Working With Adolescents

"Noted for its multisystemic-ecological perspective, this accessible text and practitioner resource has now been revised and expanded with 60% new material. The book provides a comprehensive view of adolescent development and explores effective ways to support teens who are having difficulties. The authors examine protective and risk factors in the many contexts of adolescents' lives, from individual attributes to family, school, neighborhood, and media influences. Assessment and intervention strategies are illustrated with diverse case examples, and emphasize a social justice orientation. Useful pedagogical features include end-of-chapter reflection questions and concise chapter summaries. Key Words/Subject Areas: social work practice, clinical, human behavior and the social environment, HBSE courses, counseling, development, treating kids, youths, teens, assessments, treatments, psychotherapy, young adults, textbooks, problems, resources for social workers Audience: Practitioners and students in social work, clinical child/adolescent and school psychology, psychiatry, counseling, and nursing"--

In Massachusetts, a 12-year-old girl delivering newspapers is killed when a car strikes her bicycle. In Los Angeles, a 14-year-old boy repeatedly falls asleep in class, exhausted from his evening job. Although children and adolescents may benefit from working, there may also be negative social effects and sometimes danger in their jobs. Protecting Youth at Work looks at what is known about work done by children and adolescents and the effects of that work on their physical and emotional health and social functioning. The committee recommends specific initiatives for legislators, regulators, researchers, and employers. This book provides historical perspective on working children and adolescents in America and explores the framework of child labor laws that govern that work. The committee presents a wide range of data and analysis on the scope of youth employment, factors that put children and adolescents at risk in the workplace, and the positive and negative effects of employment, including data on educational attainment and lifestyle choices. Protecting Youth at Work also includes discussions of special issues for minority and disadvantaged youth, young workers in agriculture, and children who work in family-owned businesses.

This volume broadens the knowledge and skill base of practitioners doing group social work with adolescents and fosters a creative, innovative, and self-reflective approach. A rich introduction to the field, enlivened by numerous illustrations from actual group sessions, the book provides principles and guidelines for work in a wide range of settings.

This innovative book focuses on helping high-risk adolescents and their families rapidly resolve long-standing difficulties. Matthew D. Selekman spells out a range of solution-focused strategies and other techniques, illustrating their implementation with vivid case examples. His approach augments individual and family sessions with collaborative meetings that enlist the strengths of the adolescent's social network and key helping professionals from larger systems. User-friendly features include checklists, sample questions to aid in relationship building and goal setting, and reproducible forms that can be downloaded and printed in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size. Blending family therapy science with therapeutic artistry, the book significantly refines and updates the approach originally presented in Selekman's Pathways to Change.

A practical volume for the helping professions, Group Work With Children and Adolescents will be highly valuable to those practicing in the fields of social work, human services, clinical and counseling psychology, and psychiatric nursing.

Two clinical social workers offer clinicians, educators, coaches, and other youth counselors the first professional book that focuses on engaging authentically with teens in order to create lasting change. Anyone who works with teens should read this book. If you work with teens, you know they are notoriously challenging to communicate with. And when teens are resistant to help, they may respond by acting defiant, guarded, defensive, rude, or even outright hostile. In turn, you may respond by reasserting your authority—resulting in an endless power struggle. So how can you break the cycle and start connecting? In What Works with Teens, you’ll discover the core skills that research shows underlie all effective work with teens. You'll learn how to engage authentically with teens, create an atmosphere of mutual respect, and use humor to establish a deeper connection. Many books offer evidence-based approaches to treating teens, but very little information on how to establish and maintain a productive working relationship. This is the first trans-therapeutic book to provide real tools for creating a positive relationship with teens to help bolster effective treatment. Whether your background is in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), psychotherapy, or any other treatment background, if you are looking for more effective ways to connect with teens and are ready for a program that really works, this book is a vital addition to your professional library.

Working with Children and Youth with Complex Needs provides a detailed description of techniques and rich stories of how social workers, psychologists, counselors, and child and youth care workers can help young people become more resilient. With ample case studies and fascinating explanations of research, Dr. Ungar shows why we need to work just as hard changing the environments that surround children as we do changing children themselves. Building on lessons learned from clinical, community and residential settings, Dr. Ungar discusses 20 skills that can enhance the effectiveness of frontline mental health services. Along with descriptions of the skills necessary to talk with clients about the factors that put their mental health at risk, Working with Children and Youth with Complex Needs also presents systemic practices clinicians can use in their everyday work. Engaging with children’s extended family, addressing issues of community violence, racism and homophobia, and helping parents and teachers understand children’s maladaptive coping strategies as sometimes necessary are among the many practical strategies that are discussed which clinicians can use to enhance and sustain the therapeutic value of their work.

In this welcome follow-up and companion to her highly acclaimed Clinical Work with Children, Judith Mishne provides a comprehensive overview of the fundamentals of adolescent psychotherapy. Drawing on her own extensive experience and the work of other professionals, she offers a cogent analysis of the psychological disorders afflicting teens today and explores the range of dynamic treatment interventions available in clinical work with teenagers and their families. With an emphasis on the need for flexible, individualized planning for young patients, Clinical Work with Adolescents succinctly shows how clinicians can develop and follow a course of treatment in a variety of settings, from private outpatient therapy to residential programs. In addition, it outlines the various stages within the therapeutic process itself, analyzing the therapeutic alliance, transference and countertransference, the phenomena of resistance, typical defenses, “working through,” and, finally, the termination of treatment. A comprehensive and thorough integration of theory and practice, Clinical Work with Adolescents is essential for both novice and experienced practitioners—as well as students—in understanding and successfully helping teenagers to cope with the difficult transition to adulthood.