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The Impact of the Therapist's Curiosity on the Treatment Process of Children and Adolescents

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Abstract

Therapists bring their own initiative, interest, and wonder—their “professional curiosity”—into treatment sessions. Some children and adolescents pull away in reaction to this curiosity, bristling or withdrawing, if only for a moment. This can happen abruptly, even in response to the first “hello,” but most often it occurs subtly, over the course of treatment. These children and adolescents may be replaying the ruptures in relationships they experienced when they have expressed their own initiative and curiosity to important others in their lives. Therapists need to utilize opportunities to understand the dynamics, explore where the original ruptures may have occurred, and bring the experience into therapeutic focus. Case vignettes illustrate these dynamics.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy Program, Institute for Psychoanalysis, Chicago, Illinois

    Lynn Borenstein

  2. Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy Program, Institute for Clinical Social Work, Chicago, Illinois

    Lynn Borenstein

Authors
  1. Lynn Borenstein
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Borenstein, L. The Impact of the Therapist's Curiosity on the Treatment Process of Children and Adolescents. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal 19, 337–355 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020218413598

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020218413598

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