|
Article Excerpt
Uses and advantages to using letter-writing techniques within a therapeutic context of counseling adolescents are examined. A theoretical framework for letter writing is discussed, along with specific guidelines to follow when using letter-writing interventions. An overview and examples of ways to apply letter writing when counseling adolescents is presented. Finally, purposes and benefits to using different types of letters are discussed.
**********
Letter writing or note writing has a long and secure place within the everyday world of adolescent communication. It is difficult to walk down a high school corridor and not see adolescents passing notes to each other. Study halls and even class time are often spent writing to friends seeking and sharing advice, support, and gossip--serving as a means of keeping in touch and as a way of documenting countless events. Adolescent note writing functions as an outlet for adolescents to test out new ideas and behaviors while receiving peer feedback. Note writing also provides a place for adolescents to implement their emerging self-concept, and connect with peers as they develop autonomy and move away from adult control, important adolescent developmental tasks (Erikson, 1968).
With a few exceptions, letters have not become an integral part of therapeutic interactions. Rather, verbal dialogue between counselors and adolescent clients is used as the primary means of resolving counseling-related issues. Letter writing, by adding the written word to traditional talk therapy, can allow for self-exploration and change. While spoken words often fade over time leaving behind only fragmented ideas, written words provide more permanence and therefore, a concrete means for adolescent reflection over a greater time span (Goldberg, 2000; Madigan, 1997). The use of letters in counseling can serve the following purposes: correspondence between counselor and client, elaboration of important elements of discussions that occurred during the sessions, client empowerment through altered personal narratives, and identification of client strengths (Wojcik & Iverson, 1989).
Additionally, the growth of minority families in the United States has contributed to the emergence of clients who often have different communication styles--verbal expression, eye contact, and assertiveness when compared to their white middle class American counterparts--and therefore have special counseling needs (Ho, 1992; Ridley, Li, & Hill, 1998). For example, adolescents from African-American, Asian-American, and Latino-American cultures are more likely to value nonverbal expressions, collaborative behavior, and indirect communication (Sue, Ivey, & Pederson, 1996), behaviors which seemingly lend themselves well to letter-writing interventions.
With regard to the literature, narrative theory has been applied to work with adolescents (e.g., Biever, McKenzie, Wales-North, & Gonzalez, 1995; Goldberg, 2000; Smith & Nylund, 1997), but there has been no discussion of the applications of letter writing per se as an intervention in individual counseling with adolescents. In this article, uses of letter-writing techniques within a therapeutic context of counseling adolescents is examined. A theoretical framework for letter writing is discussed, along with specific guidelines to follow when using these interventions. An overview and examples of ways to apply letter writing when counseling adolescents is presented. Finally, the purposes and benefits to using each of the types of letters are discussed.
THEORETICAL BASIS FOR THE USE OF LETTER WRITING
There are several important links between theory and the use of letter writing in the counseling process. France, Cadieax, and Allen (1995) described the theoretical link between Morita Therapy and letter writing. They conceptualize letter writing as an opportunity for counseling to take place without disruption of the individual's everyday life through traditionally scheduled counseling sessions. Although much can be said about the beneficial qualities of direct proximity during counseling sessions, letter writing can provide an avenue for communication when face-to-face therapy is not feasible or convenient (France et al., 1995; Rasmussen & Tomm, 1992). Many practitioners have noted that their adolescent clients are often more open in counseling when they are partially engaged in another activity (e.g., a board game or art activity), or when they are not sitting directly facing the counselor. The use of letters provides an even more indirect form of communication that may be less threatening to traditionally self-conscious adolescent clients than a traditional face-to-face therapy dialogue.
The strongest link between theory and letter-writing practice is narrative therapy. The theoretical tenants of narrative therapy allow both the counselor and adolescent client to benefit from letter-writing techniques. Narrative theorists (Freedman & Combs, 1996; White & Epston, 1990) have explicitly discussed the use of letter writing with...
|
