This book presents the best short introduction to genius to be found. It is a valuable resource for all students of psychology and anyone interested in the field. The book examines the many definitions of “genius”, and the multiple domains in which it appears, including art, science, music, business, literature, and the media. The term genius is peculiar. It can be precisely defined or loosely defined. It can be applied to a diversity of phenomena or confined to just one or two. It all depends on how you use the term. The tremendous range in usage reflects the fact that genius is both a humanistic concept with a long history and a scientific concept with a much shorter history. There are two principal ways to assess degrees of genius. One is historiometric, and the other is psychometric. Whatever the actual association between historiometric and psychometric genius, we have a strong inclination to associate the two concepts. This connection was demonstrated in a recent survey of college students at both U.S. and Canadian universities. The book also examines three alternative positions on the nature of cognitive ability: unified intellect, diverse intellects and hierarchical intellect. Whether intelligence is unified or multiple, all budding geniuses must go through some sort of apprenticeship period in which they acquire the expertise that will enable them to make original and exemplary contributions to their chosen domain of achievement. The book further explains what psychologists have said about problem-solving research in cognitive psychology.

Field education has been identified as the “signature pedagogy” social work education. The practice of having students working alongside community practitioners is almost as old as the social work profession itself. Field education, which involves students working with practicing social workers to learn the knowledge, skills, and values of the social work profession, brings the intellectual content of the classroom into focus with everyday tasks and responsibilities. Therefore, the work of community-based practitioners who supervise social work interns is essential to our profession. This book includes content on how to recruit a practicum student, as well as useful information about effective supervision, learning assessment planning and development, integration of theory and practice, helpful evaluation techniques, and teaching social work ethics. It provides an introduction to the practice of field education, along with useful recommendations about how to maximize the learning experience of practicum students. College and university social work programs provide regular orientations to their field education programs. Students should adhere to agency expectations regarding dress, language, and boundaries. Once students are aware of the agency culture, they should be held accountable for meeting those expectations. Effective communication between the academic institution and the field instructor/agency setting is indispensable to the social work practicum process. Several models exist to help students determine an ethical course of action or to resolve an ethical dilemma. Practicing as an ethical social worker requires not only knowledge of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics, but also the ability to apply sound decision-making strategies to everyday situations encountered in social work practice.

Despite the attention paid to diversity and inclusiveness, counselor education programs often overlook the gifted population, resulting in a training gap that complicates school counselors' awareness of—and ability to appropriately respond to—the unique needs of gifted individuals. This book is a complete handbook for understanding and meeting the needs of gifted students and is most useful to counselor educators, school counselors, and parents. It is mostly to inform school counselors and counselor educators about gifted kids as a special population and to offer guidance for responding with appropriate counseling services. The book is organized into thirteen chapters. The first chapter provides an overview on counseling gifted and talented students. The second chapter talks about aligning service to gifted students with the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) national model. The next two chapters discuss the characteristics and concerns of gifted students, and intersectionality of cultures in diverse gifted students. Chapter five presents theories that support programs and services in schools. Chapter six describes the common practices and best practices in identifying gifted and talented learners in schools. Chapter seven examines working with classrooms and small groups. Chapter eight focuses on academic advising and career planning for gifted and talented students. Chapter nine addresses personal/social counseling and mental health concerns. Chapters ten and eleven talks about creating a supportive school climate for gifted students through collaboration, consultation, and systemic change, and empowering parents of gifted students. Chapter twelve presents school counselors as leaders and advocates for gifted students. The final chapter provides brief summaries of the above chapters described in the book.

This book is for students who want to know more about the law, students who want to know more about a psychology subspecialty, and anyone who just wants to know more. The book is divided into three parts comprising nine chapters. Chapter one is a history lesson of sorts in that the roots of psychology and the law are explored individually and in their coming together. Chapter two examines the origins of the legal system, the U.S. Constitution, and the ways that its provisions have been utilized by the three branches of government, particularly by the courts. Chapter three brings the first two chapters together by describing how two major constructs, context and perception, are integral to understanding both disciplines. Part II specifically addresses the role of forensic psychology in the courts by beginning with the topcis that seem to be of the utmost interest to readers and students: criminal matters and ethical issues. Chapter four includes various types of crimes, pleas, and punishment relevant to forensic psychology issues and practice. Chapter five presents a discussion of civil matters, including the roles of witness testimony (both expert and eye) and jury selection. Chapter six explores the role of forensic psychologists’ in family court and addresses topics such as “psychological autopsies”, suicide prevention, and the forensic psychologist’s role in the complex matters presented by our changing society and family systems. Chapter seven discusses the forensic psychologist’s role in the juvenile justice system. The final part clarifies and expands on the roles of the forensic psychologist and attorney in court proceedings. Chapter eight provides an outline of the similarities and differences between the professions, and also distinguishes the role of the clinical or therapist psychologist. The final chapter addresses the growing future of forensic psychology.

This book fills a gaping void in the selection of textbooks to use in graduate courses on the psychology of aging. It serves as a primer for any graduate student who is going to work in a clinical setting with older adults, or in a research lab that studies some aspect of the psychology of aging. The book introduces students to the background knowledge needed in order to understand some of the more complex concepts in the psychology of aging. Additionally, it provides clear explanations of concepts (e.g., genetics of aging research, neuroimaging techniques, understanding of important legal documents for older adults). The book focuses solely on older adults, providing in-depth coverage of this burgeoning population. It also provides coverage on cognitive reserve, neurocognitive disorders, and social aspects of aging. The book is intended for graduate students or upper-level undergraduate students in psychology, biology, nursing, counseling, social work, gerontology, speech pathology, psychiatry, and other disciplines who provide services for, or perform research with, older adults. It is organized into four sections. Section I presents introduction to the psychology of aging. Section II gives a core foundation in biological aspects of aging. It covers general biological theories of aging, common physical health problems in older adults, and normal changes that occur to the brain with aging. Section III describes the psychological components of aging such as changes in personality and emotional development, mental health aspects of aging, normal changes in cognitive functioning, cognitive reserve and interventions for cognitive decline, neurocognitive disorders in aging, aging's impact on relationships and families, and working in late life and retirement. The final section presents the social aspects of aging, which includes death, bereavement, and widowhood, aging experience in ethnic and sexual minorities, and lastly, aging and the legal system.

Given the growth of MI in schools that has occurred since the first edition was published, the book has been revised and updated. Several key improvements have been made to the current edition. First, the literature on the science and practice of motivational interviewing (MI) in schools has been updated. Second, the chapter on MI with students has been vastly expanded and describes many new applications of MI in schools with youth. Third, the chapters on implementation and dissemination have been completely rewritten. These chapters reflect the latest science about how to ensure one is implementing MI as intended and strategies for learning and improving MI skills. Fourth, it has expanded coverage of MI applications with school problem solving teams. The authors believe that this is an emerging and important area of research and practice and hope this chapter sparks important progress for building and sustaining effective problem solving teams. Fifth, the chapter on the context of motivation and getting teachers, parents, and students to be willing to engage in MI conversations has been expanded. Finally, every chapter on specific applications of MI has been updated. The book is organized in three parts: an overview of MI; specific applications of MI with teachers, parents, students, families, and problem-solving teams; and implementation and dissemination strategies for learning MI and monitoring fidelity. This book includes several features intended to aid learning and retention of material. It provides extensive examples of MI conversations and dialogue, each with labels of MI strategies that are being used and consulted to change and sustain talk responses. These examples show MI is used in structured interventions and also how it can be used everyday as one interacts with anyone who is contemplating change. Finally, the current edition has many Expert Tips for learning and improving MI skills.

Social workers are the number one providers of mental health services in the United States. This book describes the realities of the contemporary American mental health system and the impacts on clients and social workers. It takes a critical perspective on the lack of quality care for those among society’s most vulnerable individuals, the mentally ill. Unlike other texts that address mental health and illness, the book focuses on the issues and policies that create challenges for social workers in the mental health system and obstacles to a continuum of excellent mental healthcare. The book also focuses on ways that social workers can help improve the overall functioning of the mental health system. One theme of the book is that mental health diagnosis, treatment, and access to care are lacking due to an insufficient knowledge base. That is, some mental disorders are not yet well understood, and therefore, responses can be inappropriate or inadequate. The critical perspective ensures that an examination of mental health treatments, especially pharmacologic therapy, does not focus exclusively upon the benefits to clients taking prescribed medications. The book digs deeper to ask who benefits when clients take psychotropic drugs. With a focus on social work innovation in mental healthcare, the book provides descriptions of promising policies and practices to improve mental healthcare in the United States. This includes new drug and brain stimulation or neuromodulation techniques and expanded social work prevention efforts. The book is recommended as a primary text for mental health courses in MSW programs. It can also be used in upper level undergraduate college courses in social work, typically BSW programs. The book finally ensures that social work students will not only understand the issues of their clients (micro level) but understand mental health issues in a broader societal context (macro level).

This book is designed and structured around the nine professional social work competencies as defined by the Council on Social Work Education's 2015 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS), with one or two chapters devoted to each professional competency. The book's coverage of the professional social work competencies helps students develop the knowledge and skills needed to become effective social workers. Each chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the theories, concepts, and practice components of a competency. The book focuses on mastering the professional competencies rather than just presenting content on social work practice. This approach helps students expand their competency knowledge, application, and integration by creating a purposeful approach to the development of their professional competencies that must be mastered by today's social work students. The book is designed for use in undergraduate and graduate social work practice courses. It uses the professional competencies as the structure. The chapters cover all components of the professional competencies described in EPAS 2015, which includes demonstrate ethical and professional behavior; advance human rights and social, economic, and environmental justice; engage in practice-informed research and research-informed practice; and engage in policy practice. This approach ensures that the professional competencies are covered in the social practice course(s) and that students experience the relationships among the competencies and social work practice better, preparing them for their field education and future practice as social work professionals. Each chapter begins with opening vignettes to help engage students in the chapter content, followed by chapter objectives that outline the key concepts. In addition, each chapter has multiple case examples, critical thinking questions, and a detailed case summary with discussion questions. The book covers topics that students need for competency-based social work practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and community clients and constituents.

This book is designed to help the Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Social Work students, enrolled in foundation field placements and field seminars, structure their field placement learning around the nine Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) profession social work competencies defined in the 2015 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards. Its goal is to ensure that foundation field placement students integrate course learning related to the social work competencies with their field placement learning experiences in a purposeful, reflective, and integrated manner. The book helps structure students’ field learning on the social work competencies. It also educates social work field instructors on the social work competencies mandated by CSWE. The book is divided into 14 chapters. Chapter one provides an introduction to social work field placement and the expectations for social work interns. Chapter two focuses on assessing ones mastery of the professional competencies in ones field placement. Chapters three and four explore the importance of social work supervision, and using reflection and self-regulation to promote well-being through self-care. Chapter five focuses on the importance of engaging with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities; and interprofessional collaboration. Chapter six examines what professional social work behavior in communication looks like. Chapters seven and eight focus on engaging in diversity and difference in practice; and advance human rights and social, economic, and environmental justice within ones field placement and beyond. Chapter nine discusses practice-informed research and research-informed practice. Chapter ten focuses on engaging in policy practice in ones field placement. Chapters eleven and twelve covers assessment of the three micro-level client systems: individuals, families, and groups; and reviews assessment of the two mezzo-level client systems: organizations and communities. The last two chapters focus on micro interventions with individuals, families, groups, and organizations and communities.

Human services professionals face tremendous challenges today. Clients, government agencies, and other funders increasingly expect professionals to produce measurable and verifiable outcomes. The main goal with this textbook is to help students better understand the utility of research to human services. That is to say, the book presents research as a tool for practice, something that can be used to help professionals in their work with clients, designing programs and services, and advocating for policy changes. In addition to presenting research as a tool for practice, the book also emphasizes connections between human service research and practice, stressing that each plays important and complementary roles in addressing social and personal problems. This textbook is primarily an introduction to social research as it relates to the human services. There are two new main features to this edition. Each chapter opens with a Vignette describing a situation in which a human services professional is faced with a task or dilemma that can be addressed through research or by employing a research technique in practice. The second new major feature is the Practitioner Profile, included in most chapters. These Practitioner Profiles present actual human services professionals who are not professional researchers but nonetheless incorporate research methods into their practice. Similar to the Practitioner Profiles, several chapters also include one or more Research in Practice features designed to help students better understand applications of research methods and concepts and the overall research process. At the end of each chapter, there is a list and brief description of the Main Points of the chapter, which serves as a review of the major concepts covered. Following the Main Points is a list of Important Terms for Review. Following the Important Terms for Review are three sets of questions, critical thinking, evaluating competency, and self-assessment.