Adolescence at the intersection of inner and outer realities

This chapter offers a conceptualisation of adolescence at the intersection of inner realities, the traditional territory of classical and contemporary psychoanalysis, and outer realities, accounting for today’s sociocultural environment. To understand emotional development in adolescence, the author starts by looking at the emotional processes during infancy, through a Winnicottian and Anna Freudian psychoanalytic lens. She explores how these processes unfold, arguing that they lay the foundations for how adolescent processes are negotiated and what the outcome may be. The author then describes the transformative developmental forces at play during adolescence, from the perspective of classical and contemporary psychoanalysis, and through a psychosocial lens. This includes considerations of identity formation, object relations, the centrality of the body, and the concept of ‘developmental breakdown’ in adolescence. The author also includes reflections on the technical challenges, opportunities, and necessary adaptations in the psychoanalytic treatment of adolescents, as well as considerations on adolescent development as framed within societal processes.