1st Edition

Group Counseling and Psychotherapy With Children and Adolescents Theory, Research, and Practice

By Zipora Shechtman Copyright 2007
    306 Pages
    by Routledge

    306 Pages
    by Routledge

    Many children and adolescents face developmental or situational difficulties in areas where they live most of their meaningful experiences-at home, at school, and in the community. While adults who struggle with life events and stressors may look to professional help, young individuals are quite alone in coping with these situations. Perhaps unsurprisingly, most children and adolescents typically do not seek such help, and often resist it when offered. Author Zipora Shechtman has written this detailed text advocating group counseling and psychotherapy as a viable means of addressing these issues if we are to ensure the psychological wellness of children in society.
     
    Group Counseling and Psychotherapy With Children and Adolescents is arranged in four parts. Its chapters explore topics including:
    *who needs group counseling and psychotherapy;
    *therapeutic factors in children's groups;
    *activities in the group;
    *pre-group planning and forming a group; and
    *how to enhance emotional experiencing and group support.
     
    This text is a principal source of information for counseling psychology students, researchers, and practitioners working with young people, in addition to social workers, teachers, and parents.

    Part I: The Rationale for Child and Adolescent Group Counseling and Psychotherapy. Introduction to Part I. Who Needs Group Counseling and Psychotherapy? The Theory of Group Counseling With Children. Therapeutic Factors in Children’s Groups. Part II: The Practice of Child and Adolescent Group Psychotherapy. Introduction to Part II. Leadership in Counseling Groups With Children. Activities in the Group: Methods and Techniques. Pre-group Planning and Forming a Group. The Initial Stage. The Transition Stage. The Working Stage: How to Enhance Emotional Experiencing and Group Support. Termination. Part III: Accountability and Processes With Various Groups. Introduction to Part III. Group Counseling for Lonely Children and Adolescents. Group Counseling for Students With LD. Group Counseling for Children of Divorce. Group Counseling for Aggressive Children and Adolescents. Group Counseling for Adolescents of a Different Culture: The Case of Arabs. Part IV: Summary and Conclusion. Introduction to Part IV. What Does the Data Tell Us About Group Counseling With Children? Future Directions. Appendices.

    Biography

    Zipora Shechtman

    “What is unusual about this book is the expert theory research to direct practice orientation. Shechtman presents a sophisicated, research-based view of group work with children and adolescents. This is a book that works for practitioners, but also has important insights for the field as a whole.”                                                                       

    -Allen E. Ivey, EdD, University of Massachusetts Amherst

    "I am very pleased that Zipora Shechtman's new book can serve as a basis for training quality child and adolescent group therapists.  Shechtman draws widely from published literature and indeed supports everything she proposes with well-documented literature. The number and variety of groups she refers to, including children from several cultures and how she handles their challenges, are impressive. The robustly supported description of group processes makes this book a wonderful textbook for graduate courses or a reference that counselors working with children will refer to again and again.  To read and study Group Counseling and Psychotherapy With Children and Adolescents by Shechtman is to draw from a deep well of knowledge, experience, and research. This book contains a treasure trove of activities and guidance for the beginning as well as the experienced group therapist."

    -Linda Noval, in PsyCRITIQUES, Contemporary Psychology: APA Review of Books 

    "In sum, the book presents a very enriching combination of updated theoretical background, with an extended body of examples, detailed explanations of how to conduct group counseling among children and adolescents and a true flavor of respect for young persons and their developmental needs" – Moishe Israelashvili, Int. J. Adv. Counselling, April 25, 2008