As adolescents rise closer to adulthood they often fight for their autonomy. Although many adolescents struggle through the process of trying to understand their identity, they also battle between morals and reasoning. Before children reach adolescence they developed concept of morels; they are taught by teachers, parents, and/or clergy: don’t do drugs, be honest, and be kind to your neighbor. As they grow older, they then begin to reasoning and may cause the developmental patterns of thinking more difficult for adolescents.
In the film, Thirteen, Tracy demonstrated the transition from childhood to adolescents. Her rebellious behavior was a clear indication of adolescents. However, Tracy morals are often overlooked due to her disobedient behavior. In the beginning of the film, Tracy protested against drugs and premarital sex, when she didn’t want her mother’s drug addicted boyfriend living in the house. Tracy knew the boyfriend’s behavior was morally incorrect and spoke out against it; nevertheless she conformed and began to mimic the behavior.
In the middle of the film, Tracy conformed to unhealthy and unsafe conducts to gain control and to identify with self. Tracy began to go against her moral beliefs and justify her actions by reasoning. In the film, Tracy was ignored by her parents as well as peers. Therefore she engaged in activities that bought attention toward her, no matter if it was positive or negative. According to Erick Erickson (1968), Tracy was facing an identity crisis and searching for autonomy.
As a school counselor, I would understand that this is a difficult stage for adolescents. During this stage, they are looking for directions and disconnecting with parents. A Client such as Tracy, I would gather information from her teachers before meeting with her. I would have available current information on community outreach programs to provide to her. The first counseling section, I would have Tracy lead the counseling section. This would give Tracy the opportunity to be independent. It would also eliminate Tracy‘s struggles to gain control. I would listen to her and pay close attention to her body language to understand her better. At the end of the section, I would give Tracy a homework assignment to complete a self concept test. This would give Tracy a sense of self and possible hobbies that would keep her busy.
I like the idea of the homework assignment, but I don't know if I would give that in the first session. I do think that with journaling could be very powerful for her. Like I mentioned in my posting, I would want to involve Tracy in a group that I'm running, or help her find some kind of activities in the school that she could get that sense of belonging she is seeking.
ReplyDelete