In his tape on healing the adolescent, Lazaris says that healing the adolescent is more complex than healing the child because the adolescent is adept at hiding the pain. Whereas the child can't control their feelings, the adolescent can and does. Adolescents, however become rebellious in an attempt to deal with their pain. Through their rebellion, they camouflage it, making the issue into their behavior instead of the underlying pain that is causing the rebellion. The inner adolescent has very intense emotions they have learned to hide or numb out. Bishop and Grunte (1992) describes Teenage Inner Children as "concerned with what their peers think, are preoccupied with the challenges of learning social skills, are struggling to accommodate enormous sexual changes, and are working to establish themselves as separate from their parents." It can be frightening to work with them because of their intensity. The adolescent within is very rigid and has a thick "crust." They are resistant to anyone telling them what to do for they no longer trust authority figures. Consequently, your inner adolescent will resist even you. Part of your work in healing them will be to break down their distrust of you.

The adolescent years are unique. They must quell their fear of chaos and terror of responsibility. They do so by creating absolutes (the dark laws of: I will never be good enough. I will never be a success, etc.), and numbing out with drugs or alcohol, and/or by distracting themselves with sex, parties, video games, and more. The adolescent lacks identity. They don't know who they are. They have been taught by others what to believe for so long, they haven't figured out what they believe. The adult who is addicted to substances is acting from an inner adolescent point of view.

The adolescent is usually a performer. They have learned to play the game that authority figures demand. They will tell you whatever they think you want to hear. They are notorious for acting without thought of consequences, for thinking without feeling or feeling without thinking. This produces short-sighted conclusions.

During adolescence we were hurt, betrayed and abandoned at such an intensity that it wounded our soul. During the wounding we felt humiliated. This resulted in a demand of perfection for self and others that constantly led to condemnation and judgment. This led to self-rejection and the feeling of rejection from others. They feel that no one cares. They don't even care about themselves.