Abstract

Being adolescents means facing important and unexpected transformations at the physical, cognitive, affective and relational level. Such changes, and overall the psychological and social complexities of this phase of life, require, when necessary, a particularly articulated diagnostic assessment. The aim of this paper is to provide the clinician with an overview of the diagnostic approach offered by the new edition of the Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual (PDM-2) and the adolescent version of the Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure (SWAP-200-A). In addition to a general description of both tools, some clinical implications of the use of PDM-2 and SWAP-200 will be discussed, underlining the usefulness of a psychodynamically oriented diagnosis to promote accurate case formulations and patient-tailored treatments for adolescent patients.