They also reported that he is hanging out with a new group of friends and has had negative behavior problems both t home and at school. There was also mention of Adam always seeming to have a cold as evidenced by a constant runny nose. I used the BBC Model of Crisis Intervention while working with Mr.. And Mrs.. Johnson by first developing and maintaining rapport, second identifying the problem, and third discussing coping skills. The first meeting had with Mr.. And Mrs.. Johnson, I focused on developing and maintaining contact. In order to make Mr.. And Mrs.. Johnson comfortable, I used active listening skills and showed empathy for their situation. I expressed how hard it can be raising a teenager and praised hem for being able to identify that there is a problem and working to get help for the situation with Adam. I let them express their concerns about Dam’s behavior without feeling judged or blamed for their son’s actions.
After listening to the information they were sharing with me, was able to identify some of the problems faced by Mr.. And Mrs.. Johnson. They were feeling powerless in their own home, as if Adam were the one making the rules. They had a strong desire to get that power back. Mr.. And Mrs.. Johnson felt that their son’s main issue was depression, and they came to me to receive help for his depression. My own hunches led me to believe that he might be abusing drugs, and there may be more to his behavior than depression alone. Fifteen year old adolescents tend to be rebellious, and tend to push the limits with authority figures, but Dam’s behavior seemed to be more than teenage rebellion and I feared that the risky behavior he was engaging in could cause him a lot of trouble in the future. Mr.. And Mrs..
Johnson need to learn how to set and enforce boundaries with Adam. I addressed different coping strategies with Mr.. And Mrs.. Johnson in order to find new ways of working with Dam’s behavior. Asked them how they have anteed his behavior in the past so that we could learn what works and what does not work. Learned that Mr.. Johnson tends to become very angry with Dam’s behavior and yells at Adam to try to make him show respect. This in turn leads Adam into yelling back and both Mr.. Johnson and Adam lose their tempore. The result is that Adam typically walks out the door leaving his parents wondering where he is.
Mrs.. Johnson then gets angry at her husband for causing a scene and causing Adam to walk out. Mrs.. Johnson tends to approach her son differently by ignoring the bad behavior in the hopes that it will just go away. Suggested to Mr.. And Mrs.. Johnson that they come up with a plan together to determine what behaviors are acceptable and what is not acceptable. Told them that they need to both be in agreement in order to successfully set boundaries. After listing the actions and behaviors they no longer wanted to tolerate, I asked them to work together and agree on consequences for each behavior.
For example, if Adam is not home before curfew, he will not be allowed to leave the house the following weekend. I advised them to sit down with Adam at a time when they were all calm and present these new guidelines to him. By showing a united front, Adam would understand that they were both going to enforce the consequences. We next explored new ways to handle their own emotions and feelings when working with Adam. We discussed some anger management strategies in order to prevent Mr.. Johnson from yelling and losing his temper when he started to feel angry with Adam.
For example, Mr.. Johnson agreed that when he started feeling his anger triggers, he would take a deep breath, count to ten, and calm down before continuing. Mrs.. Johnson agreed that she would allow her husband to “cool down” and continue talking with Adam until Mr.. Johnson is calm enough to continue. Finally, I asked if they had any suspicions Adam abusing drugs. Mrs.. Johnson admitted that she had wondered about the possibility, but never confronted the issue because she was afraid of what she would learn and wouldn’t know how to help her son if he had a drug problem.
We finished the meeting by scheduling an appointment for Adam and I to meet together so that I could explore with him the behaviors his parents have described. Crisis Intervention with Adam Johnson Less than a week later, I had my first meeting with Adam Johnson. Adam came o the meeting showing reluctance and anger about being here with me. In order to build rapport with Adam, I explained to him that am not on anyone’s “side”. I explained to him that he could share anything with me and would not be judged. Told him that I was only here to listen and offer suggestions.
Eventually he felt comfortable enough to open up to me. I explained to Adam that his parents were worried about him. I told him that they are afraid he is suffering from depression and behavior problems. Showed empathy to Adam by remembering how confusing the teenage years can be for an adolescent. I asked Adam how he felt about his parents believing that he has depression. Adam stated that he was surprised that his parents had even noticed him enough to suspect that he is depressed. He told me that both of his parents work a lot and when they are at home, he still feels ignored by them.
Adam confided in me that it use to bother him that he didn’t get enough attention from his parents, but now he doesn’t let it bother him anymore. He told me that he would much rather be left alone anyway because every time his father tries to talk to him they only end up in a fight, and his mom just pretends hat everything is “just fine”. Adam admitted to finding a new group of friends to spend his time with, and no longer wants or needs his parents’ attention. Adam did admit to me that he likes to stay out all night, and never comes home before his curfew because he would rather be out having fun than to be sitting at home bored.
Adam enjoys spending time with this new group, and especially one of the girls in this group whom he has started a relationship with. Adam admits that this new group has encouraged his bad decisions, and he knows that some of the behavior is wrong, but he doesn’t see any reason to stop because e is enjoying life for the first time. When I asked about substance abuse, Adam confirmed my hunch and admitted that he likes to get “high” with his friends. He has been experimenting with alcohol, marijuana, acid, and recently cocaine.
Adam confirmed to me that his parents were being truthful about the poor decisions he had been making in his life. And, although reluctant, Adam also agreed that this is behaviors he would like to change, but was unsure about how to make the changes in his life. I asked Adam to describe for me the “perfect” life, telling me exactly what he would like to see in his own current life situation. Adam reported a strong desire to have a loving relationship with his parents, good grades in school, and friends who would support him in life instead of dragging him down.
When I asked him what was stopping him from achieving this life, he first stated that his parents, especially his father, because there was so much anger between them. He also stated that his new friends were not the type to support or encourage him to do anything productive; instead, they only persuaded him to do things he knows to be wrong. Eventually, Adam admitted that he was also standing in his way of achieving his ideal lifestyle by not pushing myself hard enough to do better in school, and not attempting to work on his relationship with his parents.
Adam was able to express different ways of making his goal more obtainable. He agreed that he needed to ditch his current group of friends in order to find another group to spend his time with, but was unsure how to make that change. He was afraid of the reputation he already had at school and didn’t think the other students would be willing to accept a changed version of him. He had the idea of changing schools to an alternative high school in the area that focused on eloping kids graduate high-school who were having trouble completing traditional high-school programs.
Adam also knew that he needed to stop drinking and using drugs. He wanted help with his addictions, but was afraid to tell his parents about his drug use. He asked if I would sit with him while he expressed his desires to change schools, and receive substance abuse treatment to his parents, and I told him that I would be happy to do so. Adam and I also explored his coping skills that he used in the past to deal with his emotions of feeling depressed and angry. Adam said that he typically lashes UT and does things to get the attention of his parents (like leaving and not telling them where he is going, or staying out all night).
Adam had expressed an interest in drawing, and I suggested using his art as a new coping strategy when he is feeling depressed, or angry. We also discussed how listening to music and playing basketball also seem to help him when he is feeling overwhelmed. Adam agreed to use one of these three coping skills in the future instead of walking out of the house. Crisis Intervention with Adam and Mr.. And Mrs.. Johnson Once Adam felt ready, we invited his parents to join us as Adam expressed to hem some of the things we had covered in our session.
Adam first told his parents of his recent drug use and asked them if they would support him in getting help. I was able to refer them to a 90 day outpatient treatment center. He would go there every day, Monday – Friday for 3 hours per night with other teens who are also going through problems with substance abuse. Mr.. And Mrs.. Johnson were both shocked to learn about his substance use, and notably upset about it, but they were more than willing to get him the help he was asking for.
Next, Adam told them that he wanted to transfer to an alternative high school, ND explained to them that it would be easier for him to start over fresh in a new school by leaving his bad reputation behind him. Again, his parents were willing to allow him to make this change. Finally, Adam told his parents that he wanted a better relationship with them and that he had often felt ignored by them. Mr.. And Mrs.. Johnson agreed that they seemed to be focused on their own careers and didn’t make enough time for the whole family. They all agreed to set aside one evening per week to focus on each other and spend time doing fun things together.
Adam and Mr.. Johnson both agreed to focus on anger management ND learn better ways of communicating with each other. Today, Adam is grown up with a family of his own. He successfully completed his substance abuse program and graduated from the alternative high school and went on to college. His relationship with his parents is very strong, and they have worked hard through the years to maintain their closeness. This was one of the first times I was able to use the BBC Model of Crisis Intervention, and I’m happy to say it was successful.
