ABSTRACT
The testing phase (as outlined on pages 109–110) extends from the beginning of treatment to the control of acting out and the establishing of a therapeutic alliance. It is obviously crucial. If its ingredients are not recognized and properly handled, the remaining hours or even years of therapy may be rendered ineffective. Why is this first phase so important? Why does the adolescent attempt, often very ingeniously, to thwart the well-intentioned efforts of the therapist to help him? What are the dynamics of this encounter and, more important, what do we do about it?
