Treating the Disruptive Adolescent: Finding the Real Self Behind Oppositional Defiant Disorders

This book offers clinicians an effective method of diagnosing, managing, and treating oppositional, resistant, and disruptive older children and adolescents. Dr. Bustamante understands oppositional states as an expression of the teenager's uncertainty about his own identity and alienation from his true self. Attempts to curb rebellion that rely solely on firm behavioral limits will fail, because they thwart rather than promote development and disregard the real meaning of the disruptive behavior. The author's approach is a sensitive and creative alternative to treating this difficult population, one that offers hope and attainable goals.