Release date: July 5, 2011 | Series: The Complete Idiot's Guide
Simplifying a complex subject.
Child psychology is required for college level psych and elementary education majors. It is a complex subject that can include developmental psychology, biology, sociological psychology, and various schools of theory and therapies. The only sources of information about this complex subject are long, expensive textbooks. Until now. This, the first trade book to give a detailed, easy to understand explanation of the subject.
• Age-by-age discussion of the psychological development of children.
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The first trade book to give a detailed, easy to understand, age-by-age discussion of the psychological development of children. The style is excellently suited towards Psychology & Counseling studies, and will teach students the material clearly without overcomplicating the subject. --Bookrenter.com
Dr. Jack C. Westman offers a layperson's guide to understanding growing children as part of the popular series of how-to books. Westman is professor emeritus of psychiatry and president of Wisconsin Cares Inc. The book is full of valuable, clearly written parenting information useful to idiots and non-idiots alike. --'77 SQUARE, Madison, WI:
Even as the mom to many, I don't have all the answers. Now I feel like I have a toolbox. This book addresses those critical years (birth to 18!). There's a chapter on topics that I want to address and some I haven't even considered. It's like calling another Mom, only she really does have all the answers. --Mommy's Memorandum.com
From the Author
Dear Reader, Did you know that babies still in their mothers' wombs can hear, taste, and smell? From the latest research, it is now understood that early sense experiences are fundamental to the attachment between mother and child that shapes a child's success in school, with friends, and in the adult world. Then there are the surprising results from studies on praise, empathy, and discipline that have turned childrearing and educational practices on their heads. Perhaps the most exciting new science now at our disposal concerns the exquisite dance between nature and nurture and how it determines a child's life experiences. These and hundreds of other fascinating insights, and the research that brought them to our attention, are laid out for your discovery in this book.
With all the new ways available to us to see the workings of the human brain, watching a child grow and blossom is still an experience of awe for me. I've worked as a child psychiatrist for the last 40 years. During that time, I've taught the theory and practice of child psychology and psychiatry to thousands of undergraduates and medical students. Standing before judges, I've helped courts determine the "best interests of the child" in cases where the competency of a child's parent(s) was in doubt. I've also counseled parents attempting to fulfill their responsibilities to guide and nurture their children against great odds. Perhaps most meaningfully, I've listened to children and adolescents as they struggled to overcome mental disorders or disabilities or just the "normal" challenges of growing up.
From all these experiences, I appreciate that children come into this world with instincts to thrive intellectually, emotionally, and morally. But as the world around them goes faster and life becomes more complex, a child needs more support and guidance. In the 22 chapters contained in this book, my co-author Victoria Costello and I have provided the essential building blocks of knowledge needed by students of psychology, parents, teachers, and anyone else who wants to help children grow and learn.
Victoria Costello is an Emmy Award winning author of six books published in psychology, mental wellness, parenting and memoir. She blogs on HuffingtonPost, Mamapedia, PsychCentral, All About Psychology, Tween Parent, DivineCaroline, and Yahoo Health & Wellness News.
She is also a consumer with lived experience in recovery from lifelong major depresssion. In her work as a mental health advocate, she is a board member of the Mental Health Association of San Francisco, a producer of strength based recovery training materials for care managers at S.F.'s Family Services Agency and a speaker for parents and care providers around the country.
After co-authoring four books with medical and psychological experts, Victoria has two of her own titles releasing in 2011-2012.
Using memoir and the latest findings from genetics, brain imaging and behavioral science she tells a far reaching, and yet intimate story that will resonate with anyone who has dealt with mental illness in the family in A Lethal Inheritance, A Mother Uncovers the Science Behind Three Generations of Mental Illness, coming from Prometheus Books on January 24, 2012.
Visit the book website at: http://alethalinheritance.com
Also this year, Alpha Books releases Costello's how to on writing a healing memoir. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing a Memoir goes on sale December 6, 2011.
Currently available books include the psychology primer she coauthored for parents and college students, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Child and Adolescent Psychology, written with child psychiatrist Dr. Jack Westman. Her Everything Parent's Guide to Children with OCD written with Stephen Martin, MFT, is a well established parental resource.
In addition to her publishing activities in the mental health field she has hands on experience as the Executive Director of a community mental health center in Santa Rosa, CA.
Speaking and workshops topics include: prevention of mental health disorders for parents and children, using the latest science to interpret your personal risk based on family mental health histories, building emotional resilience and positive communication in families, strength based recovery, and self healing through memoir writing.
The profound principles and complex issues of Child and Adolescent Psychology are made comprehensible on this excellent book in general! Very useful for parents who decided to prepared themselves to be better parents!
The Complete Idiots Guide to Child and Adolescent Psychology is a comprehensive handbook for anyone interested in understanding childhood psychology, from unborn babies in the womb to adolescents about to embark on adulthood. The theory and proposed application of the information is seamlessly integrated by definitions, insights and field study material that guides the reader into in-depth thought on the information presented.
Parents who need a quick reference or people new to the study of childhood psychology will find the table of contents easy to navigate and the appendices filled with relevant resources for those who want to get additional information. Students will find it straight forward when searching for specific information and return to this book as a great reference tool for this reason. Jack C. Wesman and Victoria Costello created a great handbook that can be easily integrated into any post secondary course study on childhood psychology. Hands down this is a great learning tool!
Every parent and student of childhood psychology should have a copy of The Complete Idiots Guide to Child and Adolescent Psychology in their personal library as a handy and relevant reference companion. For those who don't already have a copy, this book would make an excellent gift that would keep on giving through the years!
If you're afraid of dull, tedious textbooks, have no fear of reading The Complete Idiot's Guide to Child and Adolescent Psychology. I was thrilled to find a comprehensive, well-researched and highly readable introduction to the history, current research findings and up-to-date trends in child psychology.
I especially appreciate how co-authors Jack C. Westman M.D., M.S. and Victoria Costello have organized the book in such a way that makes for very accessible and reader-friendly use. Beginning with Discovering Childhood followed by Foundations of Personality, this textbook flows naturally into A Child Is Part of a Family before addressing The Big Picture (outlining emotional, moral and cognitive development). If interested in specifics you can then focus more indepth on Ages and Stages. Finally, they highlight important challenges in the section Issues in Child Psychology, and how to deal with them in Therapeutic Approaches.
Key definitions are described in simple yet effective terms; the co-authors also offer specially highlighted sections for insights and complications surrounding important developments. Another great feature is 'Least You Should Know' - succinct snippets of key chapter points, ideal for the busiest of readers. How I wish such a welcoming textbook were available all those years ago when I was in college!
