Psychologist reveals two major flaws with the sandwich and hot chocolate in Adolescence

The therapy episode is one of the tensest parts of Netflix’s new drama Adolescence, but a psychologist has pointed out two major flaws.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Clinical Child Psychologist Dr Sheila Redfern explained that Briony giving Jamie a sandwich and a hot chocolate was a huge mistake.

Offering food and drink to try and build up a rapport with the child is a commonly used technique, but the items she chose are really dangerous.

In the show, Jamie says he doesn’t like pickle in his sandwiches, and a psychologist would never choose food that the child doesn’t like in a real-life session.

“Very few children who have psychological trauma shout and rage all the time – it’s far more common for them to act perfectly ‘normally’ until provoked by certain triggers,” Redfern said.

“I’m not persuaded that bringing food Jamie won’t like is terribly clever. No psychologist I know would do something so deliberately provocative when interviewing a child.”

“It’s never helpful to intentionally do something that might provoke a big reaction. You don’t want anything to jeopardise any relationship you have built,” she continued.

Credit: Netflix

Giving a teenager food they don’t like is a trigger that could make them lash out, destroying any rapport the psychologist has built up and putting both in danger.

A real psychologist wouldn’t give a child a hot chocolate like Briony does in Adolescence either.

Redfern said she always offers children a drink to make her seem more “human” and help form a relationship “much more quickly” – but never a hot one.

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“It is common for psychologists to offer children a snack or a drink to make them feel more relaxed and more likely to open up to you,” the expert revealed.

“But I’d never dream of taking a hot drink into a scenario like this where you are dealing with a teenager you know is capable of aggressive behaviour.”

“It could end up being thrown at you – and, as we see, his furious outburst does see the drink go flying.”

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Featured image by: Netflix