Use of a sex rap group in an adolescent medical clinic

This paper reports on a five-year experience with an open-ended weekly group in an Adolescent Medical Clinical. An interdisciplinary staff leading this group includes a counselor trained in sex education, a nurse, a pediatrician and a psychiatrist. The object of the group is to offer an opportunity to adolescent boys and girls to focus on diverse problems of concern to them in an atmosphere of support and sharing. The initial focus is on sexual issues and leads to family planning, but more importantly, there is a general focus on the constructive organization of their life and on investigation of the growth of personal relationships. This teen group gives staff a medium for understanding clinical problems which concern adolescents, while the adolescents are supported in gaining understanding of themselves. In this process there is a development of trust in the clinic as a whole, with better utilization of the entire Adolescent Program.