"Aggressive behavior during childhood and adolescence is an important risk factor for later serious and persistent adjustment problems in adulthood, including criminal behavior, school dropout as well as family-related and economic problems. Researchers have thus deployed considerable efforts to uncover what drives individuals to attack and hurt others. Each chapter explores the issue of aggression with an introduction, theoretical considerations, measures and methods, research findings, implications, and future directions"--

This book is the most comprehensive and detailed compilation of specific and practical techniques available for child and play therapists to draw on in the treatment of aggressive children. Written by two authors with a combined experience of over 50 years in the residential t...

From a team of leading experts comes a comprehensive, multidisciplinary examination of the most current research including the complex issue of violence and violent behavior. The handbook examines a range of theoretical, policy, and research issues and provides a comprehensive overview of aggressive and violent behavior. The breadth of coverage is impressive, ranging from research on biological factors related to violence and behavior-genetics to research on terrrorism and the impact of violence in different cultures. The authors examine violence from international cross-cultural perspectives, with chapters that examine both quantitative and qualitative research. They also look at violence at multiple levels: individual, family, neighborhood, cultural, and across multiple perspectives and systems, including treatment, justice, education, and public health.

Presenting cutting-edge work from leading scholars, this authoritative handbook reviews the breadth of current knowledge on aggression from infancy through adolescence. The volume explores the forms and functions of aggression and the multiple factors that contribute to its emergence, development, and consequences, including genetic and biological influences, temperament, family dynamics, peer relations, and social inequality. It provides up-to-date perspectives on problems such as disruptive and defiant behaviors, bullying (including cyberbullying), social aggression, and youth violence, and examines relations between aggression and normative social–emotional and social-cognitive development. It also discusses the opposite end of the spectrum, including kindness and prosocial behaviors. Identifying important implications for practice and policy, contributors describe effective approaches to screening, assessment, and intervention in family, school, community, and clinical settings.

Is it school refusal or separation anxiety disorder? Can preschoolers have panic attacks? Does food neophobia really exist? For readers seeking ways to improve assessment, case conceptualization, or treatment plans as well as a more general understanding of anxiety disorders among children, the Handbook of Child and Adolescent Anxiety Disorders addresses these and many other complex issues. A straightforward companion to the diagnostic manuals, this volume crosses theoretical boundaries to describe in depth the wide range of children’s anxiety disorders and to explain the developmental nuances that separate them from their adult analogues. Coverage includes: Diagnostic and etiological models of children’s anxiety disorders (i.e., genetic, cognitive-behavioral, taxonomic, neuropsychological, dimensional). Differential diagnosis guidelines for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), phobic conditions, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in youth. Ancillary factors in child and adolescent anxiety (e.g., personality, temperament, parenting issues, and comorbid conditions). Psychological, pharmacological, and combined treatments for childhood anxiety disorders. Special populations and emerging areas of interest, including anxiety disorders in the contexts of chronic health problems and developmental disabilities. The Handbook of Child and Adolescent Anxiety Disorders is a must-have reference for researchers, clinicians, and graduate students in psychology, psychiatry, social work and counseling as well as allied professionals in hospitals, community mental health centers, schools, and private practice.

A step-by-step resource for treating more than 40 prevalent issues with proven strategies This comprehensive handbook for evidence-based mental health and learning interventions with children and adolescents is distinguished by its explicit yet concise guidance on implementation in practice. With a compendium of proven strategies for resolving more than 40 of the most pressing and prevalent issues facing young people, the book provides immediate guidance and uniform step-by-step instructions for resolving issues ranging from psychopathological disorders to academic problems. Busy academics, practitioners, and trainees in schools and outpatient clinical settings will find this resource to be an invaluable desktop reference for facilitating well-informed decision-making. Unlike other volumes that ignore or merely reference the evidence base of various interventions, this book focuses on providing immediate, empirically supported guidance for putting these strategies into direct practice. Issues covered include crisis interventions and response, social and emotional issues, academic/learning issues, psychopathological disorders, neuropsychological disorders, and the behavioral management of childhood health issues. Each chapter follows a consistent format including a brief description of the problem and associated characteristics, etiology and contributing factors, and three evidence-based, step-by-step sets of instructions for implementation. Additionally, each chapter provides several websites offering further information about the topic. Featuring contributions from leading scholars and practitioners on each issue covered, this book will be a valuable resource for child clinical and school psychologists, counselors, social workers, and therapists as well as other health and mental health professionals whose primary practice is with children and adolescents. Key Features: Demonstrates step-by-step, evidence-based interventions for more than 40 common childhood issues Provides treatment procedures that can be immediately put into practice Covers a wide range of mental health and academic/learning issues for children and adolescents Relevance for both school-based and clinically-based practice Includes contributions by noted experts in the field

Antisocial acts by children and teens are on the rise – from verbal abuse to physical bullying to cyber-threats to weapons in schools. Strictly punitive responses to aggressive behaviour may even escalate a situation, leaving peers, parents, and teachers feeling helpless. This unique volume conceptualizes aggression as a symptom of underlying behavioural and emotional problems and examines the psychology of perpetrators and the power dynamics that foster intentionally hurtful behaviour in young people. It details for readers how bibliotherapy offers relevant, innovative, and flexible treatment – as a standalone intervention or as a preventive method in conjunction with other forms of treatment – and can be implemented with individuals and groups, parents, teachers, and even rivals. This unique, must-have resource is essential reading for school psychologists, school counselors, social workers, and clinical child psychologists and any allied educational and mental health professionals who work with troubled youth.

Understanding and Treating the Aggression of Children: Fawns in Gorilla Suits provides a thorough review of the theoretical and research basis of the techniques and interventions in the treatment of aggressive and sometimes violent children. This is not a dry and sterile academic review but rather one that comes from work directly in the therapy room with thousands of hurting and in many cases traumatized children. One cannot read this book without being deeply moved and touched by the pain of these children and yet also be buoyed by their courage and willingness to persevere against formidable barriers. The metaphor of the fawn in a gorilla suit is introduced, followed by chapters covering developmental failures and invisible wounds, profound and unacknowledged losses, the implication of new findings from neuroscience, psychodynamics of aggressive children, risk factors when treating the traumatized child, special considerations when treating children in foster care, strengthening relationships with parents and helping them be more effective, enhancing relationships with direct care and instructional staff, developing mature defenses, and coping skills, creating a therapeutic milieu for traumatized children, and fostering hope and resilience.

This handbook describes in detail different contemporary approaches to group work with children and adolescents. Further, this volume illustrates the application of these models to work with the youth of today, whether victims of trauma, adolescents struggling with LGBT issues, or youth with varying common diagnoses such as autism spectrum disorders, depression, and anxiety. It offers chapters presenting a variety of clinical approaches written by experts in these approaches, from classic (play therapy and dialectical behavior therapy) to cutting-edge (attachment-based intervention, mindfulness, and sensorimotor psychotherapy). Because of its broad scope, the book is suitable for a wide audience, from students to first-time group leaders to seasoned practitioners.

This volume contains an overview of the history of the field of child psychiatry and examines contemporary issues facing child and adolescent psychiatrists, including the roles that changing family dynamics, multi-culturalism, new technologies, play in children's development, specialized applications such as forensic psychiatry; and insurance-related, ethical and administrative issues that affect child psychiatrists' practices.