Understanding and Treating Juvenile Delinquents from the View point of Contexual Therapy

Abstract

　　The purpose of this study is to examine the usefulness of Contexual Therapy in understanding and treating juvenile delinquents and their families.

　　Contexual Therapy established by Boszormenyi-Nagy, I. has consistently addressed the issues of morality, justice, and relational reality, while maintaining a systemic, transgenerational, family oriented focus. Since understanding and treating juvenile delinquents require an integrated point of view between individual psycho-therapies and systemic therapies, Contexual Therapy was assumed to be fit for juvenile delinquent cases.

　　Three clinical cases are herein presented to clarify the usefulness and limitations of the contexual viewpoint as applied to delinquent cases.

　　The case reports suggest that a complex mechanism of delinquency is well described by the concepts of Contexual Therapy; loyalty, fairness, destructive entitlement and so on. Also, the therapist's intervention based on relational ethics was found to be helpful.