Customer Reviews

Adolescent Therapy That Really Works: Helping Kids Who Never Asked for Help in the First Place (Norton Professional Books)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I saw that there was only one review and that it was a pathetic, lazy one, so i felt that i owed it to the author, because my impression of the book was basically the opposite of the other reviewer. This book is loaded with practical information, lots of examples and vignettes, things you might say in many different session impasses, and it is very easy to read -- not academic or theory-laden. I have found much of this book can even be applied to adult clients, especially court-mandated ones, or those that are essentially teenagers on the inside.

This book was easy to read and included a lot of examples from her work with teens. It was helpful to hear about some strategies that were effective in reaching teens and their parents, and mostly helped in the way one approaches counseling with this population. Teens often do not want to be in therapy, and often do not want to listen to advice about changing. Edgette recommends connecting with the teens, and allowing them to take ownership of their own therapy. She tells the importance of being candid, and the dangers of being overly invested. A short, interesting read.

The title reflects well Edgette's central argument that openess and honesty are essential in successful therapy. She deals very thoroughly with the engagement issues that recur when working with clients who have been brought to her (usually by parents) with only nominal consent. She does this through extensive use of illustrative scripts that deal with both effective engagement and common errors.

I got this book right before I started working with a 16 year old teen - it was a tremendous help in breaking the ice and looking out for pitfalls a therapist encounters when trying too hard to have the teen accept the therapist and the therapy. Highly recommended if you work with adolescents.

No real help. Few practical suggestions. Very motivated to read it and try new ideas, but kept falling asleep reading it. Gave up in the middle.