Adolescent counselling techniques (The top 5)

The current blogspot will be based on the question “what are adolescent counseling techniques?”. We will enlist the various counselling techniques used with adolescents. We will also discuss and learn the salient aspects of each technique used in adolescent counseling in detail.

What are adolescent counselling techniques?

Adolescent counseling techniques are various strategies that are used to counsel adolescents. Since adolescence is an age that lies between childhood and adulthood, there are a number of specific issues that are signature to adolescents and thus adolescents counseling needs specialized strategies.

Some of the useful adolescent counseling techniques are as mentioned below:

• The feeling word game
• The bubble blast game
• The mad game
• The slow motion game
• The second story game
• Positive postings
• Journaling
• Drawing
• Letter writing
• roleplays

The feeling word game

The feeling word game is used with adolescent clients to gain an insight into the feelings based on the significant events of their lives. The counselor asks the clients to name all the feelings they can, the counselor writes each feeling on a separate flash card. 

When the adolescent finishes with the feeling words, the counselor places all the flashcards in front of the client and asks the client to narrate a story related to each of the feelings.

This way the client recalls the emotionally significant events of their life. They are able to share the impact of the most significant events with the counselor and vent out their feelings.

The bubble blow blast and breath game

The bubble blow blast and breathe game is used with adolescent clients to overcome their anxiety and stress. The adolescents asked to blow in soapy water with the help of a straw. This is followed by deep breathing in order to relax the client.  The counselor can also guide the client to make bubbles with the soapy water and straw and follow each bubble as it pop outs. This helps adolescents to stay in here and now.

The mad game 

The mad game in counseling sessions with adolescents is used to develop an insight that anger is a healthy emotion. The counselor teaches the adolescent clients to express their anger  in a healthy way through the mad game. The mad game can also be adjusted to work with anxiety and stress among adolescents.

The counselor first equally distributes some wooden blocks between the client and himself. Next the adolescent is made to understand that each block will be placed on another block in the middle of the table. While placing a new block each person would narrate an event that makes them feel mad.

For starters, the counselor can say a superficial statement that “it makes me feel mad when there is a crowd in a shopping mall” and place a wooden block in the center. The adolescent client then places the second block narrating an incident that made him feel mad in life.

At the end of the game, the counselor instructs the adolescent client to make an angry face and blow out all the blocks.

The slow motion game

The slow motion game is played in counseling sessions with the adolescent population to help them learn self control. The counselor psychoeducates the client about difficulty in controlling our urges and delaying gratification of our needs when we are moving in a fast pace in life.

The counselor often instructs the adolescent to display a fast moving life in the session. This helps the adolescent client to channelize his energies. 

The adolescent is then instructed to role play various situations mentioned on the various flash cards that would be handed over to the adolescent by the counselor.The key is to roleplay each situation in a super slow motion.

This will help the adolescent clients to minimize their reactivity and overcome the associated impulsivity.

The second story game

The second story game in adolescent counseling sessions is played with the intent of getting the adolescent to share their reactions and experiences about a traumatic event. The adolescents are instructed to take a walk through the traumatic event. During the walk the adolescent is made to keep their focus on themselves and on their reactions. 

The counselor then discusses the adolescent’s perception of his or her reaction and tries to promote the greater sense of autonomy and independence that they have now to control and manage if they get stuck in a same situation.

The counselor also facilitates the adolescent to think of the strengths that have enabled him to grow during the post trauma event in life.

Positive postings

The positive postings are based on an activity that involves using sticky notes and drawing. The positive posting uses drawing techniques in order to enhance the sense of self. 

The counselor in positive posting technique asks the adolescent to draw an outline of the body of himself. The client then asks the adolescent to write all of the positive things about himself or herself beside the drawing. 

Next the adolescent tends to write each of the same positive attributes as written on the paper on sticky notes and place them on the outline of himself. 

This will help the adolescent to strongly connect his self image to more positive attributes in life.

Journaling

Journaling and diary writing to express one’s own thoughts or feelings that might be unpleasant or pleasant is a great way for adolescents to vent out their built in feelings related to events.

Journaling techniques can also be taught to adolescents to teach them about gratitude and counting their blessings in life.

Drawing

The adolescents in counseling are often introduced to drawing as a source of venting out their feelings and describing their unpleasant events. The counselor often uses projective techniques with the adolescent clients to build a strong rapport with them.

Letter writing

Letter writing in adolescent counseling helps the adolescents to write whatever they feel like saying and save it with themselves or with the counselor. Letters provide the adolescents with opportunities to overcome the unfinished businesses in life. 

The adolescents are able to let go of things that they were unable to stop from occurring or that they never wanted to occur to themselves in life. 

Roleplays

Role Plays are scenarios where individuals enact certain situations as pretend play to understand the various associated factors, changing which can make the situation a bit better for them. 

Role Plays include the counselor along with the adolescent to take on the prescribed roles and enact the situation in a manner that is controlled and managed.

At the end of the role play the scenario is analyzed with what changes can be made in attitude and approach to various stressful scenarios in life. 

Conclusion

The current blogspot was based on the question “what are adolescent counseling techniques?”. We learned and focused on the various counseling techniques used for working with adolescents and also discussed the various aspects of each counselling technique in detail.

Frequently asked questions : adolescent counselling techniques

What are the counseling techniques?

The various counselling techniques are as follows :

• Psychodynamic Counseling
• Interpersonal Counseling
• Humanistic/Client-Centered Counseling
• Existential Therapy
• Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
• Mindfulness-Based Counseling
• Rational Emotive Therapy
• Reality Therapy

What is adolescence Counselling?

Adolescent counseling is a type of counseling that is specifically related to addressing the issues of  adolescence. Adolescent counseling tends to resolve the conflicts of adolescent period for the individuals during their transition from childhood to adulthood. 

What are the 5 types of counseling?

The 5 types of counseling are as follows :

• Marriage and family counseling.
• Guidance and career counseling.
• Rehabilitation counseling.
• Mental health counseling.
• Substance abuse counseling.
• Educational Counseling.

Citations

https://www.counseling.org/docs/default-source/vistas/encouraging-teenagers.pdf

https://centerforadolescentstudies.com/3-basic-counseling-skills-working-teens/

https://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/FFF-Guide/Psychotherapies-For-Children-And-Adolescents-086.aspx