Norton Professional Book – serie

These families must cope with a variety of problems, such as the heavy and often unpredictable demands of their ill member, the pain of lost dreams and expectations, and the bureaucratic complexity of the mental health system. However, with proper guidance and counseling, they can become the professional's most valuable allies in treatment of patients with schizophrenia and major affective disorders.This is a practical, psychoeducational approach, with special emphasis on the "nuts and bolts" of counseling families. The authors show how the family clinician can develop a cooperative, respectful relationship with family members, educating them about the symptoms, causes, and treatments of such illnesses as schizophrenia, helping them develop strategies to deal with both day-to-day problems and the long-term implications of the disease, and offering emotional support as needed.This book will be invaluable to all mental health professionals working with the chronically mentally ill and their families in hospitals, clinics and outpatient settings. Both professionals and trainees will find here a new model of compassionate care, essential as families are enlisted as allies in the treatment of chronic mental illness.

"This book will be helpful not only to members and students in AvantaNetwork and those acquainted with my work, but to all those seeking newdimensions to their lives. It is an important first step. It generouslyand authentically documents the general method, process and outcomes offive reconstructions, one in great detail....I feel pleased and honoredthat I have been a midwife to what is turning out to be a veryimportant contribution in developing guidelines toward becoming morefully human."--Virginia Satir

"An excellent basic text for graduate courses in psychotherapy and counseling across the professions of psychology, counseling, nursing, and social work."—The Behavior Therapist

This pocket reference details the clinical evaluation and intake/triage of child and adolescent patients. Students will find this guide to be an invaluable tool, while experienced clinicians will appreciate its usefulness as a resource and a refresher.

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are an alarmingly prevalent topic of conversation in the news, in pediatrician and therapists’ offices, in classrooms, among concerned parents, and at home, within families. The rate of diagnoses seems only to rise. It’s not surprising that professionals who work with kids on the autism spectrum are eager for effective resources on how to help children and their parents or caregivers manage it. And with this book, readers have a new tool to add to their arsenal.Drawing on her work at the Yale Child Study Center, Koenig explains how critical it is for kids to not simply learn new social skills that fit their individual needs, but to be able to seamlessly integrate them into a range of day-to-day situations, from the classroom to the lunchroom to the dinner table at home. Building their "social repertoire" in this way, she argues, is key to effective autism treatment. Unlike other autism books that tend to be prescriptive in their approach to social skills training, this one teaches that the best social interventions are evidence-based, child-specific, and meaningfully integrated.Guiding readers through the overarching considerations and principles for designing successful social interventions, Koenig presents a host of specific techniques—visual strategies and supports, scripts and role play, developmental play approaches, video modeling, peer mediated approaches, technology-based instruction, group instruction, self-monitoring strategies, parent-delivered interventions, and much more. Case vignettes illustrate how each intervention can be implemented, and what trouble-shooting techniques can be used when a child isn’t responding well. Koenig also provides advice on how parents and professionals can work together as a team, how to help kids “generalize” their newly learned skills across contexts, and how to measure progress in a sensible way.With a foreword by renowned child psychiatrist Fred Volkmar, Practical Social Skills for Autism Spectrum Disorders is sophisticated in its methodology but highly accessible, hands-on, and user-friendly. An invaluable manual for clinicians, educators, school counselors and administrators, parents, and all those who work with kids on the autism spectrum, it unravels the nuances of effective social skills training by showing how to really create intervention programs that take kids' own aptitudes and needs into account. With time, the right teaching, and compassion, they can achieve a life of full engagement with their families and communities.