Marv Penner is a youth ministry expert with more than 30 years in the field, chairs the youth and family ministry department at Briercrest Graduate School in Saskatchewan, Canada. He's also director of the Canadian Centre of Adolescent Research and author of "The Youth Worker's Guide to Parent Ministry" and "Help! My Kids Are Hurting."

• ContentsPreface 6Introduction 8Section One: Understanding the World of Hurting Kids 11Chapter 1: Five Things You Can Count On 12Chapter 2: Eight Unique Challenges of Working with Kids in Pain 15Section Two: Becoming a Person Who Can Help Hurting Kids 21Chapter 3: What Do Hurting Kids Want from Us? 22Chapter 4: What about Boundaries? 24Chapter 5: What’s Your Style---Hugger, Teacher, Preacher, or Surgeon? 29Chapter 6: Sorting Through Your Own Baggage 39Section Three: The Nuts and Bolts of Helping Hurting Kids 43Chapter 7: It’s All about L.O.V.E. 44Chapter 8: “L” Is for LISTEN 47Chapter 9: “O” Is for OFFER 54Chapter 10: “V” Is for VALIDATE 62Chapter 11: “E” Is for ELIMINATE, EMPOWER, and EXPECT 69Chapter 12: Mistakes That Can Destroy Your Ministry with Hurting Kids 76Section Four: When You’re Out of Your Depth: Rules for Referral 83Chapter 13: Why You Should Refer a Hurting Student 85Chapter 14: When You Should Refer a Hurting Student 89Chapter 15: How You Should Refer a Hurting Student 97Section Five: Tackling the Tough Stuff---10 Topics You Need to Understand 99Chapter 16: Eating Disorders 100Chapter 17: Adolescent Suicide 104Chapter 18: Rape, Acquaintance Rape, and Sexual Assault 109Chapter 19: Adolescent Pregnancy 113Chapter 20: Substance Abuse 117Chapter 21: Grief and Loss 122Chapter 22: Self-Injury 127Chapter 23: Family Breakdown 130Chapter 24: Pornography and Sexual Addictions 134Chapter 25: Adolescent Depression 138Final Thoughts 142