When Adam Arnold was an undergraduate student, he worked with first- and second-graders in a YMCA summer day camp. He couldn't imagine working with adolescents until he had an opportunity to do so in an after-school program.

"I started to first of all, love it, because they're so crazy and so zany and that weirdness and awkwardness and wildness and testing and trying on different identities was fun for me just to be around," Arnold said. "The relationships that I was building with them turned into relationships where I was doing a lot of listening."

Inspired by personal experience

Arnold got to thinking about his own adolescence, when some adults were kind enough to help him stay out of trouble. "I wanted to do that," he said. "It just hit me one day that I could be an adolescent therapist."

Arnold received his master of arts degree in counseling and psychotherapy from the Adler Graduate School (alfredadler.edu) and is now a Licensed Associate Marriage and Family Therapist, working with adolescents in a variety of settings. He recently supplemented the master's degree with a certificate in addiction studies from the University of Minnesota (umn.edu).

Most of Arnold's clients come to him because of a court order and many have addiction issues, whether personally or with friends or family. "It's all about winning their cooperation and trying to figure out ways to kind of hook them in and get them to recognize that this can be helpful to them," he said.

The education angle

Although there is increasing specialization among therapists, all should be well-versed in general human development, personality development, psychology and psychopathology, according to Roger Ballou, Ph.D., a Bloomington-based psychotherapist and director of clinical licensing programs at Adler. Students may pursue specialties during pre-degree internships.

Demand for adolescent therapists is high, with jobs available in county offices, larger churches, schools, residential treatment centers and hospitals, according to Ballou. Salaries for associate therapists, who work under the supervision of a licensed therapist, start around $25,000. Those with full licensure may expect to start earning in the upper $30,000s to the low $40,000s, he said.

Arnold considers being able to listen to teens the most rewarding part of his career. Ballou, who is supervising Arnold until Arnold is fully licensed, said his mentee also offers teens guidance on navigating life's challenges. "Adam does far more than listen," he said. "His presence as a role model and his ability to subtly provide wisdom to teens are equally paramount to his therapeutic effectiveness."