This book presents the concept of group-centered prevention and provides explanations and exercises for learning the method and teaching it to others. Detailed studies offer evidence for the continuing importance of prevention in mental well-being and distinguishes group-centered prevention from other group interventions by its ability to resolve incipient mental health issues and emotional problems. Case examples with adults, children, couples, and others demonstrate successful uses of group-centered techniques as well as illustrate the problems that arise in group settings. The book's ready-to-apply training exercises give prospective group leaders practice in starting new groups, fostering cohesion, integrating therapeutic factors into sessions, and other core skills. Featured topics include: Group-centered prevention in contrast with other group interventions. Characteristics of effective leaders in group-centered prevention. Benefits of prevention groups as opposed to those gained in counseling and therapy. Key constructs of self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation in group-centered prevention. Stages of development in new groups. Formats for developing training exercises. Group-Centered Prevention in Mental Health is an essential resource for scientist-practitioners, clinicians, and researchers as well as graduate students in such disciplines as school psychology, social work, and public health. Its educational uses span classroom, workshop, and training settings across the health and healing disciplines.

This fourth book in the Prevention Practice Kit introduces the topic of prevention groups and illustrates how to apply that definition to real-world settings for counselors, psychologists, mental health workers, and prevention specialists working with groups in schools, hospitals, community organizations, and private practice. Readers will find practical suggestions on how to design, conduct, and organize prevention groups such as psychoeducational groups, group-centered prevention groups, and therapy prevention groups. Examples from research, along with case study examples, help to illustrate important concepts in both theory and practice. This book is part of the Prevention Practice Kit: Action Guides for Mental Health, a collection of eight books each authored by scholars in the specific field of prevention and edited by Dr. Robert K. Conyne and Dr. Arthur M. Horne. The books in the collection conform to the editors′ outline to promote a consistent reading experience. Designed to provide human services practitioners, counselors, psychologists, social workers, instructors, and students with concrete direction for spreading and improving the practice of prevention, the series provides thorough coverage of prevention application including a general overview of prevention, best practices, diversity and cultural relevance, psychoeducational groups, consultation, program development and evaluation, evidence base, and public policy. This book is endorsed by the Prevention Section of the Society of Counseling Psychology of the American Psychological Association. Fifty percent of all royalties are donated to Division 17 of the APA.

"This book is part of the 'Prevention practice kit : action guides for mental health professionals,' a collection of eight books each authored by scholars in the specific field of prevention and edited by Dr. Robert K. Conyne and Dr. Arthur M. Horne. The books in the collection conform to the editors' outline to promote a consistent reading experience. Designed to provide human services practitioners, counselors, psychologists, social workers, instructors, and students with concrete direction for spreading and improving the practice of prevention, the series provides thorough coverage of prevention application including a general overview of prevention, best practices, diversity and cultural relevance, psychoeducational groups, consultation, program development and evaluation, evidence base, and public policy. This book is endorsed by the Prevention Section of the Society of Counseling Psychology of the American Psychological Association. Fifty percent of all royalties are donated to Division 17 of the APA.."--Back cover.

School psychologists, counselors, and educators in the K-12 setting face the daunting responsibility of finding balance between mandated testing, students’ mental-health concerns, and additional academic help for at-risk students. One solution to this dilemma is to implement a school-based mental health approach that combines learning and counseling needs into a single program. Several types of successful programs are available, though week-long intensive programs have recently increased in popularity. Group-Centered Prevention Programs for At-Risk Students focuses on the development of such a week-long prevention program, and provides professionals with step-by-step directions to create their own program. It also focuses on the use of group-centered interventions as an opportunity to prevent at-risk behaviors as a means of correcting or changing dysfunctional behavior. This highly readable volume addresses such challenging issues as: Using self-reflection to teach writing skills. Increasing interpersonal interaction while honing etiquette. Enhancing group acceptance and reading comprehension. Rebuilding self-efficacy by increasing word recognition and decoding skills. With its solid research foundation combined with clear, practical program descriptions, this volume is an essential addition to the libraries of researchers and practitioners alike in the disciplines of school psychology, education, social work, psychotherapy and counseling, and clinical child psychology.

Estimates indicate that as many as 1 in 4 Americans will experience a mental health problem or will misuse alcohol or drugs in their lifetimes. These disorders are among the most highly stigmatized health conditions in the United States, and they remain barriers to full participation in society in areas as basic as education, housing, and employment. Improving the lives of people with mental health and substance abuse disorders has been a priority in the United States for more than 50 years. The Community Mental Health Act of 1963 is considered a major turning point in America's efforts to improve behavioral healthcare. It ushered in an era of optimism and hope and laid the groundwork for the consumer movement and new models of recovery. The consumer movement gave voice to people with mental and substance use disorders and brought their perspectives and experience into national discussions about mental health. However over the same 50-year period, positive change in American public attitudes and beliefs about mental and substance use disorders has lagged behind these advances. Stigma is a complex social phenomenon based on a relationship between an attribute and a stereotype that assigns undesirable labels, qualities, and behaviors to a person with that attribute. Labeled individuals are then socially devalued, which leads to inequality and discrimination. This report contributes to national efforts to understand and change attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that can lead to stigma and discrimination. Changing stigma in a lasting way will require coordinated efforts, which are based on the best possible evidence, supported at the national level with multiyear funding, and planned and implemented by an effective coalition of representative stakeholders. Ending Discrimination Against People with Mental and Substance Use Disorders: The Evidence for Stigma Change explores stigma and discrimination faced by individuals with mental or substance use disorders and recommends effective strategies for reducing stigma and encouraging people to seek treatment and other supportive services. It offers a set of conclusions and recommendations about successful stigma change strategies and the research needed to inform and evaluate these efforts in the United States.

Tapping into the therapeutic potential of groups, this volume presents the theory and practice of cognitive-oriented group-centered counseling – combining intrinsic motivation, efficacy retraining, and targeted play therapy and social role-playing – that can be implemented to help children build core social skills and emotional regulation to complement their classroom instruction. In addition to providing a complete framework for developing, facilitating, and evaluating group interventions with children in their natural learning environments, this book offers observational exercises to assist readers in gaining a deeper understanding of group interventions.