ABSTRACT
Emotional health and psychological well-being form the goal for all our young people, but all too often adversity of one sort or another deflects their path. Some young people may have been born disadvantaged, with a physical disability or a genetic predisposition. Many young people rapidly become quite mature and can be thoughtful and reflective. This capacity to mentalize, to think about thinking, depends on healthy early relationships, so that there are good-enough internal object relationships—that is, emotional resources in the mind based on the loving relationships they have experienced already. Young people can become anxious or depressed with low mood, a state of mind that may or may not have causes in the external world. The anxious young person may be anxious about everything, or there may be specific situations or events that provoke anxiety, leading to phobias or panic attacks.
