ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the effect that pairs has on the psychological development of troubled children, on the pair relationship, and on the response of the children to the residential milieu and other peers and staff. It also examines the process of promoting the psychosocial competence of these troubled youth during the transition period from preadolescence to early adolescence. The chapter presents a case study of two boys who began in pair therapy at age eleven, after each had been in individual psychotherapy at a residential center for several months. The termination of the pair was relatively smooth, and perhaps less painful compared to termination in individual psychotherapy. The boys openly expressed their sadness and anger about the therapist leaving, but the termination was less traumatic because the boys had each other to rely on. Pair therapy is a treatment intervention that emphasizes the construetive movement of individuals toward more mature interpersonal performance, based upon enhanced intimacy and autonomy skills.
