This book provides the foundations and training that social workers need to master cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). CBT is based on several principles namely cognitions affect behavior and emotion; certain experiences can evoke cognitions, explanation, and attributions about that situation; cognitions may be made aware, monitored, and altered; desired emotional and behavioral change can be achieved through cognitive change. CBT employs a number of distinct and unique therapeutic strategies in its practice. As the human services increasingly develop robust evidence regarding the effectiveness of various psychosocial treatments for various clinical disorders and life problems, it becomes increasingly incumbent upon individual practitioners to become proficient in, and to provide, as first choice treatments, these various forms of evidence-based practice. It is also increasingly evident that CBT and practice represents a strongly supported approach to social work education and practice. The book covers the most common disorders encountered when working with adults, children, families, and couples including: anxiety disorders, depression, personality disorder, sexual and physical abuse, substance misuse, grief and bereavement, and eating disorders. Clinical social workers have an opportunity to position themselves at the forefront of historic, philosophical change in 21st-century medicine. While studies using the most advanced medical technology show the impact of emotional suffering on physical disease, other studies using the same technology are demonstrating CBT’s effectiveness in relieving not just emotional suffering but physical suffering among medically ill patients.

This book represents a compilation of years of theoretical and clinical insights distilled into a specific theory of disturbance and therapy and deductions for specific clinical strategies and techniques. It focuses on an explication of the theory, a chapter on basic practice, and a chapter on an in-depth case study. A detailed chapter follows on the practice of individual psychotherapy. Using rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) in couples, family, group, and marathons sessions is highlighted. The book commences with a note on the general theory underpinning the practice of REBT, outlines its major theoretical concepts and puts forward an expanded version of REBT’s well-known ABC framework. It then considers aspects of the therapeutic relationship between clients and therapists in REBT, deals with issues pertaining to inducting clients into REBT, and specifies the major treatment techniques that are employed during REBT. A number of obstacles that emerge in the process of REBT and how they might be overcome are noted. The book then distinguishes between preferential and general REBT (or cognitive-behavior therapy [CBT]) and specifies their differences. Individual, couples, family and group therapies are explained. The book talks about the Rational Emotive Behavioral Marathon, a highly structured procedure that is deliberately weighted more on the verbal than on the nonverbal side. The authors’ 8-week psychoeducational group for teaching the principles of unconditional self-acceptance in a structured group setting is described. The book concludes with a discussion on the concept of ego disturbance, REBT treatment of sex difficulties using the cognitive-emotive-behavioral approach, and REBT’s effectiveness with hypnosis.

The book examines various theories of aging including a contrast between the strengths-based person-in-environment theory and the pathologically based medical model of psychological problems. It advocates truly engaging with the older client during the assessment phase, and discusses a variety of intervention modalities. The book integrates an advanced clinical social work practice with in-depth knowledge of evidence-based practice as well as geriatric medicine, psychiatry and gerontology. The social worker must evaluate the status of the client’s housing, transportation, food, clothing, recreation opportunities, social supports, access to medical care, kinship and other factors considered important by the social worker or the client. Constructivist theory is a conceptual framework that is foundational to existential therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and narrative therapy, which are effective for older adults. Stigma associated with race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation produce psychosocial stressors that converge on older clients. The book discusses several medical conditions affecting older adults such as Alzheimer’s disease, arthritic pain, diabetes and various types of cancers. Older adults may also suffer from substance abuse-related problems, hypersexuality, and various types of abuse such as neglect. The book also highlights the problems faced by the older adult LGBT community and those suffering from HIV disease. It ends with discussions on care and residential settings for the older adults, and palliative care and euthanasia.

Play therapy has been recognized in the counseling profession as a developmentally appropriate model for working with children and adolescents. This book provides a comprehensive introduction to structured, prescriptive approaches to play therapy to those desiring to gain more information and knowledge about the use of different directive play therapy modalities. It introduces the unique integration of play therapy and different theoretical models and encompasses the essential concepts and practices of directive play therapy. Most importantly, the book shares some guidelines for planning and selecting toys and materials for a directive approach. It also incorporates settings and skills necessary for effective implementation and addresses common questions asked about the use of these. The book provides the exploration and detailed description of various theoretical approaches to directive play therapy: post-Jungian directive sandtray in play therapy, solution-focused play therapy, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing and play therapy, directive play therapy techniques in trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, child parent relationship therapy, creativity in play therapy using technology, directive filial therapy models with very young children, humanistic sandtray therapy with children and adults, and directive approaches to working with parents. The distinctive techniques and processes of each of these approaches are explained. Finally, case examples are given to demonstrate their application and implementation.

This book is dedicated specifically to increasing the confidence and professional competence of graduate students and early career professionals who use cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with children and adolescents. It shows some opening remarks for mental health professionals (MHPs) and trainees who are new to doing CBT and positive psychology (PP) treatments with kids suffering from an internalizing disorder. Behavioral activation is a tried-and-true stable of CBT. A common presenting complaint among depressed or stressed kids is poor sleep. The book shows some of the strategies for combating insomnia. Problem solving is another staple of CBT. The methodology for problem solving is a little bit different if it is done with an individual kid or in a family session. The factors to be considered to introduce communications training and problem solving in a family or an individual session are: age, maturity level, and psychological mindedness of the child. Exposure procedure is used for kids who are treated for anxiety. This chapter shows a list of common exposures among anxious youth. Physiological calming and coping thoughts are the two popular techniques for supporting exposures. Involving the parent is often key with doing exposures. The book also presents some of the principles and methodologies with regard to parent interactions. It is important for parents to be open with their kid about their thinking about the value of a mental health evaluation. Sometimes parents ask for guidance about how to have the discussion with their kid.

This book takes a look at the underlying causes of resisting cognitive-emotional-behavioral change and the methods used to overcome them. Written in present-action language, it gives an overview of the basic principles of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy and Cognitive Behavior Therapy. The book presents the changes in the field that have taken place in the 20 years leading up to 2002, and integrates recent therapies into REBT, including psychotherapy, solution-focused therapy, and recent findings of experimental psychology. Resistance can be “natural”, or those resulting from emotional disturbance, extreme low frustration tolerance, fear of disclosure and shame, and feelings of hopelessness, among others. The book presents methods of contradicting and actively working against irrational beliefs that can be used with some of the most difficult clients. The book describes using REBT to overcome resistance with clients who have severe personality disorders. REBT counselors following REBT theory, welcome cultural (and other) diversity. They encourage their clients to stick to whatever customs and mores with which they were raised and to enjoy the unique advantages of these traditions.

This book provides brief overviews of various models, including their history, views of change, views of the family, and the role of the therapist. The models include: Bowen family systems theory; contextual family therapy and restoration therapy; cognitive behavioral family therapy models; rational emotive behavior therapy; symbolic-experiential family therapy; Satir human validation process model; Milan systemic family therapy; structural family therapy; strategic family therapy; solution-focused therapy with families; solution-focused narrative therapy with families; narrative therapy with families; emotionally focused therapy; and medical family therapy. The book covers each model in a consistent way, so that the reader can better understand the underlying theories and practical distinctions between them. It explains how the cognitive behavioral therapist (CBT) differs from the solution-focused therapist (SFT) in the way of being direct and prescriptive with clients (CBT) rather than letting the client decide the direction of therapy (SFT). The book also explains how restoration therapy simplifies the contextual therapy model yet stays with the premises that clients need to understand the depth and breadth of their pain. Each chapter contains realistic examples of family problems, typical of today's families—many drawn from actual practice, which shows one how that particular model addresses issues that are commonly faced by practicing marriage and family therapists. To encourage the reader further, there are extensive interviews with many of the gurus responsible for creating and honing the theories one will read about in this book. They shared their ideas on how change occurs, how they set goals, and how they actually do therapy. Additionally, a case study is presented to each master therapist within these pages.

Work with the traumatized child or adolescent involves individual therapy. Individually focused trauma-informed therapy models abound. This book synthesizes 8 years of research with children and their families in 15 different states. Family Systems Trauma (FST) model is a key component of the evidence-based Parenting with Love and Limits (PLL) system of care. The PLL system of care includes both the treatment model and the research and implementation components. This includes the manualized curriculum of the PLL-FST (Family Systems Trauma) model, PLL-FSS (Family Systems Stabilization) and PLL-Group Therapy (Sells, 2004). The book is organized into two parts containing thirteen chapters. The first part features three chapters that connect FST theory into practice. The third chapter illustrates a five-phase FST model flowchart. The second part provides detailed techniques and strategies within Chapters 4 to 13 to provide the mini-steps and tools needed to incorporate the FST model into everyday practice. This level of detail was developed so that the FST model can be learned and applied even if the therapist does not have an extensive background in family systems theory, structural-strategic family therapy, or trauma-informed practice. The book was written to show integration between family systems work and more traditional individual trauma methods (e.g., Trauma-Focused Cognitive Therapy and Neurobiological Trauma Treatment). The goal is to demonstrate the benefits of a “both/and” approach, not “either/or”.

This book has two main goals: to provide descriptions of specific eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapeutic “tools” and, by incorporating these tools, to develop an overview of an Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model of the treatment of complex PTSD. The development of EMDR-related tools has been ongoing since the introduction of EMDR three decades ago. What will EMDR be in 2030? Unfortunately, the field—the field of psychotherapy for trauma-related disorders—has at times had a kind of dissociative disorder. Some therapists identify with one theoretical approach, and others are strong adherents of another identity. Often, these two “identities” do not communicate sufficiently, and sometimes they mistakenly think they have to fight with each other. Clearly, the author’s primary identification as a therapist is with EMDR-related methods based on an AIP approach, but the author attempting in the following chapters to also integrate the concepts and methods of cognitive approaches—approaches that are not only useful, but at times essential in the treatment of dissociative clients. The chapters of this book are divided into four parts. The first, comprising Chapters 1 and 2, is an overview of the application of the AIP model to complex PTSD and other dissociative conditions. The second part, Chapters 3 to 6, presents ways of treating (i.e., resolving) psychological defenses that are often linked intrinsically to disturbing memories but can be conceptually defined as separate entities because defenses typically contain dysfunctional positive affect, as opposed to the disturbing affect within memories of traumatic events. The third part, Chapters 7 to 14, focuses on several issues important in the EMDR treatment of dissociative conditions. And Chapters 15 to 17 are detailed case reports illustrating how these AIP “tools” can be employed in actual treatment sessions.

Counseling has long been considered to be an art, as well as a science, of helping individuals grow and develop. This book provides counselors and counseling students with a broader awareness of the ways in which traditional theories can be supplemented with expressive arts interventions. It also provides a clear description of the ways in which multicultural considerations can be addressed via the integration of the expressive arts into practice. The book presents a collection of field-tested creative interventions contributed by practicing counselors and counselor educators. It includes 111 interventions for use with various clients and presenting issues, including more than 40 new expressive arts interventions. The book is organized into an introductory chapter and three sections. The introductory chapter gives an introduction to the use of expressive arts in counseling. The first section presents theories of counseling and expressive arts approaches such as Adlerian theory, solution-focused therapy, cognitive behavioral theory, choice theory, existential theory, feminist theory, Gestalt theory, and person-centered therapy, narrative approaches, trauma-informed counseling, family counseling, and integrative theory. The second section discusses emerging and special issues in expressive arts and counseling such as neuroscientific applications for expressive therapies and clinical supervision. The final section describes the additional clinical uses of the expressive arts such as adventure therapy, animal-assisted therapy, child-centered play therapy, mindfulness in counseling, and sandplay therapy.