Do's and Don'ts In Working With Adolescents

The adolescent must be considered by the physician as a human being who is at a particular stage of life where he/she is examining his/her own life style, where he/she is questioning the societal values of adults, where he/she is feeling the frustration of having ideas and interests which are either not heard or for some reason cannot be pursued. In most situations these young people are interested in resolving their problems, whether physical, psychological or both. Indeed, in many adolescents the line between physical and psychological problems is very thin. Even in situations where a clear cut diagnosis can be made, failure to look at how the adolescent is coping with school and/or work, reacting and interacting with peers and family, understanding pubertal onset, coping with reality etc. may result in future problems which could have been prevented had the adolescent been encouraged to look at that situation early. As physicians we must be careful not to treat adolescents as overgrown children or immature adults.