Adolescent Conference 2024 – Repairing Ruptured Links

Adolescent Conference 2024: Repairing Ruptured Links

Facilitated by Dr Jeanne Magagna

Adolescence is a sensitive and complex period of development. It is a time characterised by rapid physical growth and significant changes within the brain while also needing to achieve the important developmental task of forming one's identity. Adolescents today are living in an increasingly overwhelming and challenging world, and there is a growing body of evidence indicating that many are struggling with their mental health. Troubled adolescents and their caregivers seek the assistance of psychologists to understand their adolescents’ feelings and behaviours.

As an experienced child and adolescent psychotherapist and author, Dr Jeanne Magagna has extensive knowledge to impart in this domain. Attendees will gain an in-depth understanding of therapeutic work with adolescents, learning from her expertise.  As psychologists, we must continuously enhance our understanding of the characteristic needs of this specific developmental group. Dr Jeanne Magagna is expertly positioned to teach about adolescent clients’ developing selves, their relationships with others, including their psychologist, and how to help them successfully navigate this phase.

Dr Jeanne Magagna aims to teach the program attendees how to help adolescents understand their infantile feelings and find their hidden true identities. She will teach attendees how to use their adolescent clients’ dreams, during psychotherapy, as a tool to explore relationships with the self, others and the therapist. She will also cover the process of ending therapy. Finally, in the therapeutic situation, many feelings are projected into the therapist (transference) and the therapist also has feelings (countertransference). Dr. Magagna will help the attendees understand the complex feelings aroused when working with adolescents and how they may be used therapeutically.