The idea of the mad genius persisted all the way to modern times and was even promulgated in scientific circles. Not only was genius mad, but it was associated with criminality and genetic degeneration. The empirical research relevant to the mad-genius issue uses three major methods: the historiometric, the psychometric and the psychiatric. The historical record is replete with putative exemplars of mad genius. The mental illness adopts a more subtle but still pernicious guise-alcoholism. In fact, it sometimes appears that alcoholism is one of the necessities of literary genius. Psychopathology can be found in other forms of genius besides creative genius. Of the available pathologies, depression seems to be the most frequent, along with its correlates of suicide and alcoholism or drug abuse. Family lineages that have higher than average rates of psychopathology will also feature higher than average rates of genius.

This chapter integrates elements and strategies of internal family systems (IFS) psychotherapy into eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy with complexly traumatized children. It shows a description of healing a part using in-sight with a child. In-sight involves having the client look inside to find and work with parts that he or she sees or senses and describes to the therapist. The IFS therapist starts by ensuring the client’s external environment is safe and supportive of the therapy. In a self-led system, polarizations are absent or greatly diminished, leaving more harmony and balance. However, when and how the self is formed may be seen and conceptualized through different lenses in adaptive information processing (AIP)-EMDR and IFS. According to the AIP model, the human brain and biological systems are shaped by the environmental experiences they encounter.

Community-based epidemiological studies find that when grouped together, anxiety disorders are the most common mental health conditions in the United States apart from substance use disorders. Anxiety disorders are also associated with substantial impairments in overall health and well-being, family functioning, social functioning, and vocational outcomes. This chapter includes a brief description of the anxiety disorders followed by a more detailed review of the cognitive behavior interventions indicated for these conditions. Social phobia is the most common anxiety disorder in the United States. Panic attacks are sudden surges of intense anxiety that reach their peak with 10 minutes and involve at least 4 of a list of 13 symptoms. Another somewhat less common anxiety disorder is obsessive compulsive disorder. The chapter discusses the posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Two anxiety management procedures, breathing retraining and deep muscle relaxation, have been subject to some level of empirical investigation for certain anxiety disorder.

This chapter considers aging in place both within larger community and societal contexts as well as through description of the unique experiences of older Latinos or Hispanics, African Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Pacific Islanders. In addition to racial and ethnic status, aging in place may also be influenced by changes in longevity, family demographics, caregiving, and household structures. Most considerations of aging in place emphasize the importance of the fit between the physical environment and the individual to successfully age. The recent addition to the model of the individual life course and historical change now offers a means to recognize three particularly influential components of aging in place relevant for African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders: social capital, the impact of the social environment, and acculturation. The characteristics of assisted-living residences or assisted-living facilities vary across the United States.

Over the past 25 years there has been a growing recognition of the importance of working with families of persons with severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and treatment-refractory depression. Family intervention can be provided by a wide range of professionals, including social workers, psychologists, nurses, psychiatrists, and counselors. This chapter provides an overview of two empirically supported family intervention models for major mental illness: behavioral family therapy (BFT) and multifamily groups (MFGs), both of which employ a combination of education and cognitive behavior techniques such as problem solving training. Some families have excellent communication skills and need only a brief review, as provided in the psychoeductional stage in the handout “Keys to Good Communication”. One of the main goals of BFT is to teach families a systematic method of solving their own problems.

Scholarship on ethnic minority families and aging has wrestled implicitly or explicitly with the understanding of a theoretical dichotomy not uncommon in the field of sociology as a whole: the role that culture plays as either an epiphenomenon and/or as an integral element of the social structure. Interpretations of that basic structural versus cultural duality may derive from broader ideological perspectives, but they may also reflect a superficial framing of the concept of culture in scholarly analyses of ethnic minority families. This chapter presents a review of ethnographic literature on minority families and aging that is grounded in both racial/ethnic and feminist perspectives. It discusses three major topics that emerged as most salient in recent ethnographic studies: the concepts of familism, family obligations, and filial piety; the role of living arrangements, urban/rural space, and the neighborhood context on family experiences; and intergenerational relations, health, and caregiving.

This chapter examines the history and development of circles and delineates the attributes of the circle process. Circles as a restorative justice approach, is distinct from Victim-Offender Mediation (VOM) and Family Group Conferencing (FGC) in its continual attention to the details that must be in place and tended in order for the work of the circle to be productive. Regardless of the context in which circles are used, the purpose of circles is to create a safe, nonjudgmental place to engage in a sharing of authentic personal reactions and feelings that are owned by each individual and acknowledged by others, related to a conflict, crisis, issue, or even to reactions to a speaker or film. The outer supports of a circle process consist of five structural elements: ritual, behavioral guidelines, a talking piece, circle keeping, and consensus decision making. Circles, regardless of type, are often referred to as peacemaking circles.

This chapter explains Victim-Offender Dialogue (VOD), its history and development, its characteristics, and its procedures. Concerns about victim forgiveness, are more explicit in VOD because the nature of the crimes involves the taking of human life or other heinous act and the impossibility of ever returning life to the one murdered or restoring a survivor’s life to what it was before the murder. Part of the cautiousness about the use of restorative justice for violent crime was concern that it might revictimize victims. VOD is an outgrowth of victim-offender mediation (VOM) and is similar in its central focus on the relationship between victim and offender. Victims, family members, and offenders describe the process of the meeting as a conversation. Although the dialogue belongs to the victim and offender, the facilitator begins the process, helps with transitions, invites breaks as needed, and remains a constant, readily alert, and cementing presence throughout.

The family unit shapes the child’s intellect, and influences the child’s ability to cope with the phenomenological forces that can affect his or her mental well-being. The family teaches children how to be good citizens in society. Most importantly, family helps shape children’s identity development so that they can be proud of their cultural heritage, their background, and what they can offer to the world. Children in kinship care are found to maintain more connections with their families and communities; and they experience fewer disruptions in relationships. Children who reside in relative care, risk experiencing a host of negative outcomes including substance abuse, criminal system involvement, mental health disorders, early pregnancy, and education insufficiencies, to name just a few. Relative caregivers are often willing to be permanent resources for children through either adoption or guardianship and their preferences should be valued and considered in relation to the child’s best interest.

Family is a cultural, legal, sociological, and individually defined concept. Family definitions can be discussed in terms of structure, function, and symbolism and family is whoever the patient says it is. A family caregiver is a member of this family who has chosen or who has been designated as the caregiver for one or more family members who cannot manage normal activities of daily living without help. The caregiving role begins immediately at the point of diagnosis and continues over the illness trajectory. Although many studies indicate many negative health outcomes related to family caregiving, there are also benefits to the caregiving role. Theoretical frameworks related to family caregiving can guide questions for family assessment and the development of family caregiver interventions. The needs and concerns of family caregivers should be addressed by all members of the interprofessional palliative or hospice care team.