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Adolescent Violence—Strategies, Outcomes and Dilemmas in Working with Young People and their Families
Author(s) -
Sheehan Marni
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of family therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.297
H-Index - 19
eISSN - 1467-8438
pISSN - 0814-723X
DOI - 10.1002/j.1467-8438.1997.tb00274.x
Subject(s) - domestic violence , narrative , psychodynamics , psychology , power (physics) , family therapy , service (business) , conflict resolution , social psychology , poison control , suicide prevention , sociology , psychotherapist , medicine , social science , linguistics , philosophy , physics , economy , quantum mechanics , economics , environmental health
MATTERS is a program of Berry Street, and has been in existence since 1990. The service is funded to address parent/adolescent conflict and the service delivery model has developed over time in a direction which incorporates family therapy and conflict resolution techniques. Many families come to the service seeking assistance for problems regarding violence, and increasingly around a young person's violence to parents and other family members. In some instances, violence has been present over a long period and has become normalised within the family's experience. When working with families who present with problems of adolescent violence, the service aims to find a pathway for the young person/family to confront violent behaviour and move to a different position about the meaning of violence in their lives. This paper describes the team's approach to working with adolescent violence, utilising ideas from narrative family therapy and psychodynamic theory, and incorporating issues of power in society, culture and gender. Outcomes, dilemmas and future directions are also discussed.