Blos

Despite a dense Teutonic writing style, Blos is one of the major contributors to the theories on Adolescence. In this book he applies his insights into two case studies. A basic premise of Blos idea of adolescence revolves around the necessity for regression before each stage of maturation. Both clinical studies were done in coordination with a therapist (not Blos) and one deals with a girl, and one a boy. What I appreciated the most was the way Blos and/or the therapist took the mosaic randomness symptoms and brought them into a diagnosis. The solution was so elegant and of course required because the - in this case the boy - was too young to offer a systematic understanding of his situation. When reading psychology texts of this period however you are subjected to the deviant appraisal of homosexuality and it isn't rendered with any ambivalence. It is jarring because it asks you to praise the wisdom and innovation in one area while acknowledging the prejudices of the era from the same author. This is not to single out Blos.… (mais)