Impulsive Behavior in Teens
What is Impulsive Behavior in teens? Impulsive Behavior is described as a pattern of behavior where there is a strong desire to act quickly without thinking about consequences.
Risky actions and other problems are associated with this behavior pattern.
Some of the symptoms of impulsive behavior are:
- Acting without thinking
- Difficulty listening
- Difficulty finishing tasks
- Frequently interrupts others
- Yelling at others
- Hitting others when angry
The American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV-TR list the following disorders which are associated with impulsive behavior
- Attention-Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD): chronic condition that includes some combination of the following problems: difficulty paying attention, hyperactivity and impulsive behavior
- Intermittent Explosive Disorder: A pattern of behavior in which a person has trouble resisting aggressive impulses, resulting in sudden and severe outbursts of anger, violence, or destruction of property
- Kleptomania: An abnormal, uncontrollable, and repeated urge to steal
- Pyromania: An uncontrollable urge to set fires
- Trichotillomania: An irresistible urge to pull out one’s hair, eyelashes, or eyebrows
Treatment for Impulsive Behavior Disorders is available using Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). DBT is a cognitive-behavioral type of treatment that focuses on changing behavior, learning ways to reduce impulsive behaviors, learning to be aware of your actions and think about the consequences and emotional regulation.
Triumph Youth Services offers a small, highly structured family environment for youth. This family-like community promotes a social environment that takes on both therapeutic and healing properties instead of maintaining negative behaviors.
Triumph Youth Services provides a daily Life Skills Group. The goal of our Life Skills Group training program is to teach the student a new set of responses to social situations, as well as how to integrate his behavior with others in the environment. Our staff members are trained and encouraged to be effective leaders by serving as teachers or coaches who hold the young men responsible for working on problems and to act as limit setters and good listeners. This includes consistent group counseling and peer mentoring, which are crucial for helping teens develop problem solving skills, learn to control impulses and anger and change behavior.
The clinicians at Triumph Youth Services are highly trained and have extensive experience working with adolescent youth. They specialize in working with adolescents using Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). Our clinicians are licensed and approved as mental health professionals to provide individual, group and family therapy. One of our goals is to provide students with the tools and skills they need to become productive members of their families and society.
If you suspect your child has impulsive behavior, please reach out for help.
