Case Summary
Emma, a 13-year-old girl from a large family, lives with her parents, two sisters, and great-grandmother. While she gets along with her father, she often argues with her mother and grandfather. Her relationships with her sisters fluctuate, especially with her younger sister, Ava, with whom she frequently fights.
Lately, Emma has become sensitive to criticism and feels isolated from her family, spending most of her time online with friends. She is self-conscious about her looks, spends long hours getting ready, and frequently tries short-lived diets to gain attention from boys. Though she dreams of becoming a teacher, her parents say they cannot afford college, and she has stopped planning for her future. She now focuses mainly on her friends and social media, believing that only her friends accept her while her family and others look down on her.
Theoretical Overview
Erik Erikson’s theory provides a chronological picture of a person’s current psychosocial situation, where they may be “caught” in the past and future orientation. Erikson’s theory enables a therapist to shift the focus from a patient’s pathology and history to their future aspirations, ego skills, and traits (Knight, 2017). A well-rounded character is possible once a person has progressed through each of Erikson’s proposed eight phases of psychosocial development. A person’s personality and sense of self can become unhealthy if they do not finish the present stage, but they can always finish the set at some point.
Emma, who is 13 years old, has reached Stage 5, Identity vs. Role Confusion (Santrock, 2021). Youth who successfully manage conflicting identities develop a novel, dynamic self-image. Identity confusion affects teens who struggle to resolve their identity dilemmas during this stage of development. Emma is searching for her identity, but it does not appear to be working, putting her at risk of losing it among peers and other struggles. She is in desperate need of impartial professional advice on this matter.
Brain Activity
Adolescence is a time of profound change for the brain and the rest of the body. It is characterized by the maturation of the prefrontal cortex, the frontal lobe region responsible for rational thought, volitional control, and executive function (Santrock, 2021). The amygdala, the brain’s emotional region where anger is processed, matures between 18 and 25 years old (Santrock, 2021).
Adolescents’ prefrontal cortices have not yet fully developed to the point where they can effectively regulate their intense emotions. Their emotions run at full speed, as if their brain cannot control them. This information can help explain why Emma has limited self-awareness regarding her verbal and emotional expression. Her behavior often goes against what she believes in and what her family members advise her to do. Given the changes in brain development, it is not surprising that Emma is influenced by her peers and unable to form her own perspective; after all, she picked her classes based on her peers’ words.
Theoretical Concept of Self-Esteem
It has long been hypothesized that adolescents’ self-esteem plays a significant role in their development. Studies of a person’s mental health over time have shown that there is a correlation between how they feel about themselves and how depressed they are (Masselink et al., 2017). This suggests that low self-esteem is a specific risk factor for the development of depression symptoms in teenagers. Self-esteem influences many of the developmental issues adolescents must cope with, such as identity creation and changing social relations, making it particularly important to explore the link between self-esteem and depression during adolescence (Masselink et al., 2017).
Examining the chain of events that leads from adolescent self-esteem to adult depression can help shed light on these dynamics. Because of her low self-esteem, Emma is at risk for developing depression and eating disorders. Her increased motivation to lose weight to improve her physical appearance is indicative of low self-esteem that necessitates professional counseling.
Ethical Considerations
The American Psychological Association (APA) provides numerous guidelines for addressing ethical issues relevant to this case and all aspects of psychological practice. Psychologists have a duty to protect their clients’ confidentiality and should fulfill this duty by adhering to accepted industry standards (Erickson Cornish et al., 2019). Psychologists must adhere to this criterion when working with a sensitive adolescent like Emma, which explains their responsibilities in this area. Given Emma’s immaturity, psychologists must always be open and transparent, and they must never try to mislead or manipulate, nor try to impose their identity on an adolescent’s unstable mind.
References
Erickson Cornish, J. A., Smith, R. D., Holmberg, J. R., Dunn, T. M., & Siderius, L. L. (2019). Psychotherapists in danger: The ethics of responding to client threats, stalking, and harassment. Psychotherapy, 56(4), 441–448. Web.
Knight, Z. G. (2017). A proposed model of psychodynamic psychotherapy linked to Erik Erikson’s eight stages of psychosocial development. Clinical Psychology &Amp; Psychotherapy, 24(5), 1047–1058. Web.
Masselink, M., Van Roekel, E., & Oldehinkel, A. J. (2017). Self-esteem in early adolescence as predictor of depressive symptoms in late adolescence and early adulthood: The mediating role of motivational and social factors. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 47(5), 932–946. Web.
Santrock, J. (2021). Life-Span Development (18th ed.). McGraw-Hill Higher Education.