DEVELOPMENTAL CRISIS IN EARLY ADULTHOOD: A ...

may be of benefit to bring others into the therapeutic process, such as spouse or
partner, for the problem in Stage 1 is as much in the social system as in the person,
and may require changes from partners as well. Without an active focus on solving
these problems in the interpersonal setting, positive change in Phase 1 is unlikely.
Stage 2 Therapeutic Context
If the client is in Stage 2 and is ready to consider separation from the work life
and/or home life that has provided the source of the crisis, the therapist could provide
strategies for dealing with the inevitable emotional trauma of separation (the therapist
of course should not use the model to encourage separation!). Anxiety, guilt, anger
and depression are all reported around the period of separation, and cognitive
interventions could be employed to lessen the distressing affective feelings, but it
would be important for the therapist to realise that the client is going through an
inevitably distressing turning point and that the affective reactions are normative and
important components of the transition, which should not be removed or lessened at
all costs. Immediate solutions to distress such as medication should be treated with
caution as they may lessen the perceived need for change that fuels the actions of
Stage 2.
Stage 3 Therapeutic Context
The self during the period of separation is ambiguous and unanchored, which
provides much concern and distress, for the identity that defined them pre-crisis has
gone, and no new identity has been yet found. The move into phase 3, which brings
about the active search for that new identity, can be brought about by the practice of
therapy itself (many participants described the importance of opening up and selfexploring
through therapy in phase 3). The therapist could also help with the
provision of self-exploratory exercises, and the suggestion of taking up activities that
ally with the person’s interests, intrinsic motivation, passions or Dream
(Csikszentmihalyi, 1992).
This period of self-exploration can become quite chaotic and can involve both
constructive and destructive activities, both trial and error. If the person engages in
false starts or new roles that also prove to be problematic or a continuation of the past
self, they will have further mini-crises on the way to resolution, which the therapist
can help with by providing assurance of progress and by maintaining a focus on
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