Collaborative Brief Therapy with Children

About the Book

In this engaging guide, Matthew Selekman presents cutting-edge strategies for helping children and their families overcome a wide range of emotional and behavioral challenges. Vivid case material illustrates how to engage clients rapidly and implement interventions that elicit their strengths. Integrating concepts and tools from a variety of therapeutic traditions, Selekman describes creative applications of interviewing, family art and play, postmodern and narrative techniques, and positive psychology. He highlights ways to promote spontaneity, fun, and new possibilities -- especially with clients who feel stuck in longstanding difficulties and entrenched patterns of interaction. The book updates and refines the approach originally presented in Selekman's acclaimed Solution-Focused Therapy with Children. This book will be extremely useful for social workers, family therapists, clinical child and school psychologists, counselors, and child and adolescent psychiatrists, as well as serving as an excellent supplemental text in graduate-level courses.

Table of Contents:

1. Expanding the Possibilities: A Collaborative Strengths-Based Brief Therapy Approach with Children 2. The Collaborative Strengths-Based Family Assessment Session3. Interviewing for Change: Co-Creating Compelling Future Realities with Children and Their Families4. Finding Fit: Guidelines for Therapeutic Experiment Design, Selection, and Implementation5. Curious George Meets Dr. Seuss: Family Play and Art Experiments6. Bringing Out the Best in Children: A Solution-Oriented Parenting Approach7. Guidelines for Optimizing Therapeutic Cooperation in Second and Subsequent Sessions8. Co-Constructing Change: Hosting Collaborative Conversations with Allies from Larger Systems9. Building Strong Bridges from School to Home: Establishing SuccessfulCollaborative Partnerships with Families and School Professionals10. Establishing Successful Family-Oriented Primary Care Partnerships with Pediatricians11. From Therapeutic Black Holes to Possibilities: Resolving Complex Child Treatment Dilemmas12. Collaborative Strengths-Based Therapy and Beyond: Major Themes and Implications for the Future

About the Author :
Matthew D. Selekman, MSW, LCSW, Codirector, Partners for Collaborative Solutions, Evanston, IL, USA

Review :
"The books that truly captivate me are few and far between, and this one was compelling and immediately useful. Selekman embraces the creative imagination and puts it at the forefront of his work with families. He combines disparate notes - the analytical, the practical, the unexpected - into a remarkable and unique symphony. By welcoming and working on an equal footing with clients to chart a course to the changes they want to make, Selekman demonstrates true collaboration and mutual respect. I was particularly struck with his determination to engage children directly, give them a strong voice, and focus consistently on the family's strengths. This book is fun and informative reading; I highly recommend it!" - Eliana Gil, Director of Clinical Services, Childhelp Children's Center of Virginia, Fairfax, USA "Selekman weaves together the best of evidence-based and strengths-based psychology with creative new approaches, providing a fresh and needed resource for those who work with children and their families." - Barbara L. Fredrickson, Kenan Distinguished Professor of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA "Kudos to Matthew Selekman! In clear and practical terms, Selekman spells out the best strategies for successful clinical work with kids and families, drawing from a comprehensive and diverse list of traditional and cutting-edge theories and practices. Get this book. It will help you harness the strengths of both the field and your clients." - Scott D. Miller, Co-Director, Institute for the Study of Therapeutic Change, USA "Anyone interested in psychotherapeutic approaches for children should find much here that is thought provoking and useful. Selekman builds on his prior work and presents new material that integrates research, theoretical ideas from a variety of psychotherapeutic approaches, stimulating case examples, and applications to new areas, including schools and primary care. This rich resource has much to offer for beginners and experienced clinicians, individual and family therapists, committed brief therapists and skeptics." - Thomas Todd, Director, Marriage and Family Therapy Program, Adler School of Professional Psychology, USA