self-Concept of Female Adolescents Offenders in Juvenile Detention Centers in Tangerang, Indonesia.” Social Science Journal: Malaysian Journal of Social Sciences, vol.5, no. 1, 2020, pp. 1-11. Web.
Pullen Sansfaçon, Annie, et al. “Parents’ Journeys to Acceptance and Support of Gender-Diverse and Trans Children and Youth.” Journal of Family Issues, vol. 41, no. 8, 2020, pp. 1214-1236. Web.
Younas, Faiz, Syeda Salma Hasan, and Shazia Qayyum. “Exploring Psychosocial Factors of Delinquency in Juveniles: A Survey Investigation.” Human Nature Journal of Social Sciences, vol. 3, no. 3, 2022, pp. 276-292. Web.