First published in 1996. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This handbook offers a compilation of background information, techniques and scenarios based on the Acting Out programme that offers theatre skills/counselling for groups of adolescents, free of charge. AO teens become performers, creating issues-oriented, audience-interactive, improvizational scenes with a variety of audiences.
Written for leaders who are familiar with improvizational theatre and working with groups, Part 1 discusses the importance of leader training, experience and intention. Psychodrama, sociodrama and theatre scenework are explained in some detail, with references offered for those who wish to learn more about these areas before proceeding. Information about group selection criteria, procedures and techniques for using the scenarios complete this section.
Part Two offers a set of eight topics each with its own list of scenarios. Each scenario begins with information about characters, settings and situations, and offerrs acting notes as well as age- appropriaeteness. A list of resources appears at the beginning of each thematic set of scenarios.

At a time when expectations and assumptions about the delivery of services to children and adolescents are being reconfigured - for example, around the rights of children and adolescents as young citizens - adults are seeking to ensure that they deliver services in creative and empowering ways, ensuring that the opinions of young people are actively solicited and encouraged. Action methods - communication methods using the body as well as speech - provide non-threatening ways of communicating which can be understood by children of all ages and from many cultures. This book places action methods in a theoretical, technical and political framework and documents examples of good practice. Discussion of the application of action methods to work with young people focuses on differing issues and populations, for example children and adolescents who face life-threatening illnesses, or those involved in peer counselling in schools. Contributions from several different countries emphasise the wide potential of action methods for use with young people. This book provides a comprehensive and wide-ranging resource for those interested in exploring and understanding why action methods are particularly useful when working with young people.

Rebels with a Cause is a comprehensive guide to working with adolescents using action techniques and dramatherapy. Drawing on years of experience working with adolescents and of training practitioners in the field, Cossa provides a tried-and-tested model for working with adolescents in groups. Utilizing techniques found in psychodrama, sociodrama, dramatherapy and sociometry, Cossa offers step-by-step practical guidelines on running a group development programme and summarizes the supporting theory in easy-to-understand language. He offers advice on facilitating group and personal development, and also on working with particular groups of adolescents, for example those with developmental disabilities or from different cultures. This illuminating and accessible book provides invaluable insight into working successfully - and enjoyably - with adolescent groups. It is essential reading for practicing therapists and anyone working with adolescents in therapeutic settings.