NCJ Number
168176
Date Published
1997
Length
7 pages
Annotation
After discussing the parallel process of care and education in association with psychotherapy for juvenile murderers, this paper considers verbal and nonverbal therapies for such offenders.
Abstract
Psychotherapy for juvenile murderers is best conducted in the setting of an institution that has clear organization and high expectations that promote the establishment of positive staff-adolescent, staff-staff, and adolescent-adolescent relations (Harris, Cole, and Vipond, 1987). The tools available to the therapist in verbal therapies are first and foremost the empowerment from statutory agencies, placement, family, and the offender to carry out the work. Then there is the adolescent's history, the depositions, and the therapist's retracing of the events prior to the offense. All these resources have been used effectively in offense-specific work. Each component must be visited and revisited as, and when, the adolescent can developmentally cope with the relevant issues. Addressing empathy for the victim, expressing regret for the offense, and accepting blame can and usually does lead to anger and distress, with sessions often sexualized in both form and content. Although these emotions are problematic both in and outside the treatment sessions, disclosure and understanding is essential if safe resolution is to be achieved. Nonverbal therapies include art therapy, whereby the image created in the art provides the focus and the primary means of communication between the patient and the therapist. The image contributes to the externalization of thoughts and feelings that might otherwise remain unexpressed. Clinical vignettes that involved nonverbal therapies are included.