Handbook for the Treatment of Abused and Neglected Children

Practical solutions for difficult clinical situations!

With many chapters written by some of the field's best known contributors, this handbook was developed for the practitioner who wants practical and effective guidance for helping abused children. Each major area of clinical practice is discussed by experienced professionals, providing you with new insights and ideas regarding: medical findings; clinical assessment; individual, group, and family therapy; testifying in court; the role of medication in treatment, and much more. To make the application from the written page to your practice even more compelling, every clinical chapter is followed by a patient vignette that demonstrates how the principles just described can be successfully applied in the working world of therapists. Whether abused children number only a few or many on your caseload, this is a handbook to which you will often refer over the years.

The Handbook for the Treatment of Abused and Neglected Children pulls together a wide range of practical information for therapists on how to effectively work with abused and neglected children. Unlike other volumes on the subject, this book puts the information in context, with a ’big picture’ overview of how the therapist fits into the larger system into which the child has been swept up—Child Protective Services, legal proceedings, medical issues, disputes regarding custody, etc.

Inside, you’ll find effective strategies for:

• conducting individual therapy with abused children—how to begin therapy, identify distortions, effectively challenge ingrained patterns of behavior, and constructively bring therapy to a close
  
• navigating the maze of Child Protective Services—knowing what resources are available, what obstacles are likely to arise, and how to work with social workers
  
• understanding the medical findings of maltreated children—how information from a child’s physician can provide critical insights into the child’s experience, and often into children’s expectations of future relationships
  
• testifying in court as a therapist—how the court works and how to prepare to give effective testimony
  
• facilitating parent interventions—how to help mothers and fathers develop relationships with their children to the fullest and nurture each child’s potential as his or her personality develops

The Handbook for the Treatment of Abused and Neglected Children will prove valuable for students and educators as well as novice and experienced therapists. Whether you see children only occasionally or focus your practice on maltreated children, this one-of-a-kind resource deserves a place in your professional collection.