Life can be difficult, particularly for adolescents. Many young people get through the troubled years of adolescence and emerge into adulthood reasonably safe and sound. Too many youngsters, however, feel confused and ignored. Unable to climb out of the dilemma, these youngsters are socially and emotionally "at-risk". They may suffer from such painful symptoms as anxiety, depression or anger. Many parents, in an honest attempt to help their adolescent from emotionally drowning, seek professional treatment. They put a great deal of faith in professional clinicians to find a way out for their child. However, many of these parents begin to recognize that solving the problem is more complex than they had initially realized. It has been my clinical experience that some parents who bring their resistant youngster for treatment see their child as being solely responsible for the problem. In many cases, the adolescent feels angry and defective for being pushed into treatment.  We can gain some insight if we look at things through the eyes of the adolescent. The child is usually reluctantly brought by the parents to clinicians as what I call the "identified patient". The youngster waits anxiously as the parents lay out the problem with the clinicians with remarks such as, "I don't know what's happening to my child lately, but he's not his old self. He doesn't listen to me anymore, has been getting failing grades, acts out at school, and stays in his room all the time.'' Such descriptions at the beginning of treatment by the parents may strengthen feelings of incompetence on the part of the child. Such a pattern at the beginning sets up an intention of resistance and leaves the potential for a positive outcome at risk. What many parents fail to realize is that the adolescent's problem serves as a symbol for what is happening within the family system. Unknowingly, a youngster may become rebellious or depressed as a way of attempting to calm the psychic pain experienced by his family. To some degree, the child's behavioral problems represent an effort to distract attention away from the unstable state within his family. In such cases it represents a courageous attempt by the teen to minimize home-related problems. Eventually the problems become too troublesome for the child and he continues to sacrifice himself for the sake of the family. Many times youngsters go to clinicians in the hope that treatment will aid in healing the entire family system. In my clinical experience, I have found that the troubled adolescent is more likely to find emotional healing if the parents are actively involved in the treatment process. In such cases where family members are involved in treatment, the adolescent's expectation for change tends to improve. With parental involvement, the teen begins to feel more competent, as other family members take the risk to explore difficult family issues. Young people will feel competent when_.
recognizing their problems finding short cuts to treat their problems brought to a more experienced clinician supported by their parents in treatment