Over the past two decades, significant advancement has been made in understanding the role the brain plays in human behavior. Along with this new and exciting information emerges a responsibility for therapeutic professionals to have a solid understanding of the "brain basics" needed to support the lives of troubled children and youth. The Hopeful Brain authors provide a common-sense look at modern neuroscience and its application to positive youth development, psychology and educational support. Baker and White-McMahon take on the often daunting world of complex neuroscience and provide readers with practical strategies that are easy to use and apply across a variety of settings. This book explores the importance of using strength-based interventions and creating structured opportunities to "reimburse" troubled children and youth with positive experiences that teach and transform.

This book draws on positive psychology as well as strengths-based and solution-focused practices to empower adults to help children instead of reacting to their behavior. Erik K. Laursen, PhD, who has spent his career helping high-risk children and their families, identifies ten intentional responsive adult practices to give children the tools they need to overcome adversity. Learn how to: support young people to grow and develop throughout childhood, adolescence, into young adulthood; provide supportive relationships where children and young people thrive; and help children overcome social and emotional problems that are significant barriers to well-being. While numerous books, articles, and courses focus on the long-term effects of childhood trauma, this knowledge alone does not give us the tools we need to help children thrive. By learning how to reflect and intentionally respond to childrenÕs pain, which is the focus of this book, youÕll be able to help young people transform their lives.

How can professionals work together with foster carers to create stable and therapeutic foster placements? Team Parenting for Children in Foster Care describes a unique model of supporting children in care which involves foster carers and professionals working together in the best interests of the child. This book lays out the key principles of Team Parenting - to meet the needs of troubled young people in an integrated way and incorporate therapy within a wider team of social workers, therapists, psychologists and foster carers - as well as the theory behind it and interventions used. It details how the approach contributes to the recovery of looked after children and each chapter includes examples that illustrates how Team Parenting works in practice. Team Parenting for Children in Foster Care includes ideas for systems and individual practice that will inform and improve foster carers' and professionals' work in any setting.

In this comprehensive resource, Liana Lowenstein has compiled an impressive collection of techniques from experienced practitioners. Interventions are outlined for engaging, assessing, and treating children of all ages and their families. Activities address a range of issues including, Feelings Expression, Social Skills, Self-Esteem, and Termination. A "must have" for mental health professionals seeking to add creative interventions to their repertoire.

Winner of the American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year 2011 (Category: Maternal And Child Health) Building on children's natural inclinations to pretend and reenact, play therapy is widely used in the treatment of psychological problems in childhood. This book is the only one of its kind with more than 200 therapeutic activities specifically designed for working with children and teenagers within the healthcare system. It provides evidence-based, age-appropriate activities for interventions that promote coping. The activities target topics such as separation anxiety, self-esteem issues, body image, death, isolation, and pain. Mental health practitioners will appreciate its "cookbook" format, with quickly read and implemented activities.

There¿s never been a more chaotic and tenuous time in our nation¿s educational story.Learning is the most natural thing human beings do. Yet, it seems the ¿harder¿ we work in schools helping our students to acquire the learning they need, the academic performances stay stagnant or lessen. Schools are not machines. Schools are a network of human beings who feel, think, behave, and function within a human system that is alive and never static. Schools are living systems. This living system of sentient beings are neuro-biologically wired to feel first; to think, to love, to connect, and to experience deep joy as well as deep disappointment and pain. This system is wired to thrive, even through difficult times¿ Lori and Michael believe that we can begin to create wholeness and connection within our schools, and help them to thrive, mindfully and by design.

Children often struggle to cope with anger, and angry feelings can boil over into aggression and destructive behaviour. This resource takes a different approach to anger, teaching children how to be angry effectively, rather than telling them not to be angry at all. This group program provides step-by-step guidelines for building anger management and assertive emotional expression skills through tailored lessons, group activities and thought-provoking discussions. Participants will learn specific skills such as: · Using I-Statements · Standing Up to Bullies · Disagreeing without Arguing · Making and Refusing Requests · Responding to Anger · Finding Win—Win Solutions Suitable for use with children and teenagers aged 5 - 18, this engaging resource will help children to overcome self-destructive patterns of passive, aggressive, and passive aggressive behaviour. It will be of great use to educators, counselors, social workers, youth care professionals, psychologists and parents.