This chapter discusses comprehensive school crisis interventions, identifies the characteristics that define a crisis, finds ways to assess for the level of traumatic impact, and determines what interventions can be provided to help with response and recovery. It highlights the PREPaRE Model of crisis prevention and intervention. There are six general categories of crises: acts of war and/or terrorism; violent and/or unexpected deaths; threatened death and/or injury; human-caused disasters; natural disasters; and severe illness or injury. Children are a vulnerable population and in the absence of quality crisis interventions, there can be negative short- and long-term implications on learning, cognitive development, and mental health. Evidence-based interventions focusing on physical and psychological safety may be implemented to prevent a crisis from occurring or mitigate the traumatic impact of a crisis event by building resiliency in students. Crisis risk factors are variables that predict whether a person becomes a psychological trauma victim.

Depression is a chronic, recurring disorder that impacts children’s academic, interpersonal, and family functioning. The heritability of major depressive disorder (MDD) is likely to be in the range of 31% to 42%. This chapter begins with a brief overview of the etiology of depression. It presents a description of a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) intervention designed to be delivered in a group format, an individual interpersonal intervention, and an individual behavioral activation (BA) intervention that includes a great deal of parental involvement. The ACTION program is a manualized program that is based on a cognitive behavioral model of depression. There are four primary treatment components to ACTION: affective education, coping skills training (BA), problem-solving training, and cognitive restructuring. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion of universal therapeutic techniques to be incorporated into work with depressed youth regardless of the therapeutic orientation or treatment strategy.

Divorce is a lengthy developmental process and, in the case of children and adolescents, one that can encompass most of their young lives. This chapter explores the experience of divorce from the perspective of the children, reviews the evidence base and empirical support for interventions. It provides examples of three evidence-based intervention programs, namely, Children in Between, Children of Divorce Intervention Program (CODIP), and New Beginnings, appropriate for use with children, adolescents, and their parents. Promoting protective factors and limiting risk factors during childhood and adolescence can prevent many mental, emotional, and behavioral problems and disorders during those years and into adulthood. The Children in Between program is listed on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices. The CODIP and the New Beginnings program are also listed on the SAMHSA National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices.

Children and youth with serious emotional, behavioral, and social difficulties present challenges for teachers, parents, and peers. Youth who are at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) are particularly vulnerable in the areas of peer and adult social relationships. The emphasis on meeting academic standards and outcomes for children and youth in schools has unfortunately pushed the topic of social-emotional development to the proverbial back burner. This chapter emphasizes that social skills might be considered academic enablers because these positive social behaviors predict short-term and long-term academic achievement. Evidence-based practices are employed with the goal of preventing or ameliorating the effects of disruptive behavior disorders (DBD) in children and youth. An important distinction in designing and delivering social skills interventions (SSI) is differentiating between different types of social skills deficits. Social skills deficits may be either acquisition deficits or performance deficits.

Eating disorders (EDs) are a complex and comparatively dangerous set of mental disorders that deeply affect the quality of life and well-being of the child or adolescent who is struggling with this problem as well as those who love and care for him or her. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) outlines specific criteria for the diagnosis of anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), binge eating disorder (BED), and other specified feeding or ED. Treatment of eating disordered behavior typically involves a three-facet approach: medical assessment and monitoring, nutritional counseling, and psychological and behavioral treatment. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) are also evidence-based approaches to treatment for AN. The treatment of EDs should be viewed as a team effort that integrates medical, nutritional, and mental health service providers.

Asthma, a pulmonary condition, is a chronic respiratory disorder typified by persistent underlying inflammation of tissues, airway obstruction, congestion, hyperresponsive airways, and the narrowing of smooth airway muscle. Asthma is one of the most common chronic medical conditions in children and is the leading cause of school absenteeism. This chapter describes childhood asthma, including its causes and triggers. It elucidates the extant research supporting treatment of the disorder and provides step-by-step empirically based interventions to ameliorate asthmatic symptomatology in children. The psychological underpinnings of asthma have been investigated in the field of psycho-neuroimmunology (PNI), which examines the interplay of the central nervous system, neuroendocrine, and immune system with psychological variables and their relation to physical health. Researchers have shown that relaxation and guided imagery (RGI), written emotional expression, yoga, and mindfulness therapy improve pulmonary lung functioning, decrease rates of absenteeism, and improve overall quality of life.

This chapter reviews the empirical support for such a multifaceted approach by considering selected neurodevelopmental concerns and medical variables that present as obstacles to healthy neurodevelopment. It discusses select neuro-developmental prenatal complications that can be prevented or ameliorated through behavioral interventions with the pregnant mother. The chapter addresses the deleterious effects of legal substances on the developing fetus, but professionals should be vigilant about preventing or reducing intrauterine exposure to illicit substances as well. Tobacco is a legal substance that, when used during pregnancy, has the potential to harm both the mother and fetus. Of particular concern with tobacco use are the detrimental health risks, such as hypertension and diabetes, which adversely affect the cerebrovascular functioning of pregnant women. The process of neurodevelopment is complex and represents a dynamic interplay among genetics, behavior, demographics, the environment, psychosocial factors, and myriad physiological factors.

Concurrent with the release of Education and Identity in 1969, the United States was at the nexus of social unrest and expanding funding and support for educational initiatives. The decades of the 1950s and 1960s saw a great increase in research and practice focused on developmental theorists working in the area of higher education. At the forefront of this work was theorist Arthur Chickering. The primary construct of Chickering’s (1969) work is the Seven Vectors of Development. The vectors are: (a) developing competence, (b) managing emotions, (c) moving through autonomy toward interdependence, (d) developing mature interpersonal relationships, (e) establishing identity, (f) developing purpose, and (g) developing integrity. This vector addresses competence across three domains: intellectual, physical and manual, and interpersonal. This chapter briefly outlines Chickering’s life work, and ways in which practitioners can apply his theory to their daily interactions with college students.

This chapter shows the importance, for older persons, of support groups. In spite of the changes that have occurred in the American family, and all the negative things that fill the popular press concerning family relationships, the family is still the backbone of support for most older people. To some extent, the type of family support older people obtain depends on whether they are living in the community or in an institutional setting such as a group home, retirement village, or nursing facility. Whether a person is married, has great impact on that person’s support within a family setting including emotional, financial, and physical support, particularly in times of illness or infirmity. The success of a second marriage depends to a considerable extent on the reaction of the adult children of the elderly couple. Older grandparents, no matter how motivated, can find caring for grandchildren to be very tiring.

Delirium, also known as acute confusional state, organic brain syndrome, brain failure, and encephalopathy, is a common occurrence among medical and surgical patients and causes extensive morbidity and mortality. This chapter provides an updated review of delirium, including pathophysiological correlates, clinical features, diagnostic considerations, and contemporary treatment options. The defining features of delirium include an acute change in mental status characterized by altered consciousness, cognition, and fluctuations. The chapter explores the risk factors for delirium. These can be divided into two categories: predisposing factors and precipitating factors. Imbalances in the synthesis, release, and degradation in gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), glutamate, acetylcholine, and the monoamines have also been hypothesized to have roles in delirium. GABA is the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system (CNS) and medications such as benzodiazepines and propofol have known actions at GABA receptors and have been associated with delirium.

Traditionally, there has been a division of labor in higher education between academics and student affairs. This chapter is designed to focus on the plausibility of using theory to facilitate communication across the many departments and divisions of higher education. It is important to remember that the student affairs profession “grew from the campus up, not from theory down”. Early institutions of higher education followed the Oxbridge model with historically based residential living systems in which educators resided in residence halls with the students. This concept of faculty–student integration remains a valuable component in student success today, and is discussed in greater detail in this chapter. One useful “language” for student affairs practitioners is found in Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development. Erik Erikson pioneered a theoretical framework and proposes an eight-staged life-span model through which developing individuals permeate starting at birth and eventually ending with death.

This chapter shows how the United States and the world are experiencing an aging evolution we are growing older. America is going through a revolution. As a whole, Americans are becoming older, and there are many more older people among people than ever before in our history. Obviously all cohorts of the population youth, young adults, middle-aged, young-old, oldest-old are heterogeneous. When some people think about the elderly as a whole, they picture frail, weak, dependent persons, some in nursing homes and many confined to their homes. The chapter demonstrates the differences the various age categories have in relation to selected chronic health conditions that cause limitations of activity. Widowhood is much more common for elderly American women than for older men. The aging of Baby Boomers will solidify the shift America is experiencing with the aging of its population. Centenarians make up a small percentage of the total U.S. population.

Child psychotherapy requires case conceptualization through the lens of developmental psychology in a multimodal approach to assessment, diagnosis, treatment planning, and clinical interventions. This chapter outlines a blueprint for therapists to provide treatment for children by integrating these fundamental principles while collaborating with the other people in the child’s life. The chapter guides the therapist through case conceptualization that integrates the most efficacious treatment interventions into the eight-phase template of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). Adaptive information processing (AIP) theory drives treatment with EMDR throughout the eight phases of that protocol and provides a template for case conceptualization and treatment planning. The use of the EMDR approach to psychotherapy is well documented and approved as evidence-based practice in Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) and California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare (CEBC).

Children are exposed to distress, violence, and trauma even before they are born. In-utero and early childhood exposure can contribute to severe medical and psychological consequences. Children who have been exposed to such traumatic events often arrive at the psychotherapist’s office with emotional and behavioral symptoms suggestive of reactive attachment disorder (RAD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and dissociation. This chapter reviews relevant theories of dissociation integrated with theories of development to provide a summary of how attachment impacts dissociation. With a developmentally grounded theory of dissociation, the chapter describes clinical interventions for treating the dissociative sequelae of attachment trauma in children. This theoretical framework offers a developmentally grounded and integrative framework for working with children with complex trauma and dissociation. Symptoms of dissociation are common with PTSD, but an extreme response to trauma can be dissociation and dissociative disorders.

Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is the term applied to a clinical syndrome characterized by insidious progressive language impairment that is initially unaccompanied by other cognitive deficits. This chapter describes several variants of PPA and more than one etiology. It explains three main variants of PPA, namely, semantic Variant of PPA (svPPA), nonfluent/agrammatic variant of PPA (nfvPPA) and logopenic variant of PPA (lvPPA), and also describes criteria for their diagnoses. The defining symptom of PPA is the presence of a language impairment for at least 2 years in the absence of any other significant cognitive problem. Assessment of other cognitive domains is challenging because many tests of memory, attention, executive functioning, and visual-spatial skills rely on language processes in some manner. There are no drug therapies proven to arrest progression of signs and symptoms of PPA due to frontotemporal lobar dementia (FTLD) or Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathologies.

Dementia is an umbrella term for conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), vascular dementia (VaD), and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Under that umbrella, FTD, also known as frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), can be further categorized to define a group of neurodegenerative disorders resulting from a progressive deterioration of the cells in the anterior temporal and/or frontal lobes of the brain. More specifically, ventromedial-frontopolar cortex is identified with metabolic impairment in FTD. This chapter elaborates on the history, epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical features, treatment, and outcomes of FTD. The history and background section of each of the FTD categories highlights the evolution of the disease conceptualization. The FTD subtypes are conceptualized in three categories: neurobehavioral variant, motor variant, and language variant. The chapter illustrates the features of all three categories of FTD.

This chapter presents how eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy and Theraplay can be used together when treating children with a history of complex trauma. Theraplay focuses on the parent-child relationship as the healing agent that holds within it the potential to cultivate growth and security in the child. The chapter shows some core concepts that help define and illuminate the application of Theraplay. Now that a clear review of basic Theraplay principles has been provided, people need to look at EMDR therapy and the adaptive information processing (AIP) model in conjunction with Theraplay and Theraplay core values. Early in its development, Theraplay integrated parental involvement into its therapeutic model. During the reprocessing phases of EMDR therapy, Theraplay can be very helpful in providing different avenues for emotion regulation and for the repairing of the attachment system.

The concept of Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) makes a lot of sense in that individuals are typically not “normal” one day and “demented” the next. In theory, especially for progressive neurodegenerative conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), the development of dementia may take months or years. The clinical syndrome of MCI due to AD can be identified via a neuropsychological evaluation or less-sensitive cognitive screening measures. Much of what we are learning about MCI, and therefore refining its diagnostic criteria, is coming from two large-scale studies of cognition and aging: Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) and Australian Imaging, Biomarkers and Lifestyle (AIBL). According to the most recent research diagnostic criteria for MCI due to AD, evidence of beta-amyloid deposition, neuronal injury, and/or other biochemical changes needs to be seen to increase confidence of the etiology of MCI. Cholinesterase inhibitors remain the primary pharmacological treatment for AD.

Informal and loosely generated models of White identity development began to emerge in the late 1970s and early 1980s; however, the first formal White identity development model, or typology, was proposed by Helms in 1984. This chapter describes her model, followed by an application of the model to the opening vignette. It identifies strategies for educators and student affairs practitioners to work with students like Craig to begin to more fully understand his Whiteness, the sociopolitical realities of race on campus and, in general, increase his multicultural competence, and engage in healthy interracial interactions. The chapter also discusses the summary of the literature examining the steps educators and student affairs practitioners can take to promote their own cross-cultural interactions and multicultural knowledge in order to more effectively work with students struggling with their own racial identity, followed by the strategies to promote healthy interracial interactions among students.

Holland theorized six distinct worker personalities (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional). This is often referred to as RIASEC. The theory includes six work environments that correspond to the same personality types (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional). Although people possess aspects of each type, the general thesis of the theory is that salient types (work personalities) will emerge in each individual. Holland’s work represents a significant contribution to career development and counseling. Understanding Holland’s focus on interests as expressions of personality aids career counselors and student development specialists in helping students gain critical self-understanding. Exploring the match between personalities and work environments is a fundamental aspect of applying this theory to student development. Helping students to explore and learn about different careers that may be of interest to them is congruent with the goals of higher education institutions and student development theories.

Integral to theories of moral development is the matter of not only what individuals think but also how they think. Across the life span, moral development is shaped by challenging events that prompt individuals to question the frameworks they have created for finding ways to determine what is good and what is bad. College students encounter new ideas and values that differ from those of their families, in the classroom, in the residence hall, in the dining facility, in the student union, and sometimes on the athletic field or court. In order to illustrate how moral development unfolds within a college student population, this chapter introduces a fictitious character who displays each stage of moral development for two theories–Lawrence Kohlberg’s (1963, 1984) and Carol Gilligan’s (1982) models of moral development. The chapter discusses the underpinnings of two specific moral development theories.

This chapter suggests that the dysexecutive syndrome associated with vascular dementia (VaD) is caused by impairment in separate but related cognitive concepts; that is, pathological inertia, mental bradyphrenia, disengagement, and temporal reordering. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, cerebrovascular dementia was a well-established clinical syndrome. Multi-infarct dementia (MID) generally became associated with all types of vascular syndromes. Recent research suggests the presence of considerable overlap between the neuropathology underlying Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and VaD. Patients diagnosed with VaD tend to produce hyperkinetic/interminable perseverations, suggesting an inability to appropriately terminate a motor response. Other aspects of the dysexecutive syndrome associated with VaD revolve around constructs related to interference inhibition, flexibility of response selection, and sustained attention. From the view point of diagnosis, the neuropathology of VaD often differentially impacts the frontal lobes, whereas the neuropathology associated with AD revolves more around circumscribed temporal lobe involvement.

Many adults understand the pressures of having multiple responsibilities that require attention in a variety of life circumstances. Whether giving attention to work, friends, school, religious activities, romantic relationships, family, or even recreation, adulthood requires the ongoing ability to multitask a variety of expectations and responsibilities. Before reaching adulthood, each person has experienced influences that affect how we think, feel, and react to life’s circumstances. This chapter offers professionals and educators one model for understanding these influences and their impact on college students who oftentimes are transitioning to a new world of adult responsibilities for the first time. Ecological theory originally developed out of the work of Urie Bronfenbrenner (1977) within the field of developmental psychology. The concepts described in Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory offer a number of important implications for supporting students in a college setting.

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.

Dementia pugilistica (DP) is a form of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) that involves gross impairment of cognitive and motor functioning due to repetitive blows to the head from boxing. Rapidly increasing in popularity among fight fans and fighters is mixed martial arts (MMA). In the area of sport-related concussion, there are two other frequently used terms that are necessary to distinguish from DP and CTE: postconcussion syndrome (PCS) and second impact syndrome (SIS). The classical clinical signs and symptoms of DP include combinations of dysarthria, incoordination, gait disturbance, pyramidal and extrapyramidal dysfunction, and cognitive impairment. Some media reports about concussion and the potential link between repetitive concussions and long-term problems include eye-catching and emotionally provocative titles. This chapter has provided an overview of the many complex issues surrounding the effects of repeat concussive trauma, particularly in sports.

The general racial/ethnic identity theories offer some insight into possible ways to approach diversity education within all aspects of student affairs. Student affairs professionals and faculty could facilitate educational programs, seminars, and workshops that challenge students to confront issues of prejudice and racism as well as to cultivate racial or ethnic pride. These programs should address the external conditions in which students explore their identity and how to make meaning of shifting thoughts as they progress in their racial or ethnic identity development. By looking at diversity through the lens of racial or ethnic orientation, professionals can meet students where they are and help them not only understand other cultures, but also how they fit into their own race/ethnicity. Practitioners might also use these models as a way to gain insight as to where students might be in their racial/ethnic identity development.

The inclusion of parents and family caregivers throughout the phases of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is essential for best treatment outcome with highly traumatized and internally disorganized children. Parental responses that create dysregulation in the child’s system also appear to be related to the parent’s capacity to reflect, represent and give meaning to the child’s internal world. This chapter shows a case that exemplifies how the caregiver’s activation of maladaptive neural systems perpetuates the child’s exposure to multiple and incongruent models of the self and other. Helping parents arrive at a deeper level of understanding of their parental role using the adaptive information processing (AIP) model, attachment theory, regulation theory and interpersonal neurobiology principals will create a solid foundation. The thermostat analogy is designed to assist parents in understanding their role as external psychobiological regulators of the child’s system.

At its core, Kolb’s construct of experiential learning is more than simply a theory. Experiential learning theory (ELT) holds that learning is “the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience”. Although ELT is often used in formal classroom settings, there are many out-of-classroom environments in student affairs that use and benefit from it as well. One way in which colleges and universities use experiential learning is through service-learning courses and projects. Several scholars have reported that using service learning in conjunction with ELT provides students with meaningful ways to engage not only with the community, but also to come to know more about diversity and social justice. Because out-of-classroom learning is such a key component in higher education and in the holistic development of students, using Kolb’s experiential learning model can aid students in meaning making as it facilitates personal growth.

This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book attempts to contribute to improving children’s lives by providing a comprehensive and effective treatment protocol. To enhance treatment efficacy and improve the trajectory for children’s lives, case conceptualization in child psychotherapy must integrate developmental theory, neuroscience, and best practice models into clinical practice. The book reviews some of the latest research on attachment and neuroscience that impacts case conceptualization in child psychotherapy. In 1989, Shapiro proposed a new treatment approach she entitled eye movement desensitization (EMD) and, later, eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR) to treat trauma. After reviewing the major theories of attachment and Schore’s current rendition that he labels self-regulation theory, the book offers a foundation for therapists to use develop-mentally grounded theory through the lens of adaptive information processing (AIP) to treat attachment issues in clients of all ages.

The Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) form a group of illnesses, characterized by a pathological form of the native prion protein, which results in a rapidly progressive neurodegenerative illness. They also are responsible for Gerstmann-Strâussler-Scheinker (GSS) syndrome and fatal familial insomnia (FFI), and they have been produced experimentally in several other animals. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is the most common TSE in humans. Human prion diseases have three etiologies: (a) sporadic, (b) genetic, and (c) acquired. Human prion diseases are important to understand because of their underlying pathophysiology, public health implications, and clinical features that often result in misdiagnosis. This chapter reviews the historical discovery of prion diseases and the formulation of the prion hypothesis. It explores prion hypothesis and the neuropathogenesis of prion diseases. The chapter ends with a description of the diagnosis, prognosis, and experimental treatment of human prion diseases.

Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is a clinical syndrome characterized by progressive dementia, cognitive fluctuations, visual hallucinations (VH), and parkinsonism. In 1961, Okazaki, Lipkin, and Aronson reported two patients with dementia and parkinsonism with cortical neuronal inclusions similar to the brain-stem Lewy bodies (LB) seen in Parkinson’s disease (PD). LBs are intra-cytoplasmic neuronal inclusions containing α-synuclein and ubiquitin. There are other associated pathological features in DLB such as spongiform change neuronal loss, and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology includes amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). DLB and other entities such as PD and multiple system atrophy (MSA) have been grouped under the term synucleinopathies due to the existence of &#945-synuclein inclusions in the brain. The central feature required for a diagnosis of DLB is the presence of dementia: a progressive cognitive decline of sufficient magnitude to interfere with normal social or occupational function.

This chapter describes an overview of the procedures that a neuropsychologist may apply to a range of similar referrals in the area of civil capacities. It explores the presentation of a framework developed by the American Bar Association/American Psychological Association (ABA/APA) working group on capacity issues and provides more specific guidance regarding assessment tools. Decision making is a complex cognitive process that involves multiple brain regions and brain systems. Injuries to the prefrontal cortex are common in dementia and are often linked to changes in decision-making abilities. Key differences between clinical assessments and those for capacity evaluations include knowledge of relevant legal and ethical issues, a functional assessment, and an ability to present neuropsychological data to lay readers. Research on medical consent capacity and financial capacity highlight the importance of the assessment of calculation, executive function, and verbal memory as part of any test battery.

This chapter presents several strategies, analogies, and metaphors to address dissociation from different angles and perspectives. Clinicians will have a wide range of methods of introducing and explaining dissociation to children. Analogies and stories that help children understand the multiplicity of the self may be presented during the preparation phase of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. A good way of introducing the concept of dissociation is by using the dissociation kit for kids. Stimulating interoceptive awareness is a fundamental aspect of the work needed during the preparation phase of EMDR therapy with dissociative children. Visceral, proprioceptive, as well as kinesthetic-muscle awareness should be stimulated. The installation of present resolution (IPR) was inspired by an exercise developed by Steele and Raider. In this exercise, the child is asked to draw a picture of the past traumatic event followed by a picture of the child in the present.

During the installation phase, the child can experience a felt positive belief about himself or herself in association with the memory being reprocessed. Children with history of early and chronic trauma have difficulty tolerating positive affect. Enhancing and amplifying their ability to tolerate and experience positive emotions and to hold positive views of the self are pivotal aspects of eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. This chapter shows a script that may be used with children during the body scan phase. Assisting children in achieving emotional and psychological equilibrium after each reprocessing session as well as ensuring their overall stability are fundamental goals of the closure phase of EMDR therapy. The reevaluation phase of EMDR therapy ensures that adequate integration and assimilation of maladaptive material has been made. The future template of the EMDR three-pronged protocol is a pivotal aspect of EMDR therapy.

The Myers–Briggs type indicator (MBTI) was designed to help people understand themselves and others by helping them appreciate the diverse strengths of different personality types. It has been widely used in counseling as well as business to work on team building and relationships. There is, therefore, room for using this assessment within the field of student affairs to help build teams and groups both for professionals in the field and for students. This chapter discusses the basic information about the MBTI and implications for student affairs. The instrument is considered as a personality assessment for normal individuals designed to assess personality type. The MBTI offers strength-based guidance in every realm of living concerning individual growth to interpersonal relationships, in academic matters to spiritual terrains. From the office of the president to the chaplain, the MBTI is a useful and effective tool on a college campus.

Chronic alcohol use has been related to various linked disorders when used in excess, particularly when this excessive use becomes chronic. It is important for clinicians to clarify the amount and type of alcohol being consumed and the frequency of this consumption when considering its potential role in any neuropsychological profile. The most commonly reported terms found in the literature include alcohol-induced persisting dementia (APA), alcohol-related dementia, and Korsakoff’s syndrome (KS). This chapter provides some synthesis of this literature to offer some clarity on cognitive dysfunction as it relates to alcohol and the manifestation of dementia as a result of chronic use, including discussion of the classic KS and related presentations. Alcohol dependency is commonly associated with a number of neurological impairments including deficits in abstract problem solving, visuospatial and verbal learning, memory function, perceptual-motor skills, and even motor function.

The primary goals of the assessment phase are to access the memory network containing traumatogenic material and to access and activate the cognitive, affective, and somatic aspects of the memory. Since the reprocessing phases of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy follow immediately after the assessment phase, the clinician should have prepared potential interweaves in case the child’s processing of the memory gets blocked. Children with complex trauma histories may already have sensitized sympathetic systems that make them prone to being in fight flight mode even in the face of safety. The chronically traumatized children present with sensitized dorsal vagal systems. Current caregiving and attachment behaviors have the potential for activating the attachment system, and with it past dysfunctional attachment experiences. One of the best adjunct approaches that can be used within a comprehensive EMDR treatment is sandtray therapy.

The study of human development, broad in scope and diverse in nature, has been the focus of research by psychologists, sociologists, educators, human ecologists, and many others since the early to mid-20th century. This chapter provides an overview of identity development in young adults. Initial theories across multiple domains of development (e.g., cognitive, psychological) have focused primarily on child and adolescent changes based on the assumption that most development slowed considerably or crystallized and stopped completely after late adolescence. As a result, developmental issues in young adulthood (approximately ages 18–24 years) received greater scrutiny, and theoretical frameworks for understanding these aspects emerged. The chapter examines some of the issues and theories that impact identity development during this period in life. Psychosocial developmental theories offer frameworks for conceptualizing the issues individuals encounter at various points across the life span and have provided structure for more recent research as well.

Identity development operates on two simultaneous continuums, level of exploration and level of commitment. High levels of exploration and high levels of commitment suggest identity achievement, denoting the active process of developing an identity. With social identity groups, identity encompasses several unique facets because of the influence of the sociopolitical context (i.e., privilege and oppression) associated with social identity. Understanding oneself as a gay person is not simply understanding one’s attractions and sexual/affectional orientation, but also understanding that identity within a context, in which one might face marginalization from the larger community, institutional discrimination, and internalized homonegativity. In the same way, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, gender nonconforming, and queer identities also experience stigmatization. For lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals, emergence of identity development begins with an initial questioning of one’s heterosexuality or gender conformity.

The incorporation of a skill-building phase and eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR) games can greatly enhance and facilitate the utilization of EMDR therapy with children who have a history of complex trauma. Some EMDR games work with cognitive skills, others work with emotional skills, while others work with the body and the language of sensation. The use of positive cognition cards offers a great opportunity to play and use a wide range of card games. This chapter exemplifies how to use negative cognition games. Feeling cubes contain different basic emotions appropriate for children. Clinicians can purchase plain wooden cubes and write different feelings on the cube. A wide range of card games can be used with the feeling cards. The memory wand offers another playful approach to the process of identifying traumatic events with children. The chapter shows a playful way of exploring and identifying parent-child interactions.

This chapter focuses on the racial identity development of Black or African American college students and of students who identity as biracial or multiracial. Although racial identity development theories do not support biological distinction between racial groups in the United States, they recognize how different conditions of domination or oppression of various groups have influenced their construction of self. In this chapter Black is used to refer to the racial identity of U.S.-born persons of African descent who may categorize themselves as Black, Black American, African American, or Afro Caribbean. The term biracial is used to describe persons with two parents of differing monoracial or multiracial descents. It is worth noting that some individuals may claim Black racial identity although neither of their parents identify as Black, such as the case of civil rights activist Rachel Dolezal. This chapter goes in depth into such alternative experiences of Black identity development.

The basic goals of phase one are to develop a working relationship and a therapeutic alliance and to determine if the level of expertise of the eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) clinician is adequate for the complexity of the case. Other goals are to develop a comprehensive treatment plan and case formulation. EMDR therapy was developed as a form of treatment to ameliorate and heal trauma. Clinicians working with complex trauma must have substantial understanding of the adaptive information processing (AIP) model and the EMDR methodology. During phase one, the clinician works on creating an atmosphere of trust and safety so a therapeutic alliance can be formed with the child and the caregivers. This chapter shows an example of how medical issues can affect the quality of the parent-child communications. The adult attachment interview (AAI) gives us the view of the presence of the experiences in the parent’s life.

Sociocultural theories situate learning and development as embedded within cultural, institutional, and historical contexts. Within these contexts, the focus is on how individual learning and development is mediated by social interactions and culturally organized activities. The goal within a sociocultural approach is to understand the relationship among cultural, institutional, and historical situations and their influences on human cognition. This chapter provides an overview of the history and development of sociocultural theories. It discusses two specific sociocultural theories: Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) and communities of practice. Communities of practice, the central component of another sociocultural theory, developed out of the work of Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger on situated learning that focused on the role of participation in a community and social learning. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the application of sociocultural theories and closing vignettes.

Transition is a process that takes place over time rather than at one point in time, and every transition begins with an ending. Schlossberg (2008) explained that each phase of the transition allows for a way of viewing and navigating the transition. Building student programming efforts around Schlossberg’s Transition Model adds an important foundation to any transitional program. Taking stock is a process by which transitioners examine their situation and coping resources for the situation. Taking stock consists of analyzing four domains: (1) Situation - the situation at the time of the transition; (2) Support - the people and assets that strengthen and encourage the student; (3) Self - who the student is (identity), his or her optimism level, and dealing with ambiguity; (4) Strategies - ways and functions of coping. Incorporating the Four Ss as standard components ensures a holistic approach in bolstering student success and retention.

Child psychotherapy is different than any other type of adult-child relationship. A trained mental health professional is using clinical skills to help a child find the answers to the problems he or she has encountered. This chapter outlines the most common symptoms in child psychotherapy. Anxiety is one of the most common symptoms of childhood, but the etiology and manifestation of anxiety varies. Anxiety is a symptom of many other disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), separation anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, social phobia and other specific phobias, selective mutism, mood disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Gifted children tend to have higher levels of anxiety because they can think about things they are not yet emotionally prepared to manage. The chapter discusses clinical interventions for common issues of childhood, along with resources for children, directions for parents, and references for parents, caregivers, educators, and therapists alike.

This chapter explores theories of human development, also referred to as developmental psychology, as a knowledge base for professionals to integrate theory into case conceptualization in child psychotherapy. It provides a brief overview of the significant contributions of developmental psychology to the field of child psychotherapy that impact case conceptualization in the clinical treatment of children. Many theorists have shaped the study of human development, including Buford Jeanette Johnson, Anna Freud, Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, Urie Bronfenbrenner, Erik Erikson, Jerome Kagan, John B. Watson, B. F. Skinner, Albert Bandura, Lawrence Kohlberg, Jerome Brunner, Robert J. Havighurst, and Emmy Werner. Collectively, their theories propose explanations of all aspects of human development, including psychosexual, cognitive, social, psychosocial, behavioral, and neurological development, along with memory, information processing theories, and resilience. The chapter includes educational theory in order to understand how children are challenged to learn not only internally, but also externally, as well.

As diverse student populations gain visibility in colleges and universities across the United States, higher education counselors and student affairs professionals aim to effectively serve and meet the needs of these students. Individuals with disabilities (IWDs) represent one of these previously segregated diverse voices and perspectives that have recently experienced positive developments from inclusive college experiences. College students with disabilities represent an important segment of the growing student population. In 1997, Gill proposed a Disability Identity Integration Model (DIIM) for people with disabilities at the individual and group levels. The DIIM model aims to understand the integration process for people with disabilities into society in a process that involves identity development as part of the disabled minority group. The DIIM offers four types of integration: (a) coming to feel we belong, (b) coming home, (c) coming together, and (d) coming out. This integration process promotes personal empowerment and disability rights.

International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD)’s professional training institute offers comprehensive courses on childhood dissociation that are taught internationally and online. This chapter briefly cites some of the theories that have emerged in the dissociative field. One system, the apparently normal personality (ANP) enables an individual to perform necessary functions, such as work. The emotional personality (EP) is action system fixated at the time of the trauma to defend from threats. As with the Adaptive Information Processing Model (AIP) in eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), each phase brings reassessment of the client’s ability to move forward to effectively process trauma. There are many overlapping symptoms with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) and dissociation that often mask the dissociation. The rate of diagnosis of pediatric bipolar disorder has increased 40 times in the last ten years.

Perry’s theory of development has had a significant impact on the field of psychology and is essential to understanding the cognitive development of college students. This chapter provides an overview of Perry’s theory and describes the ways in which it still applies to college students on a diverse, pluralistic college campus. The chapter discusses how Perry’s theory continues to apply to the diversified college student population common in modern American institutions of higher education. It outlines the ways in which Perry’s scheme applies to Fatima, the contextual and pluralistic challenges faced at each position, and future development, should Fatima continue to courageously accept responsibility for her moral development and overcome the ambiguities of relativism. The chapter describes utilizing Perry’s scheme as a lens through which to view Fatima’s development, anticipate deflections from growth, and identify strategies and campus and community resources to foster inclusivity, personal exploration, and continued development.

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is the third leading cause of dementia in large pathological series but tends to have an earlier age of onset than Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Lewy body dementia, the most frequent and second most frequent forms of dementia. Semantic dementia (SD) includes impairment in the understanding of the meanings of words and difficulty in identifying objects. Semantic primary progressive aphasia, also known as SD, includes difficulties with naming and single-word comprehension although grammar and fluency are often spared. SD is a disorder that involves loss of semantic memory, anomia, receptive aphasia, and an actual loss of word meaning. The chapter presents some assessment tools that are those conducted by a psychologist or a neuropsychologist. Such an evaluation should include a clinical interview and neuropsychological examination. SD has been associated with ubiquitin-positive, TAR-DNA-binding protein-43 (TDP-43)-positive, tau-negative inclusions.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related cortical dementias are a major health problem. Patients with AD and related dementia have more hospital stays, have more skilled nursing home stays, and utilize more home health care visits compared to older adults without dementia. This chapter discusses the role of family caregivers and how they interact with in-home assistance, day care, assisted living, and nursing homes in the care of an individual with dementia. It also discuss important transitions in the trajectory of dementia care, including diagnosis, treatment decision making, home and day care issues, long-term care placement, and death. It highlights the importance of caregiver assessment, education, and intervention as part of the care process. Dementia caregivers are at risk of a variety of negative mental health consequences. Another important moderating variable for dementia caregiver distress is self-efficacy.

Vascular dementia (VaD) is an umbrella term representing a clinical grouping with inherent heterogeneity in its clinical manifestations reflecting a variability in its underlying etiology. This chapter discusses specific presentations that can fall under the VaD heading. It includes discussion of multi-infarct dementia (MID) and dementia associated with lacunar states (LSs), as well as Binswanger’s disease (BD), which remains embroiled in controversy. The chapter discusses cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) and moyomoya disease due to their clinical overlap. The etiology of MID is in many ways the same as the etiology of cerebrovascular disease (CVD) in general and even late-life dementia. The term MID itself is used to describe a disorder characterized by a stepwise deterioration of cognitive functioning associated with strokes or accumulated transient ischemic attacks (TIAs).

Student developmental models that can be used to understand various students in groups and their development include identity models, such as Chickering and Reisser’s model, as well as Levinson’s model; psychosocial models, such as Erikson’s model; intellectual and ethical developmental models, such as Perry’s model; moral developmental models, such as Kohlberg’s model; cognitive models, such as Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s models; and experiential models, such as Kolb’s model. For a broad and universal understanding, these and other student developmental theories are integrated into the group theory. This chapter provides a discussion of group theory in relation to various salient student development theories. It addresses a brief introduction about the need for inclusion and multicultural awareness for students and student groups. The chapter discusses aspects for understanding successful student group development regarding group types, group leader guidelines, group processes, and learning reflection of student groups through a multicultural lens.

Desensitization is a complex and important phase of eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. This chapter covers child-friendly strategies and interweaves that support and stimulates the social engagement system, maintain dual awareness and kindle children’s integrative capacities. It presents advanced strategies and interweaves that can facilitate the assimilation of memories of trauma and adversity as well as to promote vertical and horizontal integration. Shapiro developed a strategy to jump-start blocked processing that she called ‘the cognitive interweave’. According to Shapiro, clients spontaneously move through the three plateaus of information processing: responsibility, safety, and control/power, to a more adaptive perspective during reprocessing. Most children injured and traumatized in the adult-child relationship carry within the responsibility of the event. Mindful awareness in EMDR is pivotal during the reprocessing phases. The use of nonverbal communication strategies can greatly facilitate the process for children working on memories of events occurring pre-verbally.

This chapter provides information for therapists to integrate theories of neuroscience into the practice of child psychotherapy. Neuroscientists have described how the brain develops, documented the impact of external experiences on the developing brain, and integrated theories of neurodevelopment and neuroplasticity into our understanding of the impact of our interpersonal relationships on our brain. The chapter focuses on developmental trauma disorder and the research on the impact of trauma on children. The majority of the research on trauma in children has focused on the assessment and diagnosis of Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); however, there are a limited number of studies that have documented the efficacy of the treatment of PTSD in children. The chapter reviews diagnoses specific to neurodevelopment, including autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) and sensory processing disorders (SPD).

Students may enter higher education with a strong set of ideals, firm models of career options, and certain confidence in their ultimate direction; however, it is not uncommon for students to begin college unprepared for life after graduation, let alone housing assignments and first semester coursework. This chapter focuses on the difficulties surrounding the major choice, the factors that influence decision making, career theories in student affairs, and campus and community resources available to assist students in gathering important data about their major and career choices. Selecting a college major and making career decisions are not easy, and require self-knowledge, self-examination, and research on what is available in the world of work. Essential to student success is the ability of student affairs professionals to accurately recognize when students are struggling and make an appropriate referral for career counseling, academic support services, or personal counseling.

The work directed toward increasing the child’s ability to tolerate and regulate affect, so that the processing of traumatic material can be achieved, is initiated during the preparation phase. The process of providing the neural stimulation to improve the child’s capacity to bond, regulate, explore, and play should begin during the early phases of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. The Polyvagal theory presents a hierarchical model of the autonomic system. In complexly traumatized children, the development of this system has been compromised due to the early dysregulated and traumatizing interactions with their environments and caregivers. When describing the various forms of bilateral stimulation (BLS), go over the different options and practice with the child. If the child went through the calm-safe place protocol successfully, motivating the child to actually use it when facing environmental triggers is an important goal.

One of the more comprehensive and enduring theories of psychosocial development was created by Erik Erikson (Erikson, 1968). He developed a map of human psychosocial development that covered the crises and touch points humans experience from birth to death. This chapter provides brief descriptions of each stage of Erikson’s chronologically organized model. Erikson’s model of sequential development implies that incomplete resolution of one developmental crisis may hinder future developmental progress regardless of an individual’s chronological age. Thus, “arrested development” may lead to a variety of concerns, behavioral problems, or adverse events for students, regardless of their ages. Awareness of the role that psychosocial development can play in a student’s maturity level or his or her adherence to rules and expectations can help student affairs professionals recognize and respond to student issues. The chapter outlines the ways in which obstructed development may create challenges for students on campus.

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy was independently designated as a psychotherapy approach, and was validated by twenty randomized controlled clinical trials. Results of meta-analyses show EMDR as an effective and efficacious treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in adults and children. Childhood complex trauma refers to the exposure of early chronic and multiple traumatic events. The adaptive information processing (AIP) model constitutes the central piece and foundation of EMDR therapy. Affective neuroscience brings up the importance of PLAY as a healing agent. The polyvagal theory emerged out of the work of Stephen Porges on the evolution of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). Interpersonal neurobiology (IPNB) brings a viewpoint that integrates objective realms of scientific findings and subjective realms of human knowing. The structural dissociation theory of the personality is based on Pierre Janet’s view of dissociation as a division among systems that constitute the personality of an individual.

This chapter clarifies treatment throughout the similarities as well as the differences between eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR) therapy and sensorimotor psychotherapy in child treatment. Dysregulated arousal and overactive animal defenses biased by traumatic experience are at the root of many symptoms and difficulties observed in traumatized children. Traumatic or adverse experiences are encoded in memory networks in the brain. The adaptive information processing (AIP) looks at different components of the memory network: cognitive, emotional and somatic. EMDR therapy and its phases access not only the cognitive aspects of the memory, but the affective and bodily states. In working with children, microphones may add a playful approach to translating the body’s language. Oscillation techniques are also useful in helping children to shift their focus from dysregulated states to a more resourced experience, which supports flexibility in state shifting and increases awareness of different states.

This chapter presents an overview of intrapsychic theories, cognitive theories, behavioral and environmental theories, biological theories, and integrative theories. Past ideas about the nature of adolescent development serve as foundations for current adolescent developmental theories. In many ways, the adolescent years are the culmination of childhood; hence, in order to truly understand adolescence a review of what happens in the years leading up to adolescence can help clarify the nature of adolescents. Although the early biological process of puberty begins to develop several years before adolescence, in Freud’s theory puberty and adolescence are considered roughly equivalent. Adolescents experience a reawakening of and an obsession with sexuality. Studies indicate that occurrences of eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive patterns, and self-reports of same-sex attraction surface during the adolescent years as a result of the reawakening of the underlying subconscious conflicts.

This chapter describes the importance of research-based practice, the research method, evaluating the science and ethics of research and careers in adolescent development. The theories that guide research and practice in adolescent development now were generated through a rigorous and ongoing process of scientific investigation. Issues relating to health, school, delinquency, parenting, family, relationships, and dating are just a few of the many areas that use the ideas generated by the study of adolescent development to benefit adolescents in practice. Questions in adolescent development must be approached using the scientific method. Maybe playing violent video games is linked with aggression in adolescence, but as adolescents enter young adulthood playing violent video games impacts people in different ways. A college degree or knowledge in adolescent development can be applied to many fields of work.

This chapter describes family, friends and enemies, dating and love, tv and media, technology and cyberbullying. Children with close family relationships during middle childhood are more likely to have closeness in these relationships during adolescence than those with detached family relationships during middle childhood. Studies indicate that adolescents with high levels of parental monitoring are less likely to engage in problem behaviors than those with little or no parental monitoring. Many adolescents have little or no conflict, and those with elevated levels of conflict are often experiencing other difficulties in their lives such as substance abuse or depression. The way in which adolescents engage in victimization shifts from primarily physical aggression, which is more common during middle childhood, to social or relational bullying. An additional aspect of the reorganization of an adolescent’s social network discussed earlier involves a shakeup of the peer group to include more cross-sex interactions.

Many clinicians and researchers who work with adolescents classify the adolescent problems into two general categories of difficulties: externalizing problems and internalizing problems. Externalizing problems are difficulties that affect the external world of adolescents, such as drug abuse, delinquency, and engaging in risky behaviors. The adolescent who is abusing drugs is likely to also be engaged in risky sexual behaviors and delinquency. The discovery of and experimentation with drugs are common for adolescents and vary primarily from socially acceptable and legal drugs such as caffeine, cigarettes, and alcohol to socially rejected and illegal drugs, ranging from marijuana to heroin and cocaine. Unfortunately, adolescents often do not think that drug abuse is harmful, despite the fact that both alcohol consumption and marijuana use have short-term and long-term negative effects. However, sexuality during adolescence has the potential to become a serious health concern.

This chapter describes the overall health, sleep and diet and nutrition. The importance of focusing on health promotion during adolescence is apparent when considering that close to two-thirds of premature deaths in adulthood can be attributed to unhealthy lifestyle choices made in the adolescent years. The approach adolescents take to their overall physical health is driven by competing cognitive forces producing behaviors that sometimes seem contradictory. Boys tend to exercise more often than girls, and girls are more likely to engage in healthy eating habits in comparison to boys. The adolescent years are an opportunity to develop healthy eating patterns that can carry into adulthood. Family is also important in helping adolescents develop healthy eating patterns. Close to 80% of obese adolescents continue to be obese throughout their adult years, with many of them eventually having to contend with serious health issues such as heart disease, diabetes, and stroke.

This chapter describes the external and internal physical changes and the brain. The hormonal changes of puberty initiate drastic growth in the body and organs of adolescents. Recent advances in brain-imaging technologies such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) scans have contributed greatly to understanding of brain development in adolescence. Similar to what happens during infancy, the early adolescent’s brain begins a process of overproduction, which is an increase in neural connections in the brain’s gray matter. The development of gray matter follows a pattern of maturation from the back of the brain to the front of the brain. By eliminating unused synapses the adolescent brain becomes more efficient and is able to process mental functioning at an accelerated speed. The amygdala is a small, almond-shaped structure in the midbrain charged with emotional expression.

This chapter describes the interacting forces, understanding the self, identity and emotions. It examines adolescent self and identity, which will serve as a basis for understanding much about the social and emotional world of adolescents. The adolescent years bring with them the long process of departing childhood and emerging into adulthood. Similar to many aspects of development during adolescence that proceed somewhat differently based on gender, males and females differ in the process of self-exploration and identity formation as well. Sexual experimentation is common during adolescence as part of this gender identity struggle. An inability to develop a mature ethnic identity may entail denying one’s culture of origin, whereas a healthy identity process may result in adolescents who are proud of both their culture of origin and the culture they find themselves in currently.

The adolescent stage of life does not occur in isolation from other developmental stages. When an adolescent is experiencing difficulties with parents and friends leading to feelings of sadness, studies of average adolescents and their natural propensity toward difficulties during the adolescent years can help us assess whether this particular adolescent’s problems go beyond the norm. Understanding normative adolescent development can help clarify for professionals working with teens if the issue they encounter with a client is clinical or developmental. The majority of the time, when a teen is experiencing sadness it is an expression of a normal part of the adolescent experience. Understanding normal adolescent development can help in making the types of determinations thoughtfully, without jumping to conclusions and over diagnosing adolescents with major depression when all they are experiencing is a normal developmental process.

This chapter describes Piaget’s formal operational stage, thinking in context, and educating adolescents. According to Piaget, during the formal operations stage adolescents advance in their ability to assess questions in scientific ways. Engaging in hypothetico-deductive reasoning does not just occur when adolescents are trying to solve complex questions about math and science. Adolescents have the ability to manipulate and talk about concepts such as love, the future, and God in very tangible ways. Adolescents develop perspective taking, which is the ability to understand the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors of others. In order for adolescents to be successful at social interactions, in which they will be engaged quite often, they need to understand other people. Adolescents value the ability to make independent decisions and consider this to be an integral part of the transition into adulthood.

This chapter describes the beginning of puberty, the timing of puberty and off-time puberty. Puberty is marked by striking differences between the physical development of males and females. The puberty process is an illustration of the magnificent way in which multiple systems in the body interact to produce growth. Puberty is initiated in the hypothalamus, an almond-sized structure in an area of the limbic system called the midbrain. As a child nears the adolescent years, and a threshold level of body fat is reached, fat cells produce the hormone leptin, which provides the signal to the hypothalamus to begin the puberty process. Parents, teachers, or mental health personnel should prompt discussions about the emotions linked with having the first period, feelings connected with the rite of passage of menarche, and the mixed feelings associated with puberty, such as the combination of embarrassment and pride.

Peer aggression is a pervasive and costly problem in schools. Physical aggression, which consists of hitting or pushing others, and verbal aggression, which includes threatening, name-calling, and teasing, have long been recognized as the most common forms of aggression, especially among boys. All forms of aggressive behavior have been associated with various maladaptive outcomes throughout childhood and adolescence such as increased substance use, academic underachievement, and negative peer relationships. To determine best-practice strategies to prevent and intervene with aggressive behavior, it is crucial to understand the etiology of anger and aggression. Many aggression prevention programs are rooted in the ecological framework of development, with programming occurring across many settings in the school, and include both school staff and parents. Coping power; walk away, ignore, talk, seek help (WITS); and preventing relational aggression in schools everyday (PRAISE) are three evidence-based interventions that focus on aggression and victimization prevention.

This chapter discusses issues associated with specific natural disasters, generalized issues associated with most natural disasters, and evidence-based principles and practices for supporting youth following a natural disaster. La Greca highlighted three phases of recovery following natural disasters and offers evidence-based interventions associated with each phase. These include the postimpact phase, short-term recovery and reconstruction phase, and the long-term recovery phase. The chapter outlines the effects of natural disasters on children and provides an overview of strategies for supporting children and adolescents following traumatic events. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is characterized as an anxiety reaction that emerges after witnessing or experiencing a traumatic event. The chapter summarizes three evidence-based approaches to support children in the aftermath of a potentially traumatic event, such as a natural disaster: trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy (TF-CBT), mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), and the Mourning Child Grief Support Curriculum (MCGC).

Pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD) has been associated with a number of negative behavioral, academic, and interpersonal outcomes for children and adolescents. It initially received a disruptive behavior disorder diagnosis. High rates of comorbid anxiety disorders have also been found in children with PBD. Psychoeducational psychotherapy (PEP) uses a biopsychosocial model and combines family therapy, psychoeducation, and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques with the goal of helping families to better understand and manage the symptoms of PBD and coordinate more effective treatment. This chapter focuses on a description of PEP, including three key interventions of this therapeutic approach: Psychoeducation and Motto, Building a Tool Kit, and Thinking-Feeling-Doing. PEP is a manual-based treatment designed for youth with mood disorders and their caregivers, broken down into separate youth and caregiver sessions. Sessions focus primarily on psychoeducation and skills building and are delivered in individual family (IF-PEP) and multiple family formats (MF-PEP).

The content of the obsessions and compulsions varies among individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD); however, there are five themes that are commonly experienced across both children and adults: contamination, symmetry/ordering, forbidden or taboo thoughts, harm, and hoarding. Notably, OCD becomes more gender balanced into adolescence and adulthood. Comorbid diagnoses are common among youth with OCD. Common comorbid disorders include anxiety disorders, tic disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and major depressive disorder. The etiology of OCD is multidetermined with behavioral, cognitive, genetic, and biological factors being implicated. This chapter describes three successful cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) interventions: CBT with exposure and response prevention (ERP), family-based CBT with ERP, and cognitive therapy interventions that can be used in conjunction with ERP. Treatment guidelines for pediatric OCD suggest the most efficacious treatment is CBT with ERP, either alone or in combination with pharmaco-therapy for the most severe cases.

In 2013, 42% of fourth-grade students and 36% of eighth-grade students in the United States (US) performed at the proficient or advanced level on the mathematics National Assessment Educational Progress (NAEP) assessments, indicating that more than half of students at these grades are performing below proficient levels in math. Prevalence rates of math disabilities (MD) are difficult to estimate. More than 2 million school-aged children in the US are identified as having specific learning disability (SLD). There are three primary models for determination of an SLD in the US: IQ-achievement discrepancy, patterns of strengths and weaknesses (PSW), and Responsiveness-to-Intervention (RTI). Children with a math disability or comorbid math/reading disability are also more likely to meet criteria for a variety of internalizing and externalizing disorders such as oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), conduct disorder (CD), generalized anxiety disorder, and depression. Schema-based strategy instruction is an evidence-based procedure to improve achievement in math.

Treating emotional and behavioral disorders in children and adolescents is a complex issue; that is, practitioners must understand children’s typical patterns of social, emotional, and cognitive development and determine what is responsible for having taken the referred child off that “normal” path. Most children identified as socially maladjusted benefit from treatment and schooling provided in alternative education classes. Social maladjustment has historically also been synonymous with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) diagnoses of conduct disorder, antisocial personality disorder, and oppositional-defiant disorder. The diathesis-stress model is the balance between stressors and coping that accounts for the onset and continuation of mental health and other medical disorders. Three psychosocial intervention approaches are effective for all youth with conduct problems: parent training, contingency management, and cognitive behavioral skill training. As skills develop and stabilize, interpersonal intelligence and intrapersonal intelligence form emotional intelligence.

Depression in children and adolescents is a serious, potentially life-threatening problem. Traditionally, depression has been diagnosed using two primary categories: major depressive disorder (MDD) or dysthymic disorder (DD). When compared with youth diagnosed with MDD, children and adolescents with persistent depressive disorder (PDD) are at increased risk for having a comorbid psychiatric disorder. The most common treatments of depression include various forms of interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and psychotropic medication. This chapter provides summary of the step-by-step implementation of IPT for depressed adolescents (IPT-A). Many youth struggle with chronic, sometimes debilitating depression for extended periods of time, leading to underachievement, secondary substance abuse, school failure and drop-out, violent or self-harming behavior, and even death by suicide. Clearly, evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions are needed.

This chapter reviews the research on expect respect, second step, and the recognize, understand, label, express, and regulate emotions (RULER) program, curricula with outcome data from US schools for step-by-step implementation by mental health professionals in the hopes of ameliorating this serious epidemic and enhancing the academic, behavioral, social, and emotional functioning of children and adolescents. School bullying and peer victimization are pervasive phenomena that affect many youth. Bullying may inflict harm or distress on the targeted youth including physical, psychological, social, or educational harm. Direct bullying is a relatively open aggressive act on the targeted youth, whereas indirect bullying is not directly communicated to the student being targeted. Moreover, physical, verbal, relational, and damage to property have been identified as specific forms or dimensions of bullying. Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is an evidence-based framework for reducing a wide variety of problem behavior in school settings.

Many children experience the death of someone close to them before the age of 18 years. This chapter reviews the effects of bereavement on children’s functioning and the risk and protective factors that exacerbate or mitigate grief-related problems. It provides step-by-step instructions for two evidence-based interventions for school-aged children and adolescents. Childhood traumatic grief refers to a condition in which children develop trauma-related symptoms that interfere with their ability to appropriately mourn a death. The Family Bereavement Program (FBP) is a theory-based intervention for parentally bereaved children and their surviving caregivers. The child component focuses on increasing self-esteem, reducing negative appraisals of stressful events, strengthening youths’ relationships with their caregivers, strengthening coping skills, and increasing adaptive emotional expression. The Grief and Trauma Intervention (GTI) is commonly implemented in schools and community-based settings after children’s exposure to a traumatic, violent, or disastrous event.

Conduct disorder in childhood and adolescence is considered to be a significant mental health concern because of its connection to numerous other social, emotional, and academic outcomes, both in terms of concurrent and future functioning. This chapter focuses on the examination and explanation of the treatment strategies for the conduct disorder. There are four main groupings of behavior for conduct disorder: aggressive conduct, nonaggressive conduct, deceitfulness or theft, and serious rule violations. The chapter examines the role of genetic, neurological, and environmental factors implicated in the development of conduct disorder. Psychosocial treatment programs such as multisystemic therapy (MST), functional family therapy (FFT), and multidimensional treatment foster care that combine parental management training (PMT), structural family therapies, and skill-building appear to have a moderate to large-effect size in reducing aggression and symptoms of conduct disorder.

This chapter discusses methods, procedures, and interventions that have been successful in working with children and adolescents with Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and/or concussions and for which there is empirical and clinical support. It provides empirically supported treatments that may be implemented in schools and clinics for youths with TBIs. TBIs are insults that occur from an event external to the individual. These can include open or closed head injuries and are often classified as mild, moderate, or severe. The majority of TBIs in childhood are closed head injuries and involve rapid acceleration, deceleration, and/or rotation of the head in space without impact with the skull. The level of severity depends on the physical and cognitive deficits associated with the injury. The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) is a commonly used scoring system used to assess the severity of acute brain injury.

School absenteeism refers to physical absence from school, but school refusal behavior refers more broadly to child-motivated refusal to attend school. This chapter focuses on child-motivated school refusal behavior. Youth with school refusal behavior evince substantial heterogeneity in behavioral characteristics or symptoms. This population is notably high in internalizing behavioral problems, such as general and social anxiety, fear, worry, depression, self-consciousness, fatigue, and somatic complaints. Interventions for school refusal behavior can be arranged along a multitiered system similar to a Response to Intervention (RtI) model. RtI involves problem-solving-based interventions that focus on prevention, early intervention for emerging cases, and intense intervention for severe cases. The chapter contains a step-by-step process for several evidence-based interventions that address school refusal behavior in youth, including child-based therapy that focuses on anxiety management, parent- and family-based therapy that focuses on contingency management, and a broader approach that incorporates school personnel and other professionals.

This chapter provides information on the best ways of providing optimal services for culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) children and their families. One factor that significantly influences child well-being is whether the child is raised in a low-socioeconomic-status household. Despite the challenges and complexities involved in service provision, professionals have an ethical and professional responsibility to appropriately assess and intervene when diverse students struggle. Assessing language proficiency, acquiring relevant background information and selecting and using appropriate assessment tools are considered best practices when working with English language learners (ELLs). The evidence-based practice movement has become a professional priority given the importance of identifying effective interventions that can enhance service delivery to children, adolescents, and adults. The chapter concludes with a bibliography of readings and resources to assist mental health professionals in delivering high-quality services.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a range of complex neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by deficits in social development, communication, repetitive behaviors and/or interests, and, in some cases, cognitive delays. This chapter proposes that educators should build an approach that uses a combination of evidence-based practices when designing and implementing interventions for students with ASD. It is important to note that interventions for students with ASD include each of the following strategies: individualized instruction that incorporates choice and preference; functional programming; systemic instruction provided within a structured environment; and collaboration with families. Such programming should steadily expose students with ASD to cues, prompts, and interesting and motivating stimuli, as well as employ consistent feedback and repeated exposure in order to be most effective. The family members of a student diagnosed with ASD most often has the most insight into their child’s needs, styles, strengths, and interests.

Homework completion is viewed as a beneficial contributor to student learning and to the fundamental personal characteristics that underpin student academic behavior. This chapter promotes a greater understanding of the benefits of homework compliance while providing evidence-based expectations for appropriate homework loads, special education use of homework, and best practices in homework compliance management. It provides readers with empirically supported strategies for helping parents and teachers maximize the benefits of student homework completion, while reducing parental and student angst associated with compliance enforcement. The chapter offers an approach to promoting collaboration between school personnel and parents to enhance students’ academic competence using a multifaceted, school-based problem-solving model. Homework serves four primary instructional purposes: practice, preparation, extension, and integration. To augment the retention and learning of classroom material, numerous research-based interventions and strategies have been designed to enhance homework performance in children and adolescents.

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health conditions to impact school-aged children. A particular diagnostic subtype termed “separation anxiety disorder” accounts for the majority of referrals seen within child and adolescent psychological service delivery systems including schools. The developmental connection between childhood separation anxiety disorder and adolescent/ adult panic disorder has also been well documented in the literature. Associated features of separation anxiety include parent-child dysfunction, school attendance difficulties, and challenges to social functioning. Biological and environmental factors play a role in the development of separation anxiety disorder. Evidence-based interventions for children and adolescents with separation anxiety disorder include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), family therapy, pharmacological treatments, or a combination of these biopsychosocial therapies. Parental behaviors and parenting style are associated with increased risk for childhood anxiety, including separation anxiety disorder.

This chapter presents an overview of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in childhood and adolescence, including how symptoms may present and what factors are associated with risk of developing PTSD. It provides a review of the research literature and a step-by-step guide for practice for two empirically validated treatments for youth PTSD. The symptoms of PTSD are grouped into four clusters: intrusion symptoms, avoidance symptoms, cognition and mood symptoms, and arousal and reactivity symptoms. Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) was initially developed to address trauma associated with child sexual abuse and has subsequently been adapted for use with children who have experienced other trauma types. Research indicates that TF-CBT is effective in treating PTSD, depression, and related behavioral problems in children exposed to traumatic events. The chapter provides a step-by-step breakdown of TF-CBT and Prolonged Exposure for Adolescents (PE-A) interventions, including descriptions of core components and standard implementation practices.

School violence as an identified topic of public policy and scientific research emerged in the 1990s out of a more general concern about adolescents’ involvement in violent crime and the occurrence of multiple victim homicides occurring on school campuses. This chapter aims to depict school violence intervention as a broad topic that requires comprehensive and integrated thinking about the behaviors and experiences within schools that should be considered as forms of “violence”. Social disorganization theory contends that an individual’s risk for involvement in problem behavior and perceptions of the environment are influenced by contextual variables suggestive of disorder. The Interdisciplinary Group on Preventing School and Community Violence, proposed an integrated pathway to safer schools, guided by four key elements: Balance, Communication, Connectedness, and Support (BCCS). The chapter provides the key components for implementing school-based interventions guided by the BCCS integrated model.

Selective mutism (SM) disorder is caused neither by an unfamiliarity with the language used in a specific social situation nor by a communication disorder. According to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), SM is considered to be an anxiety disorder and may coexist with social anxiety disorder (SAD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It may co-occur with a variety of emotional responses, including ‘excessive shyness, fear of social embarrassment, social isolation and withdrawal, clinging, compulsive traits, negativism, or mild oppositional behavior’. Because of a substantial overlap between SM and SAD, it is widely believed that the disorders may have similar genetic etiologies. Video self-modeling (VSM) is the use of video to depict the child as a model engaged in appropriate and exemplary behavior as a treatment to improve target behaviors. Although a variety of interventions have been used with SM, behaviorally based techniques are the most successful.

Writing is a fundamental communication skill that is important for everyday success. Children and adolescents use written language to communicate their thoughts, ideas, and knowledge to teachers in school; send messages to friends; write papers and reports; and engage in expository writing activities. Writing is an exceptionally complex task composed of multiple processes. Theories of writing development recognize three stages of writing, including planning or prewriting, drafting or composing, and revising or editing phases. This chapter focuses on writing instruction/intervention and student motivation. Effective writing instruction relies on evidence-based instructional approaches for developing and increasing writing skills related to planning, drafting, and revising tasks. In addition, it is important to consider student motivation as a primary reason for students not demonstrating success with written-language tasks. Self-monitoring has been shown to increase students’ academic engagement during writing as well as improve the writing performance of students with learning disabilities.

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is characterized by a marked fear or anxiety about social situations in which the child or adolescent perceives that he or she may be scrutinized by others. This chapter reviews the current state of treatment for youth with SAD, beginning with a brief discussion of the etiology of social anxiety, followed by an overview of the empirical support for cognitive behavioral interventions. It reviews three empirically supported interventions for social anxiety in youth, such as the Coping Cat, cognitive behavioral group therapy for adolescents (CBGT-A), and social effectiveness therapy for children and adolescents (SET-C). The Many factors, including genetic, neurobiological, cognitive, and environmental, have been implicated in the development of SAD. The most efficacious psychological treatment for SAD is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Despite SAD’s pervasiveness and multiple causes, efficacious cognitive behavioral treatment exists and is effective.

Perceived quality of life is shaped by internal beliefs and social interactions. There is empirical support for the dual nature of emotions in mental health, both among adults and youth. Although many well-being studies have focused on adults, research over the past two decades has examined subjective well-being (SWB) in school-aged youth. There are empirically validated SWB promotion strategies that warrant attention. This chapter provides an overview of a number of these programs and strategies that have been used to foster youths’ positive SWB, with a particular focus on school-based practices. It describes the benefits of SWB among youth, describes specific domains that have been addressed vis-à-vis SWB promotion strategies and summarizes multicomponent programs and narrowband strategies that have been shown to promote SWB levels. The chapter concludes with a description of the factors to consider when implementing efforts to foster SWB and provides key resources to support these efforts.

Stress is a ubiquitous experience in the lives of children and adolescents, regardless of the schools they attend, their families’ income, or the neighborhood in which they live. There is clear evidence correlating low socioeconomic status (SES) with increases in exposure to violence and other traumatic and stressful experiences. Gender and age also are important factors to consider as related to the amount and type of stress experienced by youth. The three main allo-static systems involved in physiologic reactions to stress include the nervous system, the endocrine system, and the immune system. "Zippy’s Friends" is a school-based mental health promotion and intervention program for younger students in Kindergarten through first grade. The Zippy’s Friends program encourages students to understand their feelings and behavior that facilitates self-reliance and self-confidence. The three strategies of coping skill training, stress management, and mindfulness all show promise for very young children to high school students.

This chapter provides an overview of treatment integrity assessment foundations, guidelines for developing a treatment integrity assessment plan, analyzing treatment integrity and child outcomes together, and promoting treatment integrity. Together, this information may facilitate the development of high-quality, feasible, and defensible intervention evaluation in applied contexts. The chapter presents an overview of the current conceptualization of treatment integrity as a multidimensional construct, as well as commonly used assessment methods and possible response formats. It explains a multistep process for identifying the purpose for collecting treatment integrity data, determining the intervention level and type of treatment integrity data needed, and considering the level of risk for implementation failure and erroneous decisions. Mental health professionals regularly design and implement interventions with high situational risk, such as those related to child academic failure, possible special education classification, behavioral or social-emotional diagnosis, self-harm, and harm to others.

A consensus among professionals and the general population holds that helping children develop healthy self-concepts is a worthwhile goal. This chapter describes how healthy self-concepts are developed naturally and remediated through evidence-based interventions. Interventions for enhancing self-concept require a sound working theory, receptive and informed participants, thoughtful planning, and treatment fidelity. This chapter provides the reader with the theory and methodology to develop positive self-concepts in children and adolescents. There are a number of factors and models of self-concept that describe different factors contributing to self-concept development. The prominent models include cognitive and behavioral orientations, each with related contributing factors. People receive environmental feedback on their behavior or attributes from two feedback modes or perspectives-personal perspective and other perspective. The feedback individuals receive can be evaluated according to four standards include the absolute, comparative, ipsative, and ideal.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) lists two chronic tic disorder diagnoses, namely, persistent motor or vocal tic disorder (PMVTD) and Tourette’s disorder (TD). Both disorders require symptom onset before age 18 years and require the clinician to rule out alternative causes of tics, including substance abuse and other medical conditions. Tics may be categorized as either simple or complex. Children with tic disorders may be most impaired by comorbid conditions and associated features, including deficient social skills, sleep problems, anxiety and/or depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms. A review conducted in 2007 found that only two approaches—habit reversal therapy (HRT) and exposure and response prevention (ERP)-have adequate evidence to treat tic disorders and TD. Tourette’s disorder and other chronic tic disorders are childhood-onset conditions characterized by sudden, involuntary movements or vocalizations.

Youth suicide is a significant public health problem both in the United States and in other countries. Evidence-based interventions for youth suicidal behavior include both community- and school-based approaches. Suicidal behavior which includes suicidal ideation, suicide-related communication, suicide attempts, and suicide represents a continuum of behaviors that affects hundreds of thousands of adolescents, young adults, and their friends and families each year. This chapter discusses several of these interventions, social, crisis hotlines and social media, psychopharmacological interventions, hospitalization, dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and school-based suicide prevention programs. School-based mental health professionals are typically the most appropriate persons to lead universal information sessions. The chapter provides a brief guide to the implementation of a school-based, three-tier model of youth suicide prevention. Students who are identified as being at risk of suicidal behavior typically have significant mental health problems, particularly mood disorders, substance-related disorders and disruptive behavioral problems, respectively.