Creative Positions In Adult Mental Health

This book presents cutting edge developments in Adult Mental Health through the presentation of creative and innovative applications of systemic theory to practice. The first section deconstructs the medical model with some of the current beliefs and practices shaping services whilst placing adult mental health in a wider social and political context. The second half of the book showcases good practice from the field. At either end of the volume "bookends" invite current clients and staff to write about their experiences with the aim of bringing a powerful personal context into the work. We intend to create a shift from third person objectivity to a first person experience as a political act which flows through the book.

Urban Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services weaves together different strands of mental health work undertaken in one inner-city Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service by professionals working in a range of ways. In particular, it provides examples of how an urban CAMH service has been responsive to, and influenced by, local circumstances, resources and knowledge. The book explores the relationship between professionals and the community context, which provides the background to the lives of individual service users and the families they serve, and how this relationship is integral to the development of a responsive service. The chapters cover a range of settings and approaches, addressing the social, cultural, political and community contexts impacting on children, young people and families. In this way Urban Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services explores challenges and issues emerging in a responsive approach to child and family work in all community settings whether they be urban, suburban or rural. Urban Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services is intended for mental health and social care professionals involved in therapeutic, social and pastoral work with children, young people, families and communities. The book will be of interest to policy-makers, mental health and social care professionals, health visitors, general practitioners, nurses and midwives , as well as to trainees in these professions including trainee clinical psychologists, social workers or psychoanalytic and systemic psychotherapists. It will also appeal to those interested in responsive communities and critical approaches to therapeutic interventions in mental health work, psychology, psychotherapy and counselling.

Systemic Perspectives in Mental Health, Social Work and Youth Care describes the theoretical foundations of a systemic framework, or ‘systemic lens’, and how the counsellor, therapist, social worker or other health professional can apply these ground principles in therapeutic meetings with clients. The book presents a wide variety of perspectives and interventions, multiple examples, and practical methods, applicable to professionals with a range of experience. A case study covering a diverse family of three generations is presented throughout the book to clearly illustrate systemic perspectives, concepts, and practices. This accessible book will inform and enhance the therapist’s practice and conversations with individuals, couples, parents, groups or networks, even in the presence of psychopathology, multi-stressors or complex networks. This highly readable guide will be essential reading for systemic practitioners of all backgrounds, as well as professionals looking to understand systemic approaches, and for those working in social work, youth care or mental health who want to enhance their current practice.

This comprehensive edited volume synthesizes the current state of research and practice in psychological, medical, and motor disorders as they affect individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID). It examines how these disorders exist across this population, sometimes confound diagnosis, and often affect individuals’ quality of life. In addition, this book explores which treatments are effective for patients and points to future challenges. Comorbid conditions featured include: Challenging behaviors. ADHD, autism, and other conditions present during early childhood. Anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia. Balance and gait problems. Cerebral palsy. Medical conditions common to persons with ID, such as epilepsy, obesity, and chronic pain. Comorbid Conditions in Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities is an essential resource for researchers, clinicians/professionals, and graduate students in clinical child, school, and developmental psychology, child and adolescent psychiatry, and social work as well as rehabilitation medicine/therapy, behavioral therapy, pediatrics, and educational psychology.

This invaluable text provides a rigorous guide to the assessment and evaluation of treatment programs through a multi-disciplinary, holistic model of care. It highlights issues of race, social justice, and health equity, and offers real-world guidance to effect community healing and transformation. Written by a researcher and experienced evaluator, the book begins by outlining the theories and research which frame our understanding of substance misuse, and upon which treatment programs are based. It then examines the principles which should underpin any evaluation, before detailing the practical various steps required to conduct an evaluation, from data collection to outcome measurement. The book shows, too, through detailed and effective evaluation, policy changes can be made and treatment programs improved. Including practical examples of evaluation and assessment throughout, and also assessing the numerous social systems which can support recovery, the book builds to a four-step public health model for establishing sustainable treatment programs. In an era where substance misuse has reached epidemic proportions in the United States and beyond, this book will be essential reading for anyone involved in public health policy and practice in this important area.

The Heart of the Matter invites therapists from all disciplines to consider the use of music and art in their work with families. It introduces systemic music and art ideas, giving clinical examples from practice, and a rationale for using each technique. Conversations with therapists who have explored and incorporated the techniques into their work are shared, and include both personal and professional responses to incorporating new methods in practice. Through a back drop of exploration into what creativity is, the history of the arts in therapy, and consideration of what happens when we use words, the case for music and art to be part of practice with families is presented. This book is more than a handbook of techniques; it explores who we are as therapists, our challenges and our resourcefulness, as we operate in multiple systems to bring about positive change.

Most of Shakespeare’s tragedies have a family drama at their heart. This book brings these relationships to life, offering a radical new perspective on the tragic heroes and their dilemmas. Family Dramas: Intimacy, Power and Systems in Shakespeare's Tragedies focusses on the interactions and dialogues between people on stage, linking their intimate emotional worlds to wider social and political contexts. Since family relationships absorb and enact social ideologies, their conflicts often expose the conflicts that all ideologies contain. The complexities, contradictions and ambiguities of Shakespeare’s portrayals of individuals and their relationships are brought to life, while wider power structures and social discourses are shown to reach into the heart of intimate relationships and personal identity. Surveying relevant literature from Shakespeare studies, the book introduces the ideas behind the family systems approach to literary criticism. Explorations of gender relationships feature particularly strongly in the analysis since it is within gender that intimacy and power most compellingly intersect and frequently collide. For Shakespeare lovers and psychotherapists alike, this application of systemic theory opens a new perspective on familiar literary territory.