Power and Compassion: Working with Difficult Adolescents and Abused Parents [Paperback]

Jerome A. Price (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1572304707 | ISBN-13: 978-1572304703 | Publication Date: January 20, 1999 | Edition: 1

Drawing from structural-strategic family therapy, this pragmatic treatment guide looks at threatening teenagers in a new light. It describes how triangles formed by uncontrolled young people and adult authority figures anxious to appear understanding - including therapists - may service to increase the rebellious power these adolescents yield. Proposing new solutions, Price delineates the levels and types of abusive behavior in teenagers and outlines how to help parents regain control by learning to be both more understanding and more decisive.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is a lively book that offers winning strategies for parents with difficult and violent adolescents. The examples are more than familiar to therapists, who are offered wise guidance in how to guide parents in difficulty."--Jay Haley

"Power and Compassion presents techniques and theory that allow family therapists to be both understanding and determined in their work with aggressive teenagers. Power and Compassion demonstrates Price's ability to assess and treat these extremely difficult situations from a strategic humanist stance. It is refreshing to read a book that deals so openly and directly with issues of power. Family therapists need guts, skill, hope, and great faith in people to confront the emotional and physical abuse of parents by acting out children and teenagers. Price clearly has these qualities."--Donald Efron, Coeditor, Journal of Systemic Therapies

"Power and Compassion is an enormously userful book that blends theory and engaging clinical vignettes with practical down-to-earth ideas. In fact, I read it in one sitting. The book left me with a feeling of optimism about dealing with difficult situations. Presenting what are, at times, controversial ideas, Jerome A. Price shakes up the cobwebs of conventionality to expand our view of what's possible when treating intractable situations with explosive adolescents. Whatever your clinical orientation or level of experience, Power and Compassion will expand your existing clinical armamentarium."--Leonard Rosen, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan; Medical Director of Mental Health Services, Macomb Hospital, Warren, Michigan

"Aggressive adolescents who are coaxed or coerced into therapy by others are among the most frustrating of all clients. Price has drawn on his work with mentors Jay Haley and Cloe Madanes to develop his own creative approach to those who are often more distressed and motivated than the adolescents themselves--the parents. He illustrates the innovative ways of enlisting and empowering the parents while neither depending upon nor closing the door on cooperation from the adolescents. Price has his own clear theoretical rationale for what he does, but his approach will also appeal to therapists operating from other theoretical perspectives who are stymied with a common clinical dilemma that defies their usual sense of competence and expertise. A valuable set of tools for anyone working with adolescents, regardless of whether they view themselves as family therapists."--Jim Coyne, PhD, Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan

About the Author

Jerome A. Price, M.A., is the director and founder of the Michigan Family Institute. A Regional Faculty Member for the Family Therapy Institute of Washington, D.C., he is a well-known supervisor and strategic therapist consulting for mental health centers, hospital medical and psychiatric staffs, and outpatient programs. His articles on many aspects of family treatment have been published in the Journal of Systemic Therapies, the Utne Reader, and the Family Therapy Networker, and he is a contributing author to the books Alternative Services in Community Mental Health and The Evolving Therapist. Price is an Approved Supervisor for the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 196 pages
• Publisher: Guilford Press; 1 edition (January 20, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572304707
• ISBN-13: 978-1572304703
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #285,997 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best of 5 books I've read about defiant teens, December 14, 2000

By 

"stressedherself" (Addison, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Power and Compassion: Working with Difficult Adolescents and Abused Parents (Paperback)

Yes, I've read 5 books cover to cover. I know this book was written for professional counselors, but as a parent who has spent many hours in counselors offices, this book is invaluable. If you're paying attention, when reading this book, you can recognise whether your counselor is helping you, or wasting your time. When parents are honestly being emotionally abused, they need to be told, and supported in their efforts to take "decisive and responsible action to help their children" as Dr. Price says in his book. If I'd had this book a year ago, I would not have wasted time on a psychiatrist who only served as an abusive teen's good buddy. If you are a parent, another good book on this subject is "The Defiant Child" by Dr. Douglas Riley. Riley's book spends some time on younger children, but if your child is 14, it's not too late to put his book to good use. For parents of teenagers, it is really too late for you to buy "The Explosive Child," by Ross W. Greene. Greene's book is great for parents of younger children. I do recommend Gregory Bodenhamer's book "Parent in Control." but to make his ideas work, parents really have to have some backbone and the backing of others and the community. Trouble is that many of us have the problems we have with our children because we had no backbone in the first place, or our authority has been undermined for too long. We need assistance and support, not blame in order to turn things around for our children. I recommend "Power and Compassion" above all five books I've read for defiant children.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars IMMENSELY USEFUL, BRIDGES USUAL DISPUTES, March 13, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Power and Compassion: Working with Difficult Adolescents and Abused Parents (Paperback)

The most useful book I've found in 25 years' work with these families, and in families with milder aggression. Kids really get better. Many illustrations help adults understand why they quarrel so much over these kids, and give them real hope and specific tools to guide them wisely. For therapists, parents, and teachers caught in arguments about "tough love/accountability" vs "understanding the cause" strategies, this is a necessary guide about when and how to utilize both strategies, where they are likely to make mistakes.

4.0 out of 5 stars Not for the lay person, November 16, 2008

By 

Marilyn Dalrymple "MaLing" (Lancaster, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Power and Compassion: Working with Difficult Adolescents and Abused Parents (Hardcover)

This book offered some information I wanted, but it was not written for the lay person.