Michael L. Bourke – författare

This edited volume provides mental health clinicians with knowledge to effectively work with current and former first responders.  It provides strategies on how to best develop and adapt clinical assessment procedures and therapeutic interventions to better meet the unique needs found in these settings.  Chapters synthesize existing literature to introduce the reader to profession-specific factors issues that exist in these contexts and describe the challenges that can present when working with police, firefighters, EMS, emergency communications operators, crime scene investigators, and corrections personnel.

The book covers a range of topics that clinicians and trainees need to understand the relevant issues, develop effective treatment plans, and deliver appropriate psychological services in public safety settings.  First Responder Mental Health: A Clinician’s Guide will be essential reading for mental health professionals working with first responders, as well as those in training.

This multidisciplinary volume assembles current findings on violent crime, behavioral, biological, and sociological perspectives on its causes, and effective methods of intervention and prevention. Noted experts across diverse fields apply a behavioral criminology lens to examine crimes committed by minors, extremely violent offenses, sexual offending, violence in families, violence in high-risk settings, and crimes of recent and emerging interest. The work of mental health practitioners and researchers is shown informing law enforcement response to crime in interrogation, investigative analysis, hostage negotiations, and other core strategies. In addition, chapters pay special attention to criminal activities that violate traditional geographic boundaries, from cyberstalking to sex trafficking to international terrorism.

Among the topics in the Handbook:

·         School bullying and cyberbullying: prevalence, characteristics, outcomes, and prevention.

·         Young people displaying problematic sexual behavior: the research and their words.

·         Child physical abuse and neglect.

·         Criminal interviewing and interrogation in serious crime investigations.

·         Violence in correctional settings.

·         Foundations of threat assessment and management.

The Handbook of Behavioral Criminology is a meticulous resource for researchers in criminology, psychology, sociology, and related fields. It also informs developers of crime prevention programs and practitioners assessing and intervening with criminal clients and in correctional facilities.