Group Work with Hard-to-Reach Adolescents

Treatment of the adolescent population, especially delinquent and predelinquent youth, has been a difficult challenge in the mental health field. Traditional treatment modalities not suited to unmotivated, verbally unsophisticated teenagers have generally bypassed them. We describe here the adaptation of streetwork and therapeutic activity group practice to this population. Focus is on the flexible use of member initiated program selection as a dynamic group work tool.