Jennifer Cook O'Toole wearing her GRASP 'Distinguished Spectrumite Medal'!

You’ve probably heard the saying, “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.” That always seemed a bit flippant to me. Like someone at Hallmark needed a cute little “chin up” message, and this is what they came up with. But when real life gets really messy, no one appreciates patronizing sentiment. Optimism, yes. But realistic optimism. Maybe life hands you melons instead, and it turns out you’re dyslexic. Or maybe, you really ought to squeeze that lemon into some Corona, laugh in spite of it all, and take a siesta.

This week, I got seriously (and unexpectedly) squirted with lemons.

A few months ago, I learned that I was to receive the coveted Distinguished Spectrumite Medal (DSM) from the Global and Regional Asperger Syndrome Partnership (GRASP), the world’s largest Asperger’s support and educational organization. In the company of giants in the worlds of psychology, advocacy, policy-making and social networking, I was to be recognized not (only) for my writing or speaking or consulting — but (tear-jerker) for being a shining example of extraordinary parenting. Of how being a diagnosed Aspie has — far from inhibiting emotional or social growth — enriched a marriage, lifted self-awareness and informed the power and perspective with which I raise my own three Asperkids. It was a very public declaration by Michael John Carley and the entire GRASP Board that the diagnosis is far beyond valid — it is valued.

AND it got better from there. The event was to be held at a gala in New York City (read: trip and getting gussied up — two things that NEVER happen to me anymore!) on the very SAME NIGHT that my first book, Asperkids: An Insider’s Guide to Loving, Understanding and Teaching Children with Asperger Syndrome would be released! AND the cosmic fabulosity got even more fabulous! The world-famous JKP author, Dr. Liane Holliday Willey (who wrote the forward to my book and has recently offered to be my mentor in this journey – riddling me with insanely amazing compliments and faith), was going to be receiving the SAME AWARD!

Time for a perspective break, I thought, to keep centered and focused in the middle of such hope and energy. So, last week, I took a few moments amidst the choas of preparing and packing for three Asperkids, an Asperhubbie and my Asperself and escaped to my garden. A little bit of pruning, a little bit of digging and sunshine, and the earth seemed to be literally grounding me in its firm grasp. Only it did a little too good a job. Somehow, I managed to get a bit of poson ivy – which quickly developed into a lot of poison ivy, and then into an additional allergic reaction to the adhesive bandages I’d used. My peace and calm was fast dissipating into two Emergency Room visits for steroid shots and lotions and a whole lot of itchy discomfort.

But the day to leave arrived anyway, and off we flew – yours truly trying to keep things in check with antihistimines and creams…by the day before the event, my sensitive redhead’s skin had apparently decided it was time to officially FREAK OUT. The reaction went systemic, riddling me with 400 patches of raw poison ivy rash plus a chemical burn all over my torso from the lotions I’d been told to use. Only one hour before “time to get gussied,” I was in another ER being told there was nothing more they could do – it was just a matter of time until the steroids finally kicked in.

And here was the “life would like to present you with said crate of lemons” moment. For about 10 minutes, I cried. Hard. And I don’t cry. I was mad and sad and just plum ticked off at the unfairness. One chance to get dressed up. To meet Liane. To meet everyone at GRASP. And instead of enjoying the accolade, I was an itchy, burning mess. Couldn’t anything just go easily, ever? This wasn’t fair.

While I wallowed, my Aspergirl suddenly came up to me and placed her small hand on my (unmussed) foot. “Mommy,” she said. “May I come with you tonight?” She’d been uninterested before, and I don’t know what changed for her exactly, but that changed it all for me. Thea-tah. Costumes. Make-up. I was back in the days of my life when the show must go on, and it must be the authentic and in-the-moment and matter.

So on went the eyeliner and heels. I styled her hair and straightened my husband’s tie. And, although the 45 minute trip to the event took over two hours and I missed an interview while sitting in the Lincoln Tunnel under miles of river water…we made it. And never in one room have I ever felt the “yes” of why we all were doing the work we do.

There were young Aspies asking about their own book ideas, adults apologizing profusely if they “accidentally touched you inappropriately” (a wrist tap!) or interrupted your thought. They were using scripts a bit awkwardly, but they used them – and were lovely people. There were world-reknowned psychiatrists whose work will determine the evolution of the term “Aspergers,” and a dad-runner who’d trekked the entire Chilean desert to raise money for GRASP and kids like his own. There was the beautiful, brilliant Liane Holliday Willey (in the flesh!) with her gorgeous daughter (my little girl was totally in love with her nail polish)…and in the middle of it all, there was me.

And so when it was my turn to receive my medal, I brought my little Asperkid up to the podium with me. I hadn’t known I was going to be asked to speak, but the words came easily (as they are wont to do). Life does hand us lemons. Certainly, for those of who are and who love Aspies, we get more than our fair share of pucker power. And we should be allowed, for a few minutes now and again, to cry or pout or say, “No fair!” But then the show MUST go on. Life must go on. Some days, it’s more performance than others – but always, always, we can choose to laugh. And I did. I told my itchy story of misery, of stomping my foot in my own little temper tantrum a few hours earlier, and of choosing, instead, to do what Aspies do everyday. To be uncomfortable, to laugh at the “are you kidding me?” moments, and to never, ever miss the chance to look around us and be totally inspired by the lives we get to share.

“Don’t ever forget,” I implored them, rubbing my little girl’s head, and seeing the amazing honorees around me, “that the different perspective we bring to the world is a gift – just like these Asperkids themselves.” And I looked down into my daughter’s big eyes. This medal was for me, yes (and the ribbon was scratching my poison ivy like crazy!), but seeing the pride and inclusion and inspiration in her little eyes, I couldn’t help but imagine her future. And I couldn’t help but laugh.

Copyright © Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2012.

By Vanessa Rogers, youth worker and author of the new set of books for those helping young people make informed decisions about alcohol, drugs and tobacco.

Being a young person can be difficult. Fact. There are so many choices to make, as well as lots of physical, intellectual, emotional, and social concerns to deal with, from friendships (and more intimate relationships) to decisions about education, training or work.

Some of the biggest dilemmas can be about whether to smoke, drink alcohol or try drugs, with different messages being received from school, friends, parents, community and the media. So social education, that includes drug and alcohol awareness, is really important in enabling young people to gain the knowledge and skills they need to make informed choices.

Have a look at my Top 12 Tips for talking to young people about drugs and alcohol. They are not exhaustive, but hopefully will help you to provide sessions that are engaging and educational, as well as thought provoking and fun:

1. Be prepared and informed. Even the most knowledgeable drug support workers is likely to admit that no one can know it all. Drugs change, the way people use them change – even the names change; but don’t think that because you are not a drugs expert you cannot offer useful support, or facilitate successful drug awareness sessions with young people. Make sure that your drugs knowledge is as up-to-date as possible and know where to find good quality information to fill the gaps.
    
2. Don’t make assumptions. Lots of teenagers pretend to be far more knowledgeable or experienced on the subject of drugs than they actually are. Accept that if the young people you are working with are using a particular drug they will probably know far more than you do about the effects – but that doesn’t mean that they understand the health risks, or know the legal status. Start any work by exploring the young people’s values and attitudes to both legal and illegal substances, and assess knowledge before targeting with specific topics.
    
   Use this ‘Drug Chair Swap’ activity to assess knowledge in a fun way! »
    
3. Avoid using scare tactics. They are unlikely to work and are more likely to put young people off engaging. Seeing pictures of drug-ravaged adults or telling horrific stories may have an instant impact, but they can also lead to thoughts including: ‘They are old, so it doesn’t matter’, ‘I don’t use that drug so it isn’t relevant’ and the old favourite, ‘It won’t happen to me!’ Also resist the temptation to make sweeping statements – for example, ‘If you smoke you will get lung cancer’ – because most young people will know this is simply not true, or can cite relatives who have lived to a hundred smoking 60 a day! It is much better to qualify what you say (e.g. ’Smoking really increases the risks of developing lung cancer’), and then support them to look at other health risks associated with smoking, including those that can affect younger people, so that you are encouraging them to learn, not arguing a point.
    
4. You cannot stop young people taking drugs – but you can help make sure that they have the information, skills and confidence to make healthy choices for themselves. When planning drug awareness work, include looking at the social consequences; for example, the increased risk of aggressive behaviour due to false confidence after using amphetamines, or having unprotected sex whilst drunk, as well as the legal and health implications. Plan activities that increase self-esteem, discuss personal boundaries and develop young people’s confidence to say what they really want, rather than bowing to peer pressure.
    
5. Listen – to young people’s opinions and concerns. Create opportunities for them to discuss how they feel about a wide range of drug related issues, including the legal status of drugs, penalties for misuse and health debates. Explore issues such as drugs in sports and the impact of media and celebrity culture on drinking and smoking. Magazines, newspapers and TV are always rich sources of discussion topics to spark debate.
    
6. Remain non-judgmental. You may have strong feelings about drugs and alcohol, but before you share your personal opinion consider how useful that is to someone else. It is far more beneficial to explore values and opinions, differing points of view (whether you support them or not) and offer correct information, than it is to take the stance that ‘all drugs are bad’, or ‘I can stop people taking drugs by telling them about my experiences.’ After all, if a young person feels judged they are far less likely to open up and far more likely to be defensive.
    
7. Accept that people make mistakes. Whilst youth workers can support young people if they make bad choices, they cannot stop them making them. It is important that young people understand that mistakes do not make you a ‘bad person’, and ensure that young people know that if they do make mistakes, or feel worried about the behaviour of others, there are support services that can help.
    
8. Only give out correct information. If you don’t know something, say so and offer to find out! It is far better than telling a young person something that they later find out is incorrect. One duff answer can make everything else you say written off as wrong too. On a practical note, make sure that all leaflets and posters are up-to-date and that you get your facts from reputable sources.
    
9. Set clear boundaries. When talking about drugs with young people, remind them of your professional boundaries and the fact that some things cannot be kept secret. Ensure that your organisation has a clear drugs policy that all staff are familiar with, which includes sanctions and rights of appeal.
    
10. Consider cultural differences – both within the staff group and young people. Take these differences into account when planning your curriculum to make sure that what you offer is appropriate. Also consider whether parents should be involved or notified of what is planned. If you are not sure about something – ask.
     
11. Consider gender differences. Young men and women often have different reasons for their decisions about whether to experiment with smoking, alcohol or drugs. Certainly research would suggest that young women choose to drink different drinks, e.g. vodka, whilst young men prefer drinking lager or strong cider.
     
12. Evaluate and review. Make sure that feedback from young people offers you more than, ‘I had a good time’. Whilst we want young people to enjoy their time with youth workers, it is also important that they learn, too. Try and build in fun ways to evaluate and gain feedback on the three key skills area – knowledge, skills and attitudes.

Copyright © Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2012.

The award will be presented to them at a gala event today in New York City.

Jessica Kingsley Publishers is proud to publish both of these award winners!

Jennifer Cook O’Toole has Asperger syndrome and is the mother to three young Aspie children. She graduated from Brown University, and attended Columbia University’s Graduate School of Social Work. She has previously worked as a social worker, and a teacher in both special needs and mainstream education. She served on the Family Advisory Board for Levine Children’s Hospital, North Carolina, and regularly gives presentations at hospitals and local universities on special needs parenting. In 2002 she was nominated for Disney’s Teacher of the Year Award and she is due to receive GRASP’s annual Distinguished Spectrumite Medal 2012. She lives near Charlotte, North Carolina, USA.

Liane Holliday Willey is a doctor of education, a writer and a researcher who specializes in the fields of psycholinguistics and learning style differences. Dr. Willey is a married mother of three, the owner of an equine boarding facility, and the Senior Editor of Autism Spectrum Quarterly. She also has Asperger Syndrome. A frequent guest lecturer on ‘Aspie’ topics, Dr. Willey is an energetic educator and advocate of Asperger issues. She lives in Rockford, Michigan, USA.

Copyright © Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2012.

Photos: (left to right) Ruth MacConville and Tina Rae

What makes Positive Psychology a suitable approach for using with groups of teenagers?

RM: Over the past few years there has been an increasing demand for resources and materials that practitioners can use in schools and settings to enhance young people’s well-being. This demand has been partly in response to the previous government’s Every Child Matter’s agenda, but also because over the past decade the new science of Positive Psychology has caught the public’s imagination. Part of its appeal is its accessibility and because its agenda; happiness, well-being and human flourishing relates to and enhances the day-to-day business of everyday life. Positive Psychology offers young people the tools that they will need to design their futures in an uncertain world and offers them a sense of hope and resilience. Boosting the frequency of positive emotions is like boosting the frequency of deposits to one’s bank account – it feels good and it also means that when you have an emotional low and need a resilience withdrawal, you’ve got something to draw on.

TR: Boosting resilience via the use of Positive Psychology can innoculate against depression and other mental illnesses – it can also build self-confidence and achievement. This is particularly pertinent and important for children and adolescents who are coping with immense change and encountering enormous pressures in today’s complex society. Resilient children can ‘resist adversity, cope with uncertainty and recover more successfully from traumatic events or episodes’. Psychologists have long recognised that some children develop well despite growing up in high risk environments. This capacity to cope with adversity, and even be strengthened by it, is at the heart of resilience. It is not something that people either have or don’t have – resilience is learnable and teachable and as we learn we increase the range of strategies available to us when things get difficult.

We can do this by supporting teenagers to make sense of experience, to utilise constructive self-talk, develop mastery and self-efficacy, develop emotional literacy, and ‘happiness habits’, problem solving approaches and challenging and reframing negative perceptions of self.

What kind of strengths is it intended to build?

RM: The programme focuses on the kind of skill based learning that young people will require in order to develop the skills that they need. These are life skills and ones which cannot be underestimated. The resources aim to take what psychologists have learned from the science and practice of treating mental illness and use this to create a series of resources which foster happiness, resilience and motivation.

TR: The powerful message that is conveyed throughout the programme to young people is that with practise, persistence, effective teaching and dedication, strengths can take root and flourish in all of us. Another important messages to young people is that they have choices when it comes to strengths. They can decide whether they want to have a particular strength, develop it further and use that strength. Young people learn that playing to one’s strengths is recognised as being the best way to handle challenging situations and by learning how to recognise and use one’s strengths creatively we can increase our happiness and experience joy and enthusiasm.

How do adolescents respond to the programme?

RM: Education is all about our strengths, finding out what we are good at and building our level of skill in those areas. Adolescents take varying amount of time to respond to the programme, some students quickly internalise the message that the programme is about them as individuals and as human beings, that it is not about facts or a subject area that is somewhat removed from them. Other students, inevitably, take longer to adapt to the programme with its emphasis on their real life experiences.

Although students may take varying amounts of time to respond to the programme there is invariably a consensus by the end of the sessions that it has improved their relationships, put individuals in touch with their strengths, interests and abilities and built students’ capacities to have an optimistic outlook on life and manage stress and adversity.

Tina, you have been involved in setting up the Well-being Curriculum for the Welsh National Assembly – can you tell us about this? Why do you think that interest in Positive Psychology has increased so much over the past 10 years?

TR: The concept of emotional health and well-being is integral to the seven core aims of the Welsh Assembly Government’s vision for children and young people, based on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child – that they:

1. have a flying start in life;
2. have a comprehensive range of education and learning opportunities;
3. enjoy the best possible health and are free from abuse, victimisation and exploitation;
4. have access to play, leisure, sporting and cultural activities;
5. are listened to, treated with respect, and have their race and cultural identity recognised;
6. have a safe home and a community which supports physical and emotional wellbeing; and
7. are not disadvantaged by poverty.

This concept is an essential consideration in many current Welsh Assembly Government policies impacting on pre-school and school-aged children.

The programme makes use of a range of tools to help young people remain emotionally and physically well and these include some of the tools of Positive Psychology.

Finally, what do you think is the secret to living a happy life?

RM: For me the secret to living a happy life is about depth of involvement with family and friends, and I agree with the 17th century philosopher Francis Bacon who wrote: ‘Friendship, redoubleth joys and cutteth griefs in half.’

Happiness is also about engaging in purposeful satisfying activities. For me happiness isn’t just a hedonic, pleasurable state such as enjoying fun leisure activities. It’s a richer, more complicated and more important subject than chasing pleasures. It’s about finding ways of leading a meaningful life, even if that meaning involves times of pain and challenge. The late Irish writer and social commentator, Nuala o’Faolain, uses the analogy of athleticism to illustrate the fact that, with effort, people we can change our happiness levels:

‘If you were a runner in the starting blocks at the Olympics you wouldn’t be waiting for inspiration; you would have trained. Well, we have to train for happiness and practice every day.’

I believe that we have to train ourselves in the skills of becoming happier.

It is also important to remember that we all must own our individual happiness. Being dependent on others for our happiness is as futile as being dependent on others for our unhappiness. It is important to be able to recognise that there are things in life we can’t control, and to not let the actions or inactions of others get in the way of our happiness.

Also it is important to remember that nobody can be happy all the time. It is absolutely normal and even helpful to have periods of sadness, as this is part of a healthy, emotional existence. It is also important not to feel badly because something upsetting happens and puts you in a bad mood. The important thing is how fast you can get through that mood and get into a more positive space.

TR: I think it is essential to recognise that lasting happiness requires us to enjoy the journey towards a destination that is truly meaningful for us…it must have a purpose. Happiness isn’t about getting to the top of the mountain! As Tal Ben-Shahar says: ‘Happiness is the experience of climbing towards the peak.’

Ultimately, we make a choice to be happy! For me, it really is as simple as that. In making that choice, we choose to live in the moment or, as Robert Burns says, ‘to catch the moments as they fly’. We also need to continually value, prize and highlight all the good and positive aspects of our lives, to engage in the rituals and celebrations that affirm our existence and that of others, to cherish the relationships that nurture and engage in learning and the flow of creativity. We need to reject this fairytale notion that there is something or someone that will carry us off to a happy ever after! Again, I will quote Ben-Shahar:

‘To realize, to make real, life’s potential for the ultimate currency, we must first accept that “this is it” – that all there is to life is the day-to-day, the ordinary, the details of the mosaic. We are living a happy life when we derive pleasure and meaning while spending time with our loved ones, or learning something new, or engaging in a project at work. The more our days are filled with these experiences, the happier we become. This is all there is to it.’

Copyright © Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2012.

In this article, Dr. Peter Ladd, co-author of the new book, Person-Centered Diagnosis and Treatment in Mental Health: A Model for Empowering Clients, asks some important questions relating to traditional mental health diagnosis, and shares his own thoughts about where he believes it is heading in the future.

Does the Semantics found in the DSM IV Create a Problem for Clients?

The DSM IV is sophisticated in basing diagnosis in mental health on statistical probability. The Client Empowerment Model of diagnosis in mental health found in Person-Centered Diagnosis and Treatment in Mental Health: A Model for Empowering Clients, (Ladd & Churchill 2012) is sophisticated in presenting a holistic perspective. The lack of a holistic perspective found in the DSM IV may be partially attributed to the semantics found in it. For example, the DSM IV has such labels as Bi-Polar Disorder or Obsessive/Compulsive Disorder. Semantically, a person may incorrectly say, “I am bi-polar or I am obsessive/compulsive.”

From a strictly medical model, such semantics do not make sense. In medicine one does not say, I am cancer or I am stroke. However, with some mental disorders one can personalize them as though they were connected to one’s identity. A client empowerment model does not focus on labels but on patterns. For example, a person might say, “I have a pattern of bi-polar disorder or I have a pattern of obsessive/compulsive disorder. These statements are not connected to one’s identity. They are accurate semantic statements of a pattern they are in. Such unsophistication in DSM IV labels may lead to increasing the severity of disorders rather than reducing them. Most clients do not find meaning in statistically formulated symptoms but in understanding the semantically formulated patterns of their disorders. For example, if you asked someone, “Tell me who you are?” A person would not add up all of his or her negative symptoms and produce a label of how they see themselves. Most likely they would point out those characteristics that describe their unique way of being in this world. This means that it may be important in diagnosis in mental health to significantly separate a person’s mental disorder label from their identity.

The DSM IV is not sophisticated enough to achieve this function. A Client Empowerment Model of Diagnosis presents a client with a diagnostic pattern that specifically changes the discussion away from one’s identity to a pattern of experience that a person is going through. In practice, using a system that statistically categorizes mental disorders based on empirical probability has an explicit advantage for insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies and for the mental health practitioner yet such sophistication may be detrimental to clients, if these mental disorders are not presented in a more sophisticated, holistic and collaborative manner. Perceptually, clients may confuse the mental disorder label with their identity. The question to be asked may be, “Do we have a responsibility as mental health practitioners to diagnose in a manner where diagnosis is beneficial for all involved?”

The Direction of Clinical Diagnosis in Mental Health

Mental health practitioners have a responsibility or at least a professional mandate to include tests instruments within a clinical diagnosis. Some of these instruments are; mental status exams, objective testing, personality testing, motivational interviewing, behavioral, emotional and environmental testing.

However, the most noted test instrument used by mental health practitioners has to be the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or more commonly referred to as the DSM IV (APA, 2000). This book is mostly a standardized classifications system so that all mental health professionals are speaking the same language. This manual breaks down into; Axis I – clinical mental disorders, Axis II – personality disorders, Axis III – medical conditions relating to mental disorders, Axis IV – psychosocial events and environmental concerns and Axis V a global assessment of a client’s ability to function.

Neuroscience may be on the verge of giving the DSM IV an alternative perceptual view of diagnosis with such instruments as; PET scans, MRI’s, and CT.’s and Mindfulness Research (Plante, 2011). However, such neurological research is limited to the laboratory setting without some form of phenomenological thinking. Neuroscience has stirred up a renewed interest in phenomenology or the study of experience (Siegel, 2010). In other words, human experience causes neurological changes, and neurological changes are best understood through studying human experience. Such a notion takes mental health diagnosis in a different direction than the DSM IV that adds up symptoms in order to give a diagnosis based on statistical probability.

From the consideration of a new neurological/phenomenological perspective brings rise to this question, “Are the only accurate mental disorder diagnoses made by adding up symptoms from the DSM IV, in order to render a diagnosis?” At this point, it is only fair to mention that such a question is not completely answerable, yet it does give possible direction to the future of diagnosis in mental health.

However, such a question does reflect the sentiments of those mental health practitioners and neuroscientists that are finding a need for each other’s information. Furthermore, it may raise questions as to the direction of psychological diagnosis from a strictly medical model, statistical probability perspective. Should psychological diagnosis rely only on a statistical probability of symptoms, leading to a diagnosis? Or, should we rely on neuroscience research and combine it with phenomenological experience in developing a more bio/psycho/social/spiritual (Holistic and Person-Centered) model of diagnosis? This may be the moment to consider a different model of diagnosis with the ultimate release of the DSM V, and the book, Person-Centered Diagnosis and Treatment in Mental Health: A Model for Empowering Clients is one attempt at presenting a different model.

Peter D. Ladd
May 2012

American Psychiatric Association. (2000) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental health disorders (4th ed.). Washington DC: Author (Original work published 1952).

Ladd, P. & Churchill, A. (2012) Person-Centered diagnosis and treatment: A model for empowering clients. London, UK: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Plante, T.G. (2011). Contemporary clinical psychology (3rd ed.). Hobaken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Siegel, D.J. (2010) The Mindful therapist: A clinician’s guide to mindsight and neural integration. New York, NY: W. W. Norton and Company.

Copyright © Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2012.

Richard Rose

The unique concept of the life story approach is that it has a defined process:

The beginning (stage 1) requires the Therapeutic Worker to detect the past, to collate the stories of those around the child and to collect tangible items, such as first shoes, first books, cultural and religious material (e.g. Christening, Confirmation, Bar or Bat Mitzvah);

The middle (stage 2) provides the opportunity for the child to externalise their feelings and perceptions through a chronological process. To explore, challenge and conclude to the point that they can reframe their understanding and internalise their sense of self;

The end (stage 3) is the production of the book, the record of all that has been produced by the child, their carer and their Therapeutic Worker. The book becomes the history of the child and concludes with their hopes and desires for the future.

In short, all good stories have a beginning, middle and an end – therefore all narratives have a similar structure, time limited, focused and achievable. The child understands the sequence of discussion and can be helped to make sense of the past, present and plan for the future.

This second book uses case studies to illustrate the various exercises available to the life story Therapeutic Worker. It also details case studies and tools that might be useful to all those working within the social care and education fields. Although the case studies are short, I hope that they illustrate how useful such activities prove to be in communicating with traumatised children. I have considered attachment and trauma, their effect on the brain and on the development of the child, and have used case examples to explore these crucial areas.

One young person I worked with did not want to talk about the things that upset her. She was resistant to the idea of life story, but through the Jenga and Family Tree exercises (discussed more in my book), she was able to engage in play which required her to share information about her likes, dislikes, worries and hopes. By the third session, this young person stated, ‘I am ready now.’ From then on she produce thoughtful, insightful and distressing perceptions. As she talked these out – externalising them – she was able to illustrate her life and understanding on ‘wallpaper’ and, towards the end of the work, reframed her sense of self and internalised healthier thoughts of herself and those around her.

I also worked with an angry primary school child who had been hurt by everyone who had had previous ‘care’ of him. He was alert, poised and preoccupied with possibilities of hurt, either by me or his carer or by himself. There is still debate about re-traumatising children by visiting the past, and there is a possibility of this if the Therapeutic Worker is unsure, impatient, too patient, etc. By using memory boxes, fact/fiction/fantasy and heroism models, he was able to work through his anger and his pain. We used the Behaviour Tree to do the same by thinking about the source of his behaviour, the actions of those in his past and the consequences for those in his present and future.

I hope that by reading my new book, people will be able to use the examples of practice in their work with children. I trust that some readers will want to learn more about the positive outcomes for children who undertake life story, and how, if we can unlock the child’s past, we can release their potential for the future and help carers deal with the present. I am honored that Dr Bruce Perry has written a foreword to my book and have found his interest in my work both supportive and inspiring.

Copyright © Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2012.

Photo: Spring in bloom at the beautiful Queen's University Belfast campus.

The weather was mercifully kind for a few snatched days and, with attendance of over 700 delegates and thanks to the BASPCAN organisers, this year’s congress was a great success.

The JKP stand was busy and we were pleased with the keen interest in our new titles, particularly those on child protection, neglect and working with families. Titles from our series of books on ‘Safeguarding Children Across Services‘ were snapped up, particularly Brigid Daniel’s book, Recognizing and Helping the Neglected Child, following her eloquent keynote. For anyone who missed us at the conference, or was not able to attend, you can view some of the titles we had on display here.

It was fantastic to see so many of our authors at the conference, including Nicky Stanley, Brigid Daniel, Anne Stafford, Julie Taylor, Cathy Humphreys, David Westlake, Danielle Turney, Stephen Pizzey, Jane Wonnacott, Emma Kelly, Dendy Platt and Angie Hart, many of whom were giving presentations relating to their books.

Steve Jones managed to meet and talk to a good number of prospective authors, but for those who wanted to make contact at the conference but missed him, Steve’s email is stephen.jones@jkp.com. You can also send him a message on Twitter @Steve_JKPBooks.

Finally, we’d like to offer our congratulations to Peter van der Linden, MSc, from the Netherlands who won our prize draw! A copy of Safeguarding Children Across Services by Carolyn Davies and Harriet Ward is on its way to you now.

We hope to see you at the next BASPCAN, and in the meantime do stay in touch. To keep up to date with information about new titles, related news and exclusive interviews and blog content, do sign up to our Social Work Newsletter.

You can also follow the latest new from JKP through our dedicated Social Work Facebook page and on Twitter.

Claudine Harris
Marketing Executive
Jessica Kingsley Publishers
May 2012

Copyright © Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2012.

By Ian Stuart-Hamilton, Professor of Developmental Psychology and Faculty Head of Research at University of Glamorgan, Wales, and author of The Psychology of Ageing, now in its fifth edition.

This sounds like a typically tedious middle-class academic’s remark, but the truth is that this book’s life started at a drinks party at Cambridge University. In 1991 I was attending a conference and was asked by a publisher’s rep if I’d like some more of the warm liebfraumilch, and by the way, did I have any ideas for new books? I have a dim record of the ensuing conversation and a vague memory of giving her my address before going into the traditional conference dinner of rubber chicken. A few days later, a letter arrived from Jessica Kingsley asking me to submit a more detailed outline with a view to publication. The rest, as the cliché says, is history.

Thus, more than two decades later, the fifth edition of The Psychology of Ageing: An Introduction is to be launched on the world.

Request an e-Inspection copy!

The significant changes in the new edition can be summarised as follows. First, it is a lot bigger – about a third larger in size than the previous edition. This is in part because of the new chapter (of which more below), but also because nearly all the chapters have been considerably expanded to take account of the growth in the research literature over the recent past. In part this is a matter of updating what new things have been found within an existing area of study. However, new fields of research are now opening up, and these require critical coverage. For example, the greater availability of brain scanning equipment means that studies of neuropsychology are becoming commonplace, particularly in intelligence and memory. Although these have been mentioned in previous editions, this time the topics are given far greater prominence.

Within chapters, topics are broken down into reasonably bite-sized portions, each of which can typically be read without having to read too much of the preceding text. I am, however, aware that a lot of readers will not have an extensive (or indeed any) background in psychology, so I have included a few explanatory notes (that more experienced readers can easily skip over) or in the case of longer explanations, appendices (e.g. describing basic anatomy of the brain and how nerves communicate with each other). I firmly believe that if you can understand a science documentary on television, you should have no conceptual difficulties in reading this book.

Before this deters any academic readers thinking that this is a lightweight book – it isn’t. For students (undergraduate and postgraduate), lecturers and academics in cognizant disciplines, this will serve as (I hope) a respectable primer in the field – the challenge for these readers is what they do with the knowledge in forming their own, more detailed studies.

I mentioned earlier that there was a new chapter – this is on Death, Dying and Bereavement. I have previously resisted including this chapter, not because of any aversion to the subject, but because researchers are divided on whether the topics should be considered as part of ageing, or should be regarded as a separate discipline. In this edition, I have decided to include a chapter. It covers the key issues of the processes of dying (including a critique of Kubler-Ross’s theory), differences in approaches to death and dying, etc. In short, the key psychological topics are covered. I have avoided straying into what I see as being the preserve of sociology and history (e.g. cultural differences in funeral rites and similar) to keep the psychological flavour of the book undiluted.

However, not all has changed. The glossary of technical terms has been saved, the writing style is (I hope) not all that drastically different, and I have tried to keep the level of explanation the same as in previous editions. These are the things that critics have liked about my earlier books, and I am not about to start biting the hand that has stroked my fur so nicely over the years.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the book. I am currently writing another one for Jessica Kingsley, which will be out at some point in the future, probably dependent upon when my parrot permits me to type without pestering for food.

Ian Stuart-Hamilton

Copyright © Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2012.

Here, drama therapist Penny McFarlane shares two fun useful activities from her latest book, Creative Drama for Emotional Support, that will enable parents, carers, teachers, youth workers and others to help the little ones in their care manage difficult emotions and situations.

Mr. Angry Man

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The purpose of this activity is to help prevent the child from being overwhelmed by his emotions. By encouraging a way of considering the emotion as something separate and outside oneself, the intensity is lessened and the feeling becomes more controllable. Mr. Angry Man presents a fun and enjoyable way of using this externalization and most children I have worked with have found personifying the feeling, drawing it out and then interacting with this character to be a novel experience. Somehow it seems to appeal to the spontaneous and whimsical in a child.

This activity usually proves to be more effective if used with an individual child in a quiet and uninterrupted setting. I usually start the session with some discussion about the ‘big feeling’, which sneaks up on him from time to time. We talk about how annoying this is and how much better life would be if we could simply tell it (or him!) to go away: the problem being, of course, that we need to recognize ‘him’ before he pounces. By doing this it is as though the child and I have joined forces against the ‘big feeling’. I am on his side!

Most children then find it easy to visualize and draw this character. Depending on the child and situation, the enactment that follows can be both entertaining and empowering for a child. As Mr. Angry Man I sneak up on the child who is, for example, just beginning an argument with his parent/friend/teacher and dissolve in a heap when the child turns on me shouting ‘Go away’. Again most children find their ability to control this situation, as epitomized by my reaction, to be hugely funny as well as confidence building.

The Two Islands

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The transition from primary to secondary school can be a time of great anxiety for many children. By creating an ‘as if’ scenario the child can explore his apprehension and find out what it is that he is afraid of. More importantly, he can also discover how he can help himself to make this transition by looking at what he may need to take with him, actually or metaphorically.

Many children, on crossing over to the future island and sitting there for a while, discover that it is nothing like as scary as they had imagined. Some children, having made the transition, do not even want to go back to the original island. I remember one child with whom I was working, having crossed backwards and forwards a few times, decided that he was even going to throw away the stepping stones as he ‘didn’t need them anymore’.

Of course, this activity does not only apply to transition between schools but can be used with any imminent change in a child’s life. It can also be helpful in addressing, retrospectively, a period in which there may have been numerous changes. With one little boy who had changed school, house and family on many occasions, we created an island for each stage of his life. He then sat on each island in turn and remembered at least one good thing to take from that island. Using soft toys to represent all the good things, he hopped via stepping-stones to his island of now. Surrounded by the toys and with a big beam on his face, he announced that he would need a bigger island because there were ‘too many good things to fit in’.

Copyright © Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2012.

The Play Therapy Dimensions Model allows play therapists to tailor their approach to the specific needs of the child. Practitioners are encouraged to be engaged and flexible during sessions, adapting their levels of directiveness and consciousness according to the child’s responses. In their new book, featuring written and visual case studies, the authors clearly explain the model, how to use it and the positive therapeutic effects it can have on the child. The book also provides additional support to play therapy practitioners and play therapy supervisors with the inclusion of useful forms that aid therapy planning, conceptualization and evaluation. Click here for more info.

Copyright © Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2012.