Nurturing Hidden Resilience In Troubled Youth

Timely in subject and original in perspective, Nurturing Hidden Resilience in Troubled Youth challenges what popular media refer to as a 'youth problem.'

“Our most troubled youth are far more resilient and healthy than we are ready to admit. If we take the time to listen very closely to our children speak about their experiences beyond our front doors, we hear an entirely different story about their lives than the one we adults tell.” Unlike many other books about difficult kids that reflect the wisdom of adults, this one explores the truth of adolescence. It builds on recent explorations of youth such as Mary Pipher’s Reviving Ophelia, Judith Rich Harris’ The Nurture Assumption, and William Pollack’s Real Boys. It examines emerging trends in psychology, as well as recent innovations in work with our most unhealthy young people. Playing at Being Bad offers particular insight for parents, teachers, and caregivers of troubled youth just beginning, or already stuck in, patterns of delinquency, drug or alcohol addiction, sexual promiscuity, violence, suicide, depression, and truancy. This book tells the story of the teens Ungar worked with for more than fifteen years, taking a close look at the crises kids face, while exploring the important role that adults can play in keeping dangerous and delinquent youth from drifting further into trouble.

Table of contents

Showcasing approaches as creative and playful as young clients themselves, the book presents therapy as a dialogue of discovery. Through transcripts and compelling case examples, contributors illuminate how drama, art, play, and humor can be used effectively to engage with children of different ages, and to honor their idiosyncratic language, knowledge, and perspective.

Discover effective ways of connecting with youth at risk. In this inspiring resource, the authors focus on strength-based alternatives to punishment, including creative ways to develop trusting relationships, search for hidden potential, and instill purpose in students

Women are particularly vulnerable to depression. Understanding Depression provides an in-depth critical examination of mainstream approaches to understanding and treating depression from a feminist perspective. Janet Stoppard argues that current approaches give only partial accounts of womens' experiences of depression and concludes that a better understanding will only be achieved when womens' experiences and lived realities are considered in relation to the material and social conditions in which their everyday lives are embedded. The impact of this change in approach for modes of treatment are discussed and solutions are suggested. Understanding Depression offers new insights into the problem and its treatment. It will prove useful to those with an interest in depression and gender as well as mental health practitioners.

The younger generation - those under the age of 25 - account for more than a quarter of Hong Kong's population. A much misunderstood group, these people have special characteristics and needs, and some are particularly vulnerable. Substance abuse among young people is on the rise, and juveniles make up a third of total arrests every year. Extra effort and attention is required of policy-makers, educators, and social workers to help this group make a positive contribution to society. This book seeks to promote understanding of Hong Kong's younger generation and offers strategies for working with them and their families towards healthy and productive development. Divided into three parts - youth in general, youth-at-risk, and young offenders - the book draws on international literature and empirical studies from within Hong Kong. Its focus is on action, always stressing the practical question of how to build a new model for working effectively with them. This book will be essential reading for seasoned professionals as well as undergraduate students in criminology, social policy, and social work, and postgraduates intending to practise in these areas. Francis Wing-lin Leeis an associate professor in the Department of Social Work and Social Administration in the University of Hong Kong. "The younger generation today has to face complex and diverse life challenges, ranging from dysfunctional family systems, unemployment, hurdles of social mobility, stressful school life and the bombardments of the new social media. To help young people cope with these challenges, they have to be given opportunities and choices for holistic growth, and to acquire independent thinking and global vision. This book provides thorough analysis and practical reference for youth workers that can enhance their understanding to work with our young people." - Christine Fang, Chief Executive, The Hong Kong Council of Social Service