Working with traumatized adolescents: a framework for intervention

Traumatic events do not discriminate: they cut across differences in age, gender, social class, religion and ethnicity. However, any one of these factors will also influence how a traumatic incident is experienced. In this chapter we will explore the specific effects a traumatic event can have when it occurs during adolescence. We will first outline a theoretical framework for understanding the impact of trauma on the mind and the particular import it may have when it takes place, or is being worked with, during the adolescent period. We will then describe a brief, psychoanalytically oriented intervention—the six session consultation model—that has been developed within the Trauma Unit of the Adolescent Directorate at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust. Finally, we will offer some thoughts on the value of drawing on more than one theoretical framework in conceptualising the impact of trauma on the mind, and how to intervene.