Teen Time: Addressing Adolescent Anger
Summer is the season where I make time for reading. I love to go on vacation . . . and near the beach, a perfect vacation for the mind, is a good time to read a book or two.
This Summer I have been dazzled by Jodi Picoult's bestselling thriller: 19 Minutes, about a high school shooting. It was hard to put this book down. Although it is fiction, clearly Picoult has done her research on PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder).
This is a topic of great interest; and through Picoult's depiction of an alienated teen-aged boy, who has been bullied for years, we are taken into the other side of murder, and we consider the effects that years of bullying and stress take upon the mind, body, soul and psyche.
In his quiet vengeance, we witness a vulnerable teen-aged killer, the effects of years of PTSD and his eventual retaliation. In reality, bringing weapons to school and opening fire is not uncommon in our country. And, this is a time when we are thinking a great deal about PTSD, especially with the war lurking many of our young men and women coming home. I find myself often concerned about teens in our country. Although the teen years are a time for separation and revolution, I wonder how we as therapists, educators (and parents) foster the teen's growth and development. I would like to see more available and catered to the teen-aged patient, the teen aged-student and the teen communities of our American towns and cities.
What kinds of initiatives serve teens in your hospitals, clinics and school communities? How can we do a better job – beyond computer games and Web-based networks? What do teens need more of to feel heard and held, in a way that does not crowd their need for space or freedom?
To begin, I'm borrowing a direct quote from, Bowling for Columbine:
"Michael Moore:
If you were to talk directly to the kids at Columbine or the people in that community, what would you say to them if they were here right now?
Marilyn Manson:
I wouldn't say a single word to them, I would listen to what they have to say and that's what no one did. "
I am not highlighting or discussing Marilyn Manson's lifestyle, music or implying that I think no one at all was listening. I want to talk about his point about listening.
In my experience when working with teens: 1. Every teen is different and 2. They are usually waiting for someone to listen to them. As a music therapist my role is to have them take the lead in most cases and I follow and listen/reflect. In music this may take form in varying dynamics, instrument choice and playing style...to name a few. Sometimes it's discussion of their favorite types of music...which is Marilyn Manson.
Most people will open up if given the opportunity. Teenagers are no exception, even if it is silence. Silence, on behalf of both therapist and client, is powerful and should never be underestimated. The therapist must be present and actively listening to that silence in the other individual...so don't think of your powerball ticket.
It is imperative to keep up with communication with other professionals. Working in a team with other therapists, teachers, social workers and professionals can help to facilitate healthy change. Not all schools and organizations are going to be equipped to work with individuals either effected or affected with PTSD. It's important to know and define the existing levels of support each individual has first and then move forward from there.
Marilyn Manson also wrote a article about Columbine in Rolling Stone on May 28, 1999.
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5923915/col...
So I challenge any reader of this blog:
Even if you don't like him or cannot stand the music Marilyn creates or the articles he has written...
What is he saying and how do you feel when you hear a song of his?
Is it possible that these two things are the same?