Customer Reviews

Teens Who Hurt: Clinical Interventions to Break the Cycle of Adolescent Violence

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If everyone at every level of helping teens would read this book, they would get an important multidimensional view of how teens become violent and what we can do to bring about deep and lasting change in the lives of troubled youth. This book is the answer! As trite as this may sound, I assure you that the book is anything but trite. It reaches beyond the scope of other books in exploring the layers of developmental process that become a prelude to teen violence. Best of all, these authors give us practical and realistic solutions that can make a real difference in the lives of at-risk kids. The world could truly be a better place if policy makers, adminstrators, program managers and front-line workers read this book and direct their resources toward implementing the suggestions here. Every therapist who works with disadvantaged groups should read this book, too. It's as relevant for adults as it is for teens. Many social problems can be traced back to the isolaton, devaluation, anger and rage that Hardy and Lazloffy describe. It really should be used as a new paradigm for understanding all mental health problems.

Wow!! Great details concerning teens and why they are prone to committ violent crimes. The authors offer ways schools can help, and many schools already offer counseling with a Social Worker...the problem is the over-whelming number of students with problems and not enough service providers to accommodate. The book is an eye-opener to learning more about the causes. Its no excuse for anyone to cause bodily harm to another; yet, it pains me to know that young violators are in pain themselves and have not learned how to cope or live with their personal tragedies.

This book put words to all the feelings that would overcome me when working with this very fragile, yet resilient population. It ties in various factors to why our youth hurt and why they may act out the way they do. It is now no wonder for me! This book has strengthened my motivation and fervor to continue working with these amazing kids. I now more than ever want to intervene with support, empowerment, and an optimistic lens while giving these young souls opportunities that they may have never deemed realistic...opportunities they deserve.

This is the best book I have ever read on this subject. It has helped me immensely with my work as a Special Education Teacher.

Teens Who Hurt: Clinical Interventions to Break the Cycle of Adolescent Violence This book is the one I've been waiting for during my nearly 40 year clinical career. Written by Kenneth V. Hardy and Tracy Laszloffy who have never retreated from the immense challenges of engaging violent adolescents in a meaningful, healing therapeutic process. The wisdom expressed in this book can't be gleaned from any graduate school textbook, although the new book edited by Monica McGoldrick and Ken Hardy on Re-Visioning Family Therapy (2nd edition) looks extremely promising. But the rare clinical insight, passion for turning around the lives of kids who face an incredible uphill climb, compassion combined with appreciation for the complex underlying emotional process will not be matched, in my judgment, in any other book on treating adolescents. Make no mistake about it, these authors don't condone violence as a solution to social problems; they condemn it, deplore it, view it as ugly and hideous. But they also are wise enough to realize the complexity of these problems and reject the reductionistic, quick-fix approaches so prevalent today. I've been inspired by Ken Hardy for years and view him as one of the most courageous and innovative adolescent and family therapists to be found anywhere. His work has informed my practice with such youngsters and more recently my writing about clinical work with deeply hurting kids who in desperation sometimes turn to violence. This book will be a unique treasure for all who work with adolescents, giving new hope, a richer and more comprehensive understanding of the all too many deeply wounded youth who we are called on to treat in today's world. I have read and reread this book. It is beautifully written and incomparably helpful.