Yes i know thats why even though it makes me cringe I take a deep breath and say to myself here we go. I get myself in the mind set that its time to go to work.

no we actually do get a lot of teenagers who learn one of their friends are coming in our door or seeing someone here so they come in just to be part of the in crowd. they don't have any problems they are just there because "Jane said she comes here" or they "saw David come in" they stick around for a bit most about 4 or 5 sessions so that they can tell Jane and David they come here too. it is actually quite normal for teen agers to want to do the same things their friends are doing. Think back to when you were a teen. didn't you want to wear the same clothes your friends were, do the same fun activities your friends are doing. Teens naturally want to do things their friends are doing. and in this case when a teen sees the guy or gal of their crush or a friend walking in someplace they want to be a part of it too. When a teen tells another teen I play chess at this place once a week the other teens want to be a part of it. Just natural teen behavior. I just wish some days theres a way to get through to teens that they don't have to wear the same clothes their friends are, they don't have to do the same things their friends are.

this is a joint effort right from intake. they take part in a structured intake process that allows them to tell us why they are here, what their problems are and they take part in the process of brainstorming and setting up their own goal sheets. The suggestions most times are actually their own ideas of what "they" are willing to try. We have set worksheets we use for this process with the suggestions on it and then they go through and mark off the ones they have tried, what ones have worked, what ones haven't worked and the ones they want to try, and there is a place for them to make their own suggestions. the goals are where "They" choose what they want to do. We dont force them into anything.