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FIVE
Tweens and Teens
Sean was cocaptain of the football team, although baseball was the sport he loved and
his pitching skills were widely recognized and admired. He was an excellent pitcher
from the time he was 8 or 9 years old. As a high school junior, he played or practiced
nearly all year and already had college recruiters expressing interest. He seemed
likely to get a scholarship to an otherwise unaffordable 4-year college.
Recently, Sean’s elbow began to hurt a lot and his pitches lacked their earlier
“zip.” His parents took him to an orthopedic specialist who discovered that a liga-
ment in his elbow had pulled a small piece of bone loose at the growth plate. He had
to stop pitching and make decisions about surgery. His parents could not afford this
elective surgery and he felt like his life was over.
The joy Sean used to get from good grades and teachers’ approval felt hollow.
He missed the crowd noise, the electricity of competition, and he missed being a star
pitcher with lots of prospects. He had known who he was when he went to the pitch-
er’s mound, and although he tried to be at all the games to support his teammates, he
felt increasingly depressed. He became chronically irritable.
Sean’s academic work started to suffer, as did his social relationships. His girl-
friend left him. Eventually, he met with a school counselor who helped him recognize
the validity of his sense of loss, both of himself as an athlete and of the potential for
a scholarship. Once he was able to recognize those losses, he could think about other
college options. Sean began to feel less irritable and to focus on his academics. He
began to think about jobs that would permit him to help other young athletes prevent
catastrophic injuries.
Objectives
After reading this chapter the reader will be able to:
■ Describe the psychosocial and neurobiological development of tweens and
teens with special emphasis on the way the teen brain is impulsive and cre-
ative, yet also polarizing and social.
■ Identify why tweens and teens are at “double jeopardy” in their grief.
■ Discuss the pros and cons of why group support for bereaved tweens and
teens is most effective, yet also challenging.
