Timely in subject and original in perspective, Nurturing Hidden Resilience in Troubled Youth challenges what popular media refer to as a 'youth problem.'

This book assembles a wide range of explanatory perspectives on social inequalities in health. Everywhere in the world, those with less advantage die younger and suffer more illness than the wealthy. Decades of research have documented this reality and yet we lack a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms through which social circumstances ultimately influence the biological processes that lead to disease. Explanations have been proposed from various disciplines – economics, psychology, behavioral science, geography, and neuroscience – and each sheds light on parts of the overall process. But very few texts assemble these insights into an overall explanatory paradigm. Through a review of concepts and theories from a wide range of disciplines, the author outlines how these may be woven together to offer a more complete picture of how social influences 'get under the skin' to affect health and disease. As well as understanding individual health, the book assembles explanations for social disparities in health. It concludes with a proposal for a set of explanatory models that cross disciplinary boundaries. Topics explored include: Social Inequalities in Health Explanation and Causal Models for Social Epidemiology Social and Economic Theories to Explain Patterns of Disease Biological Pathways Linking Social Determinants to Health Theoretical Models of Health Behavior Work Environment and Health Social Networks, Social Support and Health Positive Influences on Health: Coping and Control The Relationship Between Personality and Health Understanding Health Determinants: Explanatory Theories for Social Epidemiology is a textbook for graduate students in epidemiology, health sciences, health policy, and psychology, as well as social science students who are studying health. It will also be of interest to general readers, and can serve as a reference for researchers in epidemiology and the health sciences who are planning studies of the social determinants of health. The book reviews theories that could be tested in such studies.

The psychotherapist and author of Scripts People Live shows readers how to use their personal strengths to achieve what they want. Claude M. Steiner (1935–2017) was a bestselling author and psychotherapist who pioneered the popular field of Transactional Analysis, which involves analysis of an individual’s social interactions as a basis for understanding behavior. First published in 1981 and now back in print, The Other Side of Power is the sequel to Dr. Steiner’s influential Scripts People Live and feels as relevant today as ever. Power—we all want it, we all need it. We feel its effects in our business, family, and personal relationships. In this accessible volume, Dr. Steiner shows how everyone can be powerful without being power-hungry. Instead of chasing the increasingly empty and improbably “conventional American power dream,” as Dr. Steiner puts it, the other side of power—our own personal strengths—can be used to get us what we want. This humane approach is not predicated upon the exploitation or manipulation of others, which leads to power for the few and not the many. In clear terms and with specific examples, the author shows how to draw instead upon individual strengths to neutralize and turn to advantage situations that could otherwise result in feeling of powerlessness. The Other Side of Power teaches us that once we understand the nature of power, we can learn to deal with it more comfortably and use it toward more rewarding personal and professional relationships. Dr. Steiner’s classic in psychological theory offers a meaningful and practical guide to harnessing the other side of power.

There is a healthy development in the human service professions these days. At community clinics, private practices, and universities around the country mental health professionals and service providers are working with increased awareness of the toxic effects of social inequities in the lives of people they aim to help. Quietly, by acting out thei

′This book, written from an international perspective and thus eminently readable by a wider audience, draws on the author′s considerable experience and is amply supplied with a good range of illustrations from real-life practice...The logical structure and accessible style makes this a useful addition to the personal library of anyone who has an interest in "bottom-up" empowerment-based approaches to health promotion′ - RCN Research Headlines ′The author draws on a wealth of personal experiences in the field, giving the book both readability and credibility. Good examples from different international contexts, illustrated in relevant case studies, let the reader relate theory to practice and bring the concepts to life. The author takes the central thrust of health promotion for the past few decades and unravels it for the reader in a clear, comprehensive way′ - Health Matters In health promotion, the concept of power can be defined as the ability to create or resist change, and this is an important foundation for individual and community health. By enabling people to empower themselves, health promoters can provide the capacity for the individual or community to change their lives and their living conditions, and therefore their health. Health Promotion Practice explores the issue of how such an approach to health promotion practice can improve a community′s success towards achieving healthier conditions through its own actions. Placing empowerment at the heart of health promotion practice, and offering advice for health promoters who accept the challenge to work in such a way, Health Promotion Practice defines key concepts of health, health promotion and community empowerment. It also: Introduces readers to a ′social′ model of health promotion practice, one that attempts to get at the underlying social determinants of disease; Helps readers understand the importance of power relations and their transformation in this practice; Introduces readers to a new `community capacity-building′ approach to plan, implement and evaluate health promotion programmes. Health Promotion Practice is an invaluable resource to students and practitioners of health promotion who want to help empower the communities that they work with.

Forbidden Narratives: Critical Autobiography as Social Science explores overlapping layers of voices and stories that convey the social relations of psychiatric survivor participation within a community mental health service system. It is written from the perspective of a woman who, in the course of working with the survivor movement, had a physical and emotional breakdown. Ironically, the author found herself personally confronted with issues she typically dealt with only from a distance: as a mental health professional, a researcher, and an activist. The author of this volume writes herself into her work as a major character. Narratives such as this have traditionally been forbidden as outside proper professional standards. Now they are claiming and receiving attention. Forbidden Narratives has the power to speak to a broad audience not only of mental health professionals but also policy makers, sociologists and feminists. It is about the breaking up of professional discourse. It demonstrates and signals profound changes in the social sciences.