CHAPTER 2:

DEVELOPING
THE
WHOLE PERSON
There are various elements involved in holistic
development of an individual.
Holistic development refers to the self-actualization and
learning that combines an individual’s mental, physical, social,
emotional, and spiritual growth.
Hence, for the development of an adolescent to be holistic,
it must involve the following aspects:
 PHYSIOLOGICAL

SPIRITUAL COGNITIVE

SOCIAL EMOTIONAL
DEVELOPMENT MILESTONES
( EARLY ADOLESCENCE )
DEVELOPMENT MILESTONES
( EARLY ADOLESCENCE )
1. PHYSIOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT
Boys who physically mature the earliest may be more confident. But girls
who mature earlier are often more self-conscious of their bodies.
They grow taller, gain weight, and become physically mature. Girls become
fully physically developed during middle adolescence and boys reach physical
maturity during late adolescence.
Their rapidly changing physical appearance can lead to self-conscious
feelings. Sometimes teens struggle with appearance-related issues, such as acne
or being overweight. Body image issues, such as eating disorders, may also
develop during the teen years.
2. EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Adolescents are dealing with hormonal shifts that can contribute to
mood swings. Add school stress or peer problems and their moods may
seem to shift from minute to minute.
At this age, most teens feel like the world revolves around them. They
might think everyone is staring at them or they may assume everyone else’s
behavior is somehow because of them (for example, thinking their friend
didn’t text back because they are mad rather than assuming the friend is
busy).
Most teens experience great fluctuations in their self-esteem. They may
feel good about themselves one day and feel extremely inadequate another.
3. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Peer pressure can be an issue as teens often want to experience a sense of
belonging. Teens often switch peers groups throughout the teen years as their
interests shift.
Rebellious behavior is sometimes common during the teen years. A teen
may develop different personas or go through various phases. Sometimes teens try
to shock their parents or want to dress or wear their hair in new ways to express
themselves.
Dating and romantic relationships often become important during the
early teen years. It’s normal for teens to develop sexual interests.
4. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
They may also struggle to think about the consequences of their
behavior before they act. This has to do with different parts of their brains
developing at slightly different rates.
Teens develop the ability to think abstractly. Instead of only thinking in
terms of tangible objects, they begin to understand concepts such as faith
and trust.
They may also think they’re unique and think no one understands them.
As they mature, they begin to develop a better understanding of the world
and how other people perceive them.
DEVELOPMENT MILESTONES
( MIDDLE ADOLESCENCE )
DEVELOPMENT MILESTONES
( MIDDLE ADOLESCENCE )
1. PHYSIOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT
Most males and females are fully developed by their 17th birthdays.
They’ve completed puberty and reached their full height.
Boys may continue to develop muscles. They may also grow more facial
hair and underarm hair. Their voices may continue to deepen as well.
2. EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Turning 17 represents an interesting fork in the road for many teens.
Some of them take off on a smooth path toward adulthood. They become
increasingly responsible and they’re eager to become independent.
Others, however, are terrified of the realities of pending adulthood. Some
of them seem lost and confused over the future. They may struggle to show
responsibility with their homework, chores, and daily responsibilities and may
feel fearful about becoming an adult.
Most 17-year-olds are goal-oriented. They're beginning to imagine what
type of life they want to create beyond high school.
3. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
.
Most 17-year-olds form strong relationships. They develop close friendships
and become less likely to move back and forth between cliques.
The parent/teen relationship may shift a little during this age. For some,
that may mean growing apart as a teen gains independence, but for others,
teens may actually grow closer as their desire to be rebellious phase fades
away.
4. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
By age 17, most teens have good organizational skills. Many teens are able
to successfully juggle extracurricular activities, part-time jobs, and school work.
Although many 17-year-olds think they’re adults, their brains still aren’t yet
fully developed. So while they may have skills to regulate their impulses, they may
still behave recklessly at times.
Fluid intelligence is reached around this age which means 17-year-olds have
an improved ability to cope with new problems and situations.
SPEECH & LANGUAGE
Slang is common among teens. Slang words may have more meaning than
formal language at this age.
Some 17-year-olds still struggle to understand double negatives. And
although their attention spans are improved, it’s common for them to lose track
of long, complex questions.
PLAY
Play to a 17-year-old might involve going to a restaurant with a friend or it
could include engaging in a hobby with a friend. Many 17-year-olds engage in
similar leisure activities as adults. Most of them have developed hobbies and
interests that allow them to relax.
DEVELOPMENT MILESTONES
( LATE ADOLESCENCE )
DEVELOPMENT MILESTONES
( LATE ADOLESCENCE )
1. PHYSIOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT
By age 18, both boys and girls have physically matured. Puberty is over
and they’ve usually reached their full height.
Boys may continue to grow a little more facial hair and their voices may
still change a bit more, but otherwise, they’re living in adult bodies.
Many teens grow more comfortable with their bodies as they’ve had
some time to adjust to the rapid changes they experienced during the earlier
teen years.
2. EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Eighteen-year-olds are beginning to figure out where they will fit into the
adult world. It is a time for big changes that comes with a lot of freedom and
happiness, along with feelings of nostalgia and apprehension.
They have much better control over their emotions by this age. And most 18-
year-olds are equipped to deal with a wide variety of emotions.
The fear of the future—as well as the fear of failure—can still be problems,
however. Some 18-year-olds will begin to resolve these issues successfully,
while others will continue to struggle well into their adult lives.
3. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Most 18-year-olds have had intimate relationships. They have a better
understanding and awareness of their sexuality at this age.
Peer groups have less of a pull on 18-year-olds. They’re better able to
evaluate their opinions without adopting the same ideas as everyone around them.
Many of them take strong stances on social issues.
They have an emerging ability to make independent decisions and to
compromise. This serves them well as they are forming new friendships and
intimate relationships.
4. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
By age 18, teens exhibit a lot of adult-like thinking (even though their brains
are yet done developing).
They often show a lot of concern for the future. They may feel overwhelmed
at times when people ask them what they’re doing to with their lives.
Many of them are philosophical and idealistic as well. They have a greater
capacity to use insight, however.
 Speech & Language
• Most 18-year-olds speak differently to their peers than they do their family or
teachers. They may use a fair amount of slang and they’re usually adept at
using social media acronyms.
• The teens who read the most are likely to have the most expansive vocabularies.
By now, they’re able to communicate like other adults.
Play
• Most 18-year-olds enjoy spending time and talking with their friends. They often
have similar hobbies and interests as other adults.
SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT
 SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT
Adolescents begin to have interest in spiritual concerns. They start
pondering on questions concerning existence, essence, spirituality, religion, and
God. Many would establish with the Creator and some would even be
interested in taking on sacred vocation.
Adolescents also entertain and try to answer the existential questions
such as:
Who am I?
What brought me here?
What is the essence of life?
What happens after death?
In his book Essential Life Lessons (2013), Filipino professor and blogger Jensen DG.
Mañebog enumerates some adages, which if internalized, are useful in one’s spiritual
development. Under the chapter “On Faith and God.” he lists the following guidelines:
1.View things optimistically through faith.
2. Believe in the power of faith.
3. Recognize your worth as God’s child.
4. Believe that “all things work together for good …”
5. Bring out the best in you.
6. Live your real reason for being.
7. Let Him have all your worries and cares.
8. Don’t allow your self-esteem to be wounded.
9. Use your hands for honest work.
10. Remember that faith endures.
EVALUATING ONE’S THOUGHTS,
FEELINGS, AND BEHAVIOR
THOUGHTS, FEELINGS, AND BEHAVIOR
Thoughts may refer to the ideas or arrangement of ideas
that result from thinking, the act or process of producing
thoughts.
Thoughts are cognitive; they are mentally produced and
processed. When expressed, they are normally in sentence form.
Thoughts are influential. As the Chinese Lao Tzu once said,
“If you correct your mind, the rest of your life will fall into
place.”
 THOUGHTS, FEELINGS, AND BEHAVIOR

Feeling, on the other hand, denotes a state of consciousness,

such as that resulting from emotions, sentiments, or desires.
Feelings are usually mild emotional states. Examples are
anger, sadness, fear, and happiness
THOUGHTS, FEELINGS, AND BEHAVIOR
Behavior refers to the range of actions and mannerisms
made by individuals, organisms, systems, or artificial entities in
conjunction with themselves or their environment, which
includes the other systems or organisms around, as well as the
physical environment..
Behaviors are usually seen. Many behaviors happen in
conjunction with certain thoughts and feelings. Yet, some
behaviors are not reflection of true feelings.
THOUGHTS, FEELINGS, AND BEHAVIOR
One’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior are interconnected and
interrelated. In fact, they influence and affect one another. Hence, to
regularly evaluate one’s thoughts, for instance, is in a way assessing one’s
feelings, and behaviors.
Making it a habit to assess the above-mentioned aspects will give
the opportunity to appraise the truth or validity one’s beliefs, the
appropriateness of one’s feelings and emotions, and the decency of one’s
actions and behaviors.
 THE COGNITIVE TRIANGLE
The natural connection among thoughts, feelings, and behaviors is
acknowledged in what psychologists call the Cognitive Triangle.
This explanatory framework categorically declares that thoughts,
feelings, and behaviors are interconnected and elucidates how they
affect each other. It puts forward that a change in one of them produces
a change to the others.
This psychological model is actually one of the bases of a therapy
called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
THE COGNITIVE TRIANGLE
COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY
This therapy is based on the work of psychologists
Albert Ellis and Aaron Beck.
It is a commonly used form of psychotherapy which aims to
assist individuals in understanding the link between thoughts and
feelings and in realizing how these two impact behavior.
COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY
Through this therapy, the individual can change their
thoughts which leads to a change in their feelings and
behavior. The key, therefore, is in the positive interpretation
of things.
 COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY
SITUATION:Your mother arrived home from work and went directly to her
room. She did not even greet you nor give you a glance.
NEGATIVE THOUGHT: Mom is angry at me.
NEGATIVE BEHAVIOR: I will not talk to her either.

SITUATION:Your mother arrived home from work and went directly to her
room. She did not even greet you nor give you a glance.
POSITIVE THOUGHT: Maybe she has an urgent task to attend to or she is
too tired.
POSITIVE FEELING: I am relieved.
POSITIVE BEHAVIOR: I will just say ‘Hi’ to her after she has rested enough
or when she’s done with her task.