New Directions in the Treatment of Aggressive Behavior in Persons with Mental and Developmental Disabilities was written because of the paucity of practical, evidence-based and person-centered information regarding the treatment and management of aggressive behavior exhibited by persons with these disabilities. This book will acquaint readers about the: *scope of aggression among the mentally and developmentally disabled persons *basic principles for designing and validating novel treatments for aggressive behavior *comprehensive functional assessment of aggression that permits individualized design of treatment interventions with a high likelihood of success in reducing or eliminating aggression toward others or self. *positive behavior supports for a wide range of developmentally disabled persons, including those with traumatic brain injuries *currently validated, evidence-based medications for the control of aggression and how to use medications so they are monitored for effectiveness *cognitive-behavior therapy for aggression among the mentally ill *national and international dissemination and adoption of the treatment techniques described in this book The major reason for writing this book was to bring these new directions in the effective treatment of aggressive behavior into the mainstream of services for persons with mental and developmental disabilities. The Editors engaged in enormous efforts of dissemination -- far beyond publications and presentations to professional colleagues at conferences, conventions and institutes. Our extensive dissemination efforts - where they given workshops and training institutes - have taken place in China, Japan, India, Turkey, Israel, Algeria, Spain, France, Italy, Bulgaria, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia, Austria, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, U.K., Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. For example, our colleagues in China recently informed us that over 50,000 Chinese persons with schizophrenia have participated in our published modules for training social and independent living skills. Our previous books have been translated in numerous languages, and at last count are in active use in 23 countries. Their goal in writing this book was to encourage various service agencies, treatment facilities and clinical teams to use positive techniques in managing aggressive behavior and teach appropriate communication and self-management skills.

This book reports on the use of behavioural support – an evidence-based approach developed in the USA to meet students’ special educational needs – in Australia and selected thriving Asian countries. It brings together key issues and insights into how educational policy and practices in different societies and cultures influence the uptake of behavioural support in schools and classrooms. The book provides a balanced and highly informative perspective on the historical paths of development and current expansion of behavioural support into regular schools in the USA. It also offers insights into the progress of its implementation outside the Western context of the USA and Europe and its influence on capacity building among professionals within various contexts across the Asia-Pacific region. Case studies from Australia demonstrate the effectiveness of multi-tiered behavioural support in a state government education system for a population of diverse students, and address the resultant adaptation of tiers when it is implemented in a nongovernment school organisation for students with autism. Case studies from Singapore, Mainland China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan reveal the cultural practices and organisational issues that produce distinctive characteristics of behavioural support in inclusive and special education within these countries. This book offers essential guidance to educational decision-makers in these countries and communities around diverse students in considering their next steps towards using behavioural supports proposed in the American blueprints for implementing and building capacity for use in any context.

Scarcely a day passes without the media detailing some form of human aggression, whether it be on its grandest scale in the form of war, random bombings and shootings in the streets, torture in a prison camp, murder by gangs, wife abuse resulting in the murder of the husband, or the physical abuse of children, sometimes resulting in their death. Frequently perpetrators of human aggression, when arrested and tried in court, resort to a psychiatric defense. But are all such aggressors indeed appropriately psychiatric patients? And if so, what are their particular diagnoses and how do these relate to aggression? Also of concern is aggression directed against self, as evidenced in the rising incidence of suicide among young people or the self-mutilation of patients suffering from certain personality disorders. Both violence directed outward and aggression toward oneself pose considerable challenges to clinical management, whether in the therapist's office or in the inpatient unit. Although we have not been able to find successful deterrents to aggression, a sizeable body of evidence does exist, certainly of a descriptive nature. Such data for psychiatric patients are scattered, however, and can be found in literatures as diverse as the biological, ethological, epidemiological, legal, philosophical, psychological, psychiatric, and crimi nological. Therefore, given the increased frequency with which mental health professionals encounter cases of violence in their day-to-day work, we believed it important that existing data be adduced in one comprehensive volume.

The diagnosis and treatment of persons with severe intellectual disabilities who have mental health disorders,often manifested by challenging behaviours has often been a concern for service providers and caregivers. This book covers the dual diagnosis, pharmacology and behavioral strategies with an emphasis on treatment.

New trends in research, assessment and treatment are currently visible in the forensic field in three relatively separate areas: the use of neuropsychology, biomarkers, and wearables and VR-technology in forensic mental health. These areas individually can make a valuable contribution to improving forensic assessments and treatment but combined they might even have a greater impact. For example, heart rate variability (a biomarker) can be visualized during Virtual Reality (VR) scenarios to increase patients’ insights into their physiological responses. With our topic 'New Directions in Forensic Psychology: Applying Neuropsychology, Biomarkers and Technology in Assessment and Intervention’ we hope to offer more insight into the state of scientific developments in the aforementioned areas as they relate to forensic psychology. As a result, we hope to be able to pinpoint lacking knowledge and offer suggestions for further research.

Decades of research have demonstrated that the parent-child dyad and the environment of the familyâ€"which includes all primary caregiversâ€"are at the foundation of children's well- being and healthy development. From birth, children are learning and rely on parents and the other caregivers in their lives to protect and care for them. The impact of parents may never be greater than during the earliest years of life, when a child's brain is rapidly developing and when nearly all of her or his experiences are created and shaped by parents and the family environment. Parents help children build and refine their knowledge and skills, charting a trajectory for their health and well-being during childhood and beyond. The experience of parenting also impacts parents themselves. For instance, parenting can enrich and give focus to parents' lives; generate stress or calm; and create any number of emotions, including feelings of happiness, sadness, fulfillment, and anger. Parenting of young children today takes place in the context of significant ongoing developments. These include: a rapidly growing body of science on early childhood, increases in funding for programs and services for families, changing demographics of the U.S. population, and greater diversity of family structure. Additionally, parenting is increasingly being shaped by technology and increased access to information about parenting. Parenting Matters identifies parenting knowledge, attitudes, and practices associated with positive developmental outcomes in children ages 0-8; universal/preventive and targeted strategies used in a variety of settings that have been effective with parents of young children and that support the identified knowledge, attitudes, and practices; and barriers to and facilitators for parents' use of practices that lead to healthy child outcomes as well as their participation in effective programs and services. This report makes recommendations directed at an array of stakeholders, for promoting the wide-scale adoption of effective programs and services for parents and on areas that warrant further research to inform policy and practice. It is meant to serve as a roadmap for the future of parenting policy, research, and practice in the United States.

This book explores the response of forensic psychiatry and psychology to changes over the last several decades. It presents the disciplines themselves as change agents that have shaped forensic work, public policy, and law. Topics include selected developments in forensic practice, the management and treatment of individuals who have had involvement with law enforcement systems, and the application of administrative principles to the management of forensic entities.