Working with challenging youth : lessons learned along the way / written by Brent Richardson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Richardson, Brent, 1962-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Social work with youth.

At-risk youth--Counseling of.

At-risk youth.

Counseling.

Physical Description:

xviii, 205 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Philadelphia ; Hove [England] : Brunner-Routledge, [2001]

Contents:

What Distinguishes Effective Counselors From the Rest? xii

1 An Introduction to Challenging Youth 1

What 12 Teenage Boys in a Double Trailer Taught Me About Myself 1

Who Are Challenging Youth? 2

What About Youth Who Seem to Lack the Capacity to Care About Others? 5

Empirical and Theoretical Foundations 7

2 Lessons Learned: Promoting Self-Awareness to Enhance Therapeutic Relationships 15

Lesson 2.1 Find the Time to Assess Your Own Attitudes, Beliefs, and Behaviors 15

Lesson 2.2 Find Ways to Meet the Prerequisites 18

Lesson 2.3 Challenging Youth Are Like Inkblot Tests 21

Lesson 2.4 Be Aware of Your Emotional Triggers and Remember You Are Human 24

Lesson 2.5 "Laughter Is the Shortest Distance Between Two People" (Victor Borge) 26

Lesson 2.6 Learn From Unsuccessful Interventions or Past Conflict

And Then Let Go 28

Lesson 2.7 Look for Ways You Are Making a Difference 30

Lesson 2.8 Embody What You Teach and Teach Only What You Have Embodied (Millman, 1984) 32

3 Lessons Learned: Meeting Youth Where They Are

Individually, Developmentally, and Culturally 37

Lesson 3.1 Remember What Uniform(s) You Wore 37

Lesson 3.2 Challenging Youth Struggle on a Daily Basis to Meet Two Basic Needs 39

Lesson 3.3 Recognize and Appreciate Ways Adolescents Are Developmentally Unique 41

Lesson 3.4 Recognize and Appreciate Racial and Cultural Differences 44

Lesson 3.5 Recognize and Appreciate Within Group Differences 48

Lesson 3.6 Adapt Rather Than Adopt 50

Lesson 3.7 Meet Youth Where They Are, Both Literally and Figuratively 51

Lesson 3.8 Empathic Understanding Is the Key to Reaching Troubled Youth

But It's No Easy Task 54

Lesson 3.9 Learn About the Car Before Tinkering With the Engine: Avoid Premature Problem-Solving 56

Lesson 3.10 Admitting We Don't Understand Is Sometimes the Most Understanding and Validating Statement We Can Make 58

Lesson 3.11 Invite Participation

Identify and Name the Real Experts 59

Lesson 3.12 The Past Is History, But Don't Dismiss It 61

4 Lessons Learned: Finding a Healthy Balance Between Support and Challenge 65

Lesson 4.1 Avoid the Dualistic Trap: You Do Not Have to Choose Between Drill Sergeant and Doormat 65

Lesson 4.2 Reframe Confrontations as a Way to Develop Closer, More Genuine Relationships 68

Lesson 4.3 Recognize Times and Situations When Confrontations May Be Warranted 70

Lesson 4.4 Empathic Understanding Does Not Mean Agreeing With or Excusing Unacceptable Behavior 73

Lesson 4.5 Use the SET Model to Diffuse Potential Power Struggles 76

Lesson 4.6 Trying to Control Challenging Youth Is Like Teaching a Pig to Sing. It Wastes Your Time and Annoys the Pig 81

Lesson 4.7 Empathize With Those Who Are Oppressed, Fight to Change Oppressive Systems and People, and Continue to Have High Expectations for Youth Who Have Been Oppressed 83

5 Lessons Learned: Framing Problems and Solutions in More Creative, Constructive, and Caring Ways 87

Lesson 5.1 All Effective Counselors Appreciate the Power of Reframing 87

Lesson 5.2 If at First You Don't Succeed, Try Again. If That Doesn't Work, Try Something Else 92

Lesson 5.3 Resist Using "Resistant" and Other Counterproductive Terms 97

Lesson 5.4 Look Beyond the Behavior to Avoid Escalating the Cycle of Aggression 99

Lesson 5.5 Pay Attention to What You Pay Attention to 102

Lesson 5.6 Incorporate Strategies From Sports Psychology and Solution-Focused Therapy to Shift the Focus 105

Lesson 5.7 Use Reality Therapy Principles to Help Youth Make the Connection Between What They Want and What They Are Doing or Thinking 113

Lesson 5.8 Use Metaphors and Anecdotal Stories to Plant Seeds and Facilitate Growth 117

Lesson 5.9 When Kids Feel They Have Only Two Choices, They Will Choose Smart Ass Over Dumb Ass Any Day 132

Lesson 5.10 Don't Underestimate the Power of Diagnostic Labels 134

Lesson 5.11 All Helping Professionals Have a Responsibility to Make the Assessment Process More Kid-Friendly 137

6 Lessons Learned: Valuing Systematic, Collaborative, and Preventive Approaches 141

Lesson 6.1 Appreciate Context

Don't Judge a Kid by His or Her Cover 141

Lesson 6.2 Families, Particularly Parents and Guardians, Cannot Be Peripheral to the Therapeutic Process 142

Lesson 6.3 Families with Challenging Youth Often Display Characteristic Structural Patterns That Tend to Limit Growth and Maintain or Exacerbate Problem Behaviors 146

Lesson 6.4 Families With Challenging Youth Are More Likely to Use Habitual Communication Patterns That Tend to Limit Growth and Maintain or Exacerbate Problem Behaviors 151

Lesson 6.5 Take Time to See the Big Picture

Empathize With the Families of Challenging Youth 160

Lesson 6.6 Recognize, Appreciate, and Use Group Work and the Power of the Peer Culture 162

Lesson 6.7 Even the Lone Ranger Never Rode Alone 168

Lesson 6.8 Follow the Lead of Activists like Mubarek Awad and Joseph Marshall

Advocate for Youth and Families 177

Lesson 6.9 We Must Also Concentrate Our Efforts on Preventing and Addressing Problems Upstream 180.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 187-194) and index.

ISBN:

1560328916

OCLC:

44454629