The potential for healing available in well-known myths and stories is increasingly recognized, but many practitioners are unsure how to tap into this rich and often culturally-specific source of insight. What sort of story is best for what sort of situation? How can it be introduced naturally into the session? What is the best way of using the story?
These are some of the questions contributors to this book set out to answer. They explore the historical and cultural context of story-telling and provide examples of specific stories for specific situations.
Covering emotional themes such as anger, anxiety, fear, shame, guilt, separation and bereavement, the authors show how they work through stories with many different kinds of client groups and individuals of all ages in educational, health and social science settings.
The Therapeutic Use of Stories provides a sound theoretical framework for the use of stories, examples of stories with a high therapeutic value, and practical advice on how to use them to best effect.

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PTSD is more usually considered as an adult disorder: this volume concentrates on children and adolescents. The introductory chapters are followed by a chapter on assessment and several chapters on treatment. The issues of clinical management in some of the important ecological contexts such as family and school, and aetiological contexts such as refugee status and child abuse, are discussed in further detail. Then a variety of treatment approaches are clearly described. The book is aimed at teachers, practitioners and researchers in child psychiatry, clinical child psychology, educational psychology, social work, paediatrics, and occupational therapy.

This comprehensive guide provides overviews of the key psychological processes affecting mental health, such as development, attachment, emotion regulation and attention, and draws out the implications for preventive measures and promotion of emotional well-being. The authors, from a range of professional disciplines, emphasise the importance of early intervention and prevention, exploring in particular how initiatives in parenting and education can promote children's emotional well-being. The topics they cover include: * the prevention and management of addiction and eating disorders * the development of culturally sensitive services for ethnic minority children and families * the impact of parenting programmes and the life skills education programmes in schools * ways of meeting the mental health needs of children who are socially excluded, homeless or in local authority care. Providing examples of a broad range of projects and initiatives in Britain and other European countries, this handbook will be an invaluable resource for all professionals working in child and adolescent mental health.

This book, which draws together contributions from specialists in child, adolescent and family psychiatry, child psychotherapy, social work, community psychiatric nursing, educational therapy, special needs coordination in teaching, and general practice, provides a valuable resource for those professionals in contact with young people suffering from depression.

Children and Adolescents in Trauma presents a variety of creative approaches to working with young people in residential children's homes, secure or psychiatric units, and special schools. The contributors describe a wide range of approaches, including art therapy and literature, and how creative methods are applied in cases of abuse, trauma, violence, self-harm and identity development. They discuss the impact of abuse and mistreatment upon the mental health of 'looked after' children, drawing links between psychoanalytic theory and practice and the study of literature and the arts. This indispensable book provides useful insights and a fresh perspective for anyone working with traumatised children and adolescents, including social workers, psychotherapists, arts therapists, psychiatrists, counsellors, psychologists and students in these fields.

Experts from a variety of disciplines contribute to this substantially revised edition of this popular handbook - new chapters are included on identity work, refugee children, and the work of the Asian Project. The book also examines the central importance for professionals of the Lawrence Enquiry; the move to include more public services in the Race Relations Act; increased awareness of institutional racism; and the specific inclusion of ethnic minority children in health improvement programmes. Offering practical guidance based on sound research and practice, the book provides a focus on some of the most difficult and topical aspects of this field of work.

It is a particular and very personal pleasure to contribute a foreword to this important book... I congratulate the authors and editor on their achievement, and warmly recommend Group Work with Children and Adolescents as vital reading for all those involved in the treatment of children's emotional problems.' - From the Foreword by Robin Skynner A comprehensive resource manual, this book looks at the theory and development of group work as a form of family therapy, the settings in which group work may be used, and effective therapeutic methods. The book also discusses how to deal with themes that may orient groups and the administrative and management concerns involved in groups work.