"Play Therapy: Treatment Planning and Interventions: The Ecosystemic Model and Workbook, 2e," provides key information on one of the most rapidly developing and growing areas of therapy. Ecosystemic play therapy is a dynamic integrated therapeutic model for addressing the mental health needs of children and their families. The book is designed to help play therapists develop specific treatment goals and focused treatment plans as now required by many regulating agencies and third-party payers. Treatment planning is based on a comprehensive case conceptualization that is developmentally organized, strength-based, and grounded in an ecosystemic context of multiple interacting systems.

The text presents guidelines for interviewing clients and families as well as pretreatment assessments and data gathering for ecosystemic case conceptualization. The therapist's theoretical model, expertise, and context are considered. The book includes descriptions of actual play therapy activities organized by social-emotional developmental levels of the children. Any preparation the therapist may need to complete before the session is identified, as is the outcome the therapist may expect. Each activity description ends with a suggestion about how the therapist might follow up on the content and experience in future sessions. The activity descriptions are practical and geared to the child. Case examples and completed sections of the workbook are provided. It provides the therapist with an easy-to-use format for recording critical case information, specific treatment goals, and the overall treatment plan. Workbook templates can be downloaded and adapted for the therapist's professional practice.
Presents a comprehensive theory of play therapyClearly relates the theoretical model to interventionsProvides examples of the application of both the theory and the intervention model to specific casesDescribes actual play therapy activitiesWorkbook format provides a means of obtaining comprehensive intake and assessment dataCase examples provided throughout"

The Holocaust, civil war in Bosnia, drug wars in the cities, random violence in schools, streets, and homes - such events and their aftermath pose special problems for mental health professionals, educators, and others who must help children make sense of acts that endanger them physically and psychically. In this book, edited by Drs. Roberta J. Apfel and Bennett Simon, mental health professionals share their knowledge, experiences, and hopefulness in working with children exposed to war and violence. The result is a moving history of young lives affected by war, persecution, and communal violence, and an invaluable resource for anyone working with children subjected to such traumas. The contributors to this book - who include psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers, all with direct experience working with children who are victims of war and violence - address the ethics involved in working with children in war zones, children's development under circumstances of war or violence, post-traumatic stress disorder and other stress reactions, refugee children, "survivor guilt", interventions and treatments, and the emotional health of the caretakers. The book includes case studies on children of war in Kuwait, on a program involving children of Holocaust survivors and children of Nazi perpetrators, and on the Child Development-Community Policing Program in New Haven.

This book sets out a proposal for applying psychological and educational psychology concepts to improve work with children and young people. It also suggests how some of the criticism aimed at pedagogical-psychology practice can be answered. In several respects educational psychology practice seems to be in a transition phase and could even be said to be suffering an identity crisis: educational establishments and education policy alike are looking for different skills than those the psychology profession traditionally provides, and people are generally questioning the relevance and applicability of pedagogical-psychological counseling. The book is based on the fundamental premise that good professional practice is contingent upon circumstances that allow practitioners to apply their knowledge, experience and skills in the specific encounter with a specific task. This means that the ability to act pragmatically and creatively is, and will increasingly be, an important skill not only for educational psychologists, but also for psychologists in general. In other words, psychologists must be able to contribute to tasks in new ways and new contexts when required. Intended primarily for students of psychology, school psychologists and other professional groups that provide counseling in schools, the book is also a valuable resource for the various groups that use pedagogical-psychology tools and insights in their work with children and young people.

This volume considers the teaching of writing in computer-supported and traditional classrooms. It is divided into three main sections which consider: literary processes - access to a symbolic system; learning and meaning in childhood; and literacy and activity contexts in adulthood.

This book examines the eight-year development of the Reading Orienteering Club after-school program, showing how to develop, test, change, and adapt an after-school program to fit the needs of the children who attend. It includes case studies and data reports for each year and presents the theory, application, and program evaluation steps that workers in the field or students learning about program design must follow. Chapters present first-person accounts as well as statistical evaluations of the effectiveness of the reading program with each group of children. In addition, chapters highlight the changes that were made in program design and why each change was implemented, giving practitioners the insights needed to adapt interventions and strategies to their own programs. The book concludes with recommendations from the authors on how to run a successful after-school reading program. Topics featured in this book include: The effect of intrinsic motivation to mental wellness in the classroom. The importance of oral reading in correcting reading failure. Group-center approaches to teaching reading in the classroom. How to select the best evaluation tool. The challenges of mixing inner city and rural students in a reading program. After-School Programming and Intrinsic Motivation is an essential reference for scientist-practitioners, clinicians, researchers, and graduate students in such disciplines as school psychology, childhood education, social work, psychotherapy and counseling, and learning and instruction.

This comprehensive yet brief overview of the adolescent human brain discusses how the brain develops during this critical period of life and how that development impacts decision-making and risk-taking behavior in the adolescent.

This originated as a white paper requested by the Canadian government for a specific group looking to understand adolescent brain development in the context of adolescent behavior. The paper was not made available to the Canadian government outside of the specific task force that requested it nor to the general public. The authors have since decided that having put so much effort into concisely summarizing research on adolescent brain development, it would be a useful addition to researchers in psychology generally. The original paper has since been updated and revised considerably.

This work presents one of the first thorough applications of the Rorschach Test to preschool children. The findings are analyzed in terms of age, sex, mental ability, and various other measurable aspects of personality.

A Childhood Psychology is a truly unique contribution to the field of childhood psychology. By interrogating the key questions lying at the heart of this rapidly changing field, it provides fresh and bold insights that are accompanied by original analysis and an interdisciplinary approach. Packed with new developments and delivered with clarity, the book challenges our assumptions about childhood in modern society, scrutinizes contemporary trends in international research, and outlines controversial challenges to traditional paradigms. Sommer's valuable insights into developmental and childhood psychology will be of particular interest to students and researchers of psychology, anthropology, cultural studies and sociology.

Interest, the momentary emotional feeling of curiosity, has always been a problem for mainstream psychologists because although simple interest and idle curiosity are always available to be cited as motives, they seem to be far too simple to account adequately for any aspect of human motivation or behaviour. The existence of interests, the enduring hobbies and avocations that give colour and frivolity to motivational life, gives rise to the question of why we are interested in some things rather than in others. Although this question is very important and basic to an understanding of human motivation and behaviour, it has generally been ignored or treated as simply too difficult to quantify. If properly understood, interest and interests could provide insights into many different issues, such as how transient emotional experience consolidates into lasting motives and how psychological states develop into traits. Understanding interest and interests and connecting the disparate areas within the psychology of interest are the primary goals of this book. As the first book on interest in decades, it will serve as the primary resource for anyone studying the psychology of interest.

An increasing number of Americans marry late or never at all. Today there are more than 3 million men who are at least 40 years old and have never been married. Waehler examines the myths surrounding bachelors, and he shows that stereotypes about never-married men are largely simplistic and inaccurate. Just as it would be impossible to make reliable statements about all people who have chosen to marry, the bachelor caricature falls short of reality. In this book, Waehler describes bachelors' internal processes and interpersonal styles along a continuum with three specific bachelor types: Flexible, Entrenched, and Conflicted.

"Bachelors" is the first and the only book to examine the inner workings of the bachelor mind. Waehler explores the psychology of never-married men and their choices, looking at similarities as well as differences. He looks at their conscious and unconscious psychological profiles, the experience within their families of origin, their relationships with women, their development through adulthood, and their beliefs about marriage. In the end, Waehler establishes patterns that lead to men maintaining their single status with varying degrees of satisfaction. He also provides practical advice on how to come to terms with various bachelor styles, or alternatively, how to successfully move from bachelorhood to marriage. Real life case studies are provided throughout, making this a book for the interested adult as well as researchers and other professionals.

In 1998, the Foundation for Child Development (FCD) provided Kenneth Land a grant to explore the feasibility of producing the first national composite index of the status of American children that would chart changes in their well-being over time. Important questions needed to be answered: was it possible to trace trends in child and youth well-being over several decades? Could such an index provide a way of determining whether the United States was making progress in improving its children's lives? The Index of Child and Youth Well-Being (CWI) was born from these questions. Viewing the CWI trends from 1975 to present, there is evidence that the well-being of American children lags behind other Western nations. As conditions change, it is clear that the index is an evolving and rich enterprise. This volume attests to that evolution, and what the CWI promises for understanding the progress - or lack of progress - in enhancing the life prospects of all American children.

This volume seeks to explore the idea of identity as a flexible center of events around which aspects of the self and events in the outside world are organized. Historically, in much of the literature, identity was conceptualized as a somewhat fixed, unchanging construct. Scholars now have a greater awareness of more nuanced theories about identity and there is a greater willingness to accept that identity is not fixed, concrete, and permanent, but rather evolving and fluid. Although this volume discusses a wide variety of aspects of identity as it flexibly changes during adulthood in the face of numerous experiences, it is really addressing one key question. How adaptive and fluid is identity and how can we know ourselves as both continuing and changing? Exploring these ideas raises the importance of future research on adult identity. With a firm grounding in the historical and theoretical background of identity research, this volume begins by defining identity and the psychological "self" as a center around which the person's behaviors and self-concepts revolve. The following chapters gather the wisdom of many writers who all accepted the challenge of talking about creating a flexible adult self and identity during adulthood. They come at this challenging question from many different perspectives using different tools. Some survey existing literature and theory, then summarize prior work in a meaningful way. Some discuss their own research; some reflect on personal experiences that have demanded a flexible identity. Also included in the coverage are discussions of methodology and validity issues for studies and scales of identity. With its dual focus on research and applied fields ranging across social and personality psychology, industrial/occupational psychology, cross-cultural psychology, mental health, existential issues, relationships, and demographic categories, Identity Flexibility During Adulthood: Perspectives on Adult Development is a fascinating and complex resource for psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists, gerontologists, and all those interested in our changing identities.

This handbook offers a comprehensive review of intellectual disabilities (ID). It examines historical perspectives and foundational principles in the field. The handbook addresses philosophy of care for individuals with ID, as well as parent and professional issues and organizations, staffing, and working on multidisciplinary teams. Chapters explore issues of client protection, risk factors of ID, basic research issues, and legal concerns. In addition, chapters include information on evidence-based assessments and innovative treatments to address a variety of behaviors associated with ID. The handbook provides an in-depth analysis of comorbid physical disorders, such as cerebral palsy, epilepsy and seizures, and developmental coordination disorders (DCD), in relation to ID. Topics featured in this handbook include: Informed consent and the enablement of persons with ID. The responsible use of restraint and seclusion as a protective measure. Vocational training and job preparation programs that assist individuals with ID. Psychological and educational approaches to the treatment of aggression and tantrums. Emerging technologies that support learning for students with ID. Key sexuality and relationship issues that are faced by individuals with ID. Effective approaches to weight management for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Handbook of Intellectual Disabilities is an essential reference for researchers, graduate students, clinicians and related therapists and professionals in clinical child and school psychology, pediatrics, social work, developmental psychology, behavioral therapy/rehabilitation, child and adolescent psychiatry, and special education.

In this volume, gender and schooling in the early years addresses a broad range of issues including, but not limited, to gender equity in education. We explore, for example, the complex world of play in Fromberg's chapter and are reminded that for young children, play involves issues of power and hierarchy in ways that parallel the role of gender in society. Miletta's study of preschool children in northern Italy, at Reggio Emilia, reveals a story of classroom interactions where gender differences are not part of the equation for the youngsters. Her chapter begs the question, ""How does this environment empower all children, regardless of gender?"" Two chapters provide a lens to the Montessori setting for young children. Wilgus studies the gendered patterns of young women teaching at a Montessori school, while Irby, Rodriguez, and Lara-Alecio explore the intersections of culture and gender at a bilingual Montessori public school. Further examining the preschool years, Plaster and Schiller address the current brain research and examine the ways in which the adults that staff early child care programs, and the environments that they offer, play an important role in the development of our children.

This book takes a radically new approach to the well-worn topic of children's relationship with the media, avoiding the "risks and benefits" paradigm while examining very young children's interactions with film and television. Bazalgette proposes a refocus on the learning processes that children must go through in order to understand what they are watching on televisions, phones, or iPads. To demonstrate this, she offers unique insight from research done with her twin grandchildren starting from just before they were two years old, with analysis drawn from the field of embodied cognition to help identify minute behaviours and expressions as signals of emotions and thought processes. The book makes the case that all inquiry into early childhood movie-viewing should be based on the premise that learning-usually self-driven-is taking place throughout.

Unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases are on the increase among young people. This volume explores social and behavioural implications of adolescent sexuality and suggests ways in which to encourage sexual responsibility.

With contributions from psychologists, sociologists and family care experts, the volume examines such topics as gender, sexual behaviour, adolescent parenting, homosexuality and bisexuality.

In an attempt to explore the explanations why psychiatrists continue to use electroshock with minors already at risk from damage, this text investigates reasons why electroshock remains popular, despite the widespread availability of proven psychosocial alternatives. The text locates all of the literature since the 1940s about the use of electroshock with minors from three years of age through adolescence.

Since the introduction of shock with children and teenagers, the province of psychiatry has been expanded to include minors as young as three. A fifty-year overview of shock use by psychiatrists with minors is provided, with an analysis of reasons for its popularity among some medical staff. The review includes results from a meta-analysis study that reports data from over 200 previously published clinical cases. These results indicate that there is no clinical rationale for the use of shock with children and teenagers. Moreover, there are many reasons not to give shock, including ethical, philosophical, moral, and humanistic objections. The continued use of electroshock by psychiatrists persists only due to the clinical independence of medical staff. There are no controlled evaluations, no randomized controlled trials, no controlled clinical trials, and no single case studies that report outcome data from electroshock given under scientific conditions to minors. Rather, the entire published literature is based on anecdotal reports from uncontrolled interventions. The text explores the ethical position of mental health staff who are in the same arena. Alternatives to electroshock are explored in the context of services for children and teenagers with mental health needs.