ABSTRACT
This chapter explores some themes which occur in working with young people who have been abused. It focuses on the problem of beginning a therapeutic relationship at the point of disclosure of abuse and the impact of this on both therapist and young person. The chapter discusses the problems that arise in terms of the young person developing a sense of identity, and how this emerges in the therapeutic relationship. It suggests some ways in which the young person begins the process of recovery, through a discussion of the idea of resilience. The chapter illustrates all some themes and draws on therapeutic work that undertook over three years with a young woman who had been abused for a substantial period of time, in her early teens. In therapeutic work, both the therapist and the young person must attempt to work with a range of difficult emotions, expressed in complex ways in the therapeutic relationship.
