Supporting Troubled Young People provides a vital and much-needed resource for anyone involved with children and young people who are suffering from or at risk of developing, mental health problems. Problems such as self-harm, eating disorders, and anxiety and depression are increasing, while young men, in particular, are at increasing risk of suicide. This is against a backdrop of NHS CAMH services unable to cope with demand and resources in the voluntary sector being stretched beyond their capacity. This means parents, teachers, social workers and nurses are often the first and only help available. This book gives them a jargon-free, accessible guide to help them assess situations, provide skills and guidance to support children and young people, and know how and where to get more help for them. Full of practical tips, advice, exercises and case studies. Articulates gender, multi-cultural, spirituality and sexuality issues. Tackles contemporary issues such as cyber bullying, eating disorders and self-harm. Uses research and established theory in an engaging way enabling the reader to translate ideas into modern multi-cultural practice. Supporting Troubled Young People provides any worker involved in supporting, helping and caring for young people with a practical resource to use in their work as teachers, social workers, nurses, youth workers, doctors, foster carers, residential staff, psychologists and psychiatrists. Parents and young people will also find much of value here. "This book makes a rich contribution to the understanding and treatment of children’s mental health at a time when this is desperately needed. It is well-informed, full of case illustrations to guide the reader, and is written by a compassionate therapist and researcher with a solid grasp of the complex social environment in which children live today." Dr Chris Nicholson – Head of the Department of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies, University of Essex

The first "adolescent primer" on the market Destructive trends among today's youth are growing, making life very different from when their parents were growing up. The primary four self-destructive behaviors in adolescence today are excessive alcohol and substance abuse, promiscuity, self mutilation (ie: cutting and burning), and eating disorders. These will be covered in detail, along with other issues like Internet addiction and suicide. These problems are not only detrimental to teens' mental and physical health, but the legal consequences for injurious behavior have also changed. Identification and prevention are the most important aspects in stopping teenage self-destructive behavior. This book offers a comprehensive look at teens self destructive behavior and gives parents solutions for dealing with it. Helping Your Troubled Teen instructs parents on how to identify an at-risk adolescent and discuss warning signs of injurious behavior, before the problem(s) become severe enough that a child is in crisis and/or legal actions are taken against them. Personal anecdotes and testimonials from both parents and their teenagers who have been confronted with and have engaged in self-destructive behavior are also included. McLean Hospital is the largest psychiatric teaching facility of Harvard Medical School. Founded in 1811 as the original psychiatric department of the MGH, it moved to Belmont in 1895. McLean Hospital operates the largest psychiatric neuroscience research program of any Harvard University-affiliated facility and of any private psychiatric hospital in the country. The Child and Adolescent Program at McLean Hospital is one of the foremost clinical programs for helping young people and their families cope with psychiatric illness and the challenges it often brings. There are extensive ties with community services, and each therapeutic program of children and adolescents in inpatient, residential and outpatient services is tailored to the specific needs of the child and family.

A Road Map for Parenting in the Troubled Years It is never too late for parents to reach their teenager or young adult. Licensed counselor Connie Rae draws from professional and personal experience to provide insight, encouragement, and advice. Offering wise counsel and a reassuring tone, she helps parents better understand their child's temperament, their own parenting style, and the developmental process their child is going through. She also discusses the world in which their teenager is growing up, which is very different than many parents realize. Each chapter ends with a list of practical steps and a prayer, giving parents wise advice but also offering hope through the process.

Working with Troubled Children and Teenagers is an easy to understand guide packed with wisdom for anyone working with or caring for troubled children and teens. Author Jonny Matthew has decades of experience of working with young people, and offers simple but hard-won advice about how to earn the trust and respect of even the most challenging young people. It all starts with you, the adult, adopting a position of respect and patience. It's only then that children and young people will start to respond. From this starting point, Jonny provides a wealth of practical advice across a wide range of challenging topics - from the use of touch and understanding boundaries through to repairing relationships when things break down. Jonny uses case examples and stories throughout to bring his advice to life. This inspiring book is essential reading for any adult invested in improving the lives of troubled children, including youth workers, social workers, foster carers and child counsellors.

The troubled-teen industry, with its scaremongering and claims of miraculous changes in behavior through harsh discipline, has existed in one form or another for decades, despite a dearth of evidence supporting its methods. And the growing number of programs that make up this industry are today finding more customers than ever. Maia Szalavitz's Help at Any Cost is the first in-depth investigation of this industry and its practices, starting with its roots in the cultlike sixties rehabilitation program Synanon and Large Group Awareness Training organizations likeest in the seventies; continuing with Straight, Inc., which received Nancy Reagan's seal of approval in the eighties; and culminating with a look at the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs-the leading force in the industry today-which has begun setting up shop in foreign countries to avoid regulation. Szalavitz uncovers disturbing findings about these programs' methods, including allegation of physical and verbal abuse, and presents us with moving, often horrifying, first-person accounts of kids who made it through-as well as stories of those who didn't survive. The book also contains a thoughtfully compiled guide for parents, which details effective treatment alternatives. Weaving careful reporting with astute analysis, Maia Szalavitz has written an important and timely survey that will change the way we look at rebellious teens-and the people to whom we entrust them. Help at Any Cost is a vital resource with an urgent message that will draw attention to a compelling issue long overlooked.

Supporting Traumatized Children and Teenagers is an accessible, comprehensive book providing an overview of the impact of trauma on children and adolescents and how they can be supported following trauma. Trauma can result from a range of experiences from bullying to witnessing violence to living through war. This book explores the different reactions children may experience, and the impact trauma can have. Variables affecting the impact of trauma are explored such as different developmental stages, gender, the reactions of friends and parents, the child's personality, and their caring environment. Appropriate and effective ways of helping children after a traumatic event are outlined, and different types of therapy, such as group therapy and cognitive behavioural therapy, are discussed. The book offers case examples and practical tips throughout, and includes a chapter on how someone working with a traumatized child can help and look after themselves. This book will be invaluable to a range of professionals working with traumatized children including counsellors, child and family social workers and therapists, as well as others involved with traumatized children such as foster carers and teachers.

Youth mentoring can be an effective way of supporting troubled youth, helping them sustain positive mental health, cope with stress, and lead successful lives through adolescence and into adulthood. This book is a comprehensive guide to youth mentoring programmes, illustrating how, if managed well, they can increase the social support available to young people. It outlines the objectives and benefits of mentoring, how it works, and how to mentor successfully. Youth mentoring in community and school settings is covered, as well as mentoring for vulnerable youth. The book illustrates different mentoring models and provides practical strategies for assessing, setting up, and monitoring the mentoring relationship and its outcomes for the young person. The challenges and difficulties associated with mentoring programmes and strategies to overcome them are also addressed. This will be an essential guide for anyone working with young people, including youth workers, social workers, residential care staff, foster carers, community development workers, teachers and community police.