ABSTRACT
Whilst experimentation forms part of the tapestry of adolescence for many adolescents, for some, this becomes problematic and has adverse implications for their development. The impulsively configured adolescent’s profile is analysed and the clinician is offered dialogic and creative strategies which support the young person to become more choiceful and take greater ownership of his experience. The author reveals the art of cultivating the adolescent’s concern with regard to unsafe alcohol and drug use without risking compromise to the therapeutic space, as she sidesteps the urge to express her concern and revert to a lecturing posture, thus creating remoteness in contact. Case examples further develop appreciation of unsafe impulsive experimentation as creative adjustment to adverse lifespace conditions and support deeper clinical insight.
