Adolescent Development

 This 3-hour course is designed to provide counselors with information about adolescent development and the special challenges associated with this time of life.   It will review three critical issues that come up repeatedly in any discussion of human development, followed by a brief history of how children have been viewed and treated across the ages.  It will also take a look at a few general ways that adolescent development issues impact substance abuse treatment. 

Goals/Objectives

At the completion of this course you will be able to:

1. demonstrate an understanding of adolescent physical development, including brain development, weight related issues and puberty;

2. demonstrate an understanding of adolescent cognitive development including cognition, memory and attention span, as well as moral reasoning;
3. demonstrate an understanding of social development, including peer relationships and adolescent sexual intimacy issues;

4. demonstrate an understanding of social development, including Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development and the tasks related to identity.

5. develop strategies for counseling adolescents with addictive disorders.

Your Course Instructor:
Phyllis Gardner

Dr. Phyllis Gardner, Ph.D., is a sociologist with over 25 years of experience in addiction counseling.    A licensed chemical dependency counselor and clinical supervisor, Dr. Gardner teaches in the Social Sciences Division of Texarkana College, where she has been a professor for 12 years.  Her research interests include the parenting practices of recovering individuals, child and adolescent development and the psychometric issues associated with test development.