ABSTRACT

When did you last have enough free time to carefully create, develop, and test a therapeutic concept or teaching method to improve the help you provide to your patients? With The Therapist's Notebook, a compilation of original ideas by practicing clinicians, you can tap into the knowledge and experience of seasoned professionals to give your clients tangible, field-tested assignments that will represent their work and progress in therapy. Appropriate for practicing marriage and family therapists, psychologists, social workers, and other therapists of any professional affiliation who deal with children, adolescents, adults, couples, or families, this dynamic handbook provides you with handouts and homework activities that are quick and easy and require little effort or experience to use. The Therapist's Notebook is a valuable resource for both experienced and novice clinicians. Established clinicians will know how to fit each chapter to a particular clientele, while uninitiated clinicians or trainees will appreciate how the ready-made materials help their clients and spur their own creativity in intervening. You'll find therapeutic work becomes less stressful and more enjoyable as you learn about helping these populations deal with important issues:

  • Adults--goal setting, boundary issues, life transitions, communication, problemsolving, compulsivity, feelings
  • Couples--trust, infidelity, leisure time, communication, conflict resolution, sexuality, enrichment
  • Families--rules/punishment, decisionmaking, gender roles, chores and responsibilities, communication
  • Children--self-esteem, school problems, social skills, abuse, discipline problems
  • Adolescents--peer pressure, school issues, communication, involvement in therapy, behavior
  • Other--resistant clients, crisis counseling, linking clients with social resources
The Therapist's Notebook gives you a tangible, useful product you can utilize with clients. The book's compilation of homework, handouts, and activities that have been successfully applied to client populations is valuable not only for therapists’daily use, but also to illustrate creative, clinically tested interventions to future counselors, therapists, social workers, teachers, school psychologists, and special educators. Particularly useful as an ancillary text in university courses in psychotherapy-related fields, the book's user-friendly format will enliven practicum courses and ensure heightened student participation.

part I|83 pages

Homework, Handouts, and Activities for Individ Uals

chapter 2|5 pages

Living a New Story

A Narrative Homework Exercise

chapter 3|4 pages

When “Bad” Is Good

Reframing for Success

chapter 5|3 pages

The Toxic Monster

chapter 6|2 pages

Smush 'Em

chapter 7|2 pages

The Many Roles People Play

chapter 8|2 pages

Feeling from the Inside Out

chapter 10|3 pages

Through the Eyes of a Child

chapter 12|6 pages

Sports Talk

part II|149 pages

Homework, Handouts, and Activities for Couples

chapter 21|3 pages

Constructive Communication

chapter 22|2 pages

The Tug-of-War

chapter 26|5 pages

The Empathy Expansion Procedure

A Method of Assisting Couples in Healing from Traumatic Incidents

chapter 28|4 pages

Imagery Exercises for Couples

chapter 29|2 pages

Feelings Flash Cards

chapter 30|3 pages

Gratitude Lists

chapter 31|7 pages

Rewriting Marriage Vows

Consolidating Gains in Marital Therapy at Termination

chapter 32|4 pages

Recalling the Way We Were

chapter 36|8 pages

Structured Trial Separation

chapter 40|8 pages

Using Gender as a Therapeutic Technique

The Gender Assessment Device (GAD)

chapter 41|5 pages

The Intimate Justice Question

chapter 42|4 pages

The Diversity Dilemma

chapter 43|4 pages

Negotiating Drug-Free Activities

An Activity for Couples in Substance Abuse Treatment

chapter 44|5 pages

The “Mrs. K'negdo/Mrs. Opposite” Assignment

A Biblical Injunction for Orthodox Jewish Couples and Christian Couples

part III|80 pages

Homework, Handouts, and Activities for Families

chapter 46|7 pages

Family Assessment Tool

chapter 47|2 pages

The Therapeutic Journey

chapter 49|2 pages

The “Talk About” Game

chapter 50|2 pages

A Box of Tenderness

chapter 52|4 pages

The “Oprah” Approach

chapter 53|2 pages

Teamwork

chapter 54|4 pages

Involving Children in Family Therapy

Making Family Movies

chapter 55|3 pages

Videotaped Coaching

chapter 57|2 pages

The Systemic Wave

chapter 58|3 pages

Letter from the Grave

chapter 59|4 pages

Dealing with a Fire Setter

chapter 60|8 pages

Involving Larger Systems

An Often Forgotten Therapeutic Technique

part IV|53 pages

Homework, Handouts, and Activities for Children

chapter 61|4 pages

“The Many Sides of Me”

A Storytelling Intervention for Children

chapter 62|2 pages

My Uniqueness

chapter 65|2 pages

It's Okay to Cry

chapter 66|2 pages

Greeting Card Messages

Reading Between the Lines

chapter 70|3 pages

HELP! My Child Won't Do Homework!

chapter 71|6 pages

Divorce and Children

Guidelines for Parents

chapter 72|4 pages

Red Light/Green Light

An Intervention for Families with Children Who Have Molested

chapter 73|1 pages

Awards

part V|30 pages

Homework, Handouts, and Activities for Adolescents

chapter 75|2 pages

“I Am the Expert!”

chapter 76|2 pages

I Wish I Had the Cosby Family

chapter 78|6 pages

Rewriting Youth Stories

An Activity with Troubled Youth

chapter 79|2 pages

Soap Talk

part VI|22 pages

Therapist Helpers