Abstract

The difficulties that adolescents are facing, as well as the growing number of young people on treatment at the Mental Health Center are a constant incite to seeking for a new knowledge and skills, but also for the creative solutions to make the quality and efficiency of the treatment as good as possible.


Working with the young people through preventative educational workshops on self-confidence, communication, social skills, self-knowledge groups and individual psychotherapy, the author is witnessing the complexity of psychotherapeutic work with youngsters.


Adolescents are quick learners and are open for new experiences, but they are immature, authority rebels, suspicious and find difficult to give adult confidence. The very fact that adolescents question everything that comes from authority creates an obstacle to establishing and strengthening a therapist-client relationship. This resistance is particularly evident when they are “brought” by parents or “sent” by the school or the Social Work Center. The motivation of the young person to solve the problem he is came for, results in faster results.


Thinking about challenges in working with young people, especially in establishing and strengthening the trust, the author has developed the idea of   creating and using Inspirational Cards.


Inspirational cards are especially made to fit the characteristics of the young person and the requirements in the work. Inspirational cards are imagined to be as the set of cards with sentences that may be an inspiration to an adolescent, something different from what they have been educated by socialization so far.


The Choice Theory beliefs are permeated into sentences through 32 inspirational cards. Taking care of the young peoples` interests on the back of cards are presented photographs of everyday life and interesting landscapes, which also can be used as projecting techniques.


The basic message of the inspirational cards for young people is that a young person needs to have inspiration (thought), then create (imagine) the created thought and then proceed to taking the action (realization) and that`s the road to achieve happiness. Staying on the phase of the inspiration or imagination, without trying to realize the positive ideas, desires and potentials will not be satisfied. Paying attention to the prevention of mental health of young people a base for good mental health at a later stage of life.