ABSTRACT
Adolescence is a developmental crisis during which a rapid, dramatic and sometimes convulsive transformation of the self occurs. The adolescent is buffeted by change both from within and without. To compensate for this, like a person walking in a high wind, he takes up exaggerated postures to prevent his newly emergent self from being blown away. Adolescence may be thought of as the Age of Extremism, of extreme identifications, massive denial, polarised thinking, and testing of boundaries. By the same token it is also a period of great fragility, sensitivity to stress and hyperactivity. The Latin “adolescere” means “to blossom” or “bud.” The metaphor, therefore, of a delicate plant opening its leaves to the elements, is useful when considering psychotherapy for the adolescent. The emphasis should be on creating a climate within which the adolescent’s tentative excursions into the surroundings can be encouraged, and his swift recoils accepted as part of the process of growth and exploration.
