Working with Children and Teenagers Using Solution Focused Approaches: Enabling Children to Overcome Challenges and Achieve their Potential

Solution focused approaches offer proven ways of helping children overcome a whole range of difficulties, from academic problems to mental health issues, by helping them to identify their strengths and achievements. Based on solution focused practice principles, this book illustrates communication skills and playful techniques for working with all children and young people, regardless of any health, learning or development need. It demonstrates how the approach can capture children's views, wishes and worries, and can assist them in identifying their strengths and abilities. The approach encourages positive decision-making, and helps children to overcome challenges, achieve their goals and reach their full potential. The book is packed with case examples, practical strategies, and practice activities. This valuable text will be of great use to a range of practitioners working with children and young people, including social workers, youth workers, counsellors, teachers and nurses.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements. 1. Useful Conversations. 2. Taking Children Seriously. 3. Setting Achievable Goals. 4. Finding Exceptions to Problems. 5. Discovering Children's Strengths. 6. Scaling Goals, Progress and Safety. 7. Putting it all Together. 8. Resources. References. Index.

About the Author :
Judith Milner and Jackie Bateman are both solution focused practitioners, trainers, consultants and writers. Previously a senior lecturer in social work, Judith now acts as an a therapist, consultant and Independent Expert to family courts in child protection, domestic violence and contested contact cases. Jackie previously worked as a social worker in child protection and then youth offending before joining Barnardo's in 2002. She is currently a Children's Service Manager for Barnardo's The Junction, a service which works with children and young people who display sexually concerning behaviour and their families.

Review :
This book does what is says on the tin, it offers the reader solution- focused approaches to enable children to overcome challenges to reach their full potential. It is well written and does not over complicate the topic... An excellent reference text for anyone working with children and teenagers. As a mother of two myself, I think this book is useful for parents who may be facing some of the identified challenges. I found it relevant not only in my professional role but as a parent of a teenager. I have been unable to discover if there have been other books written about this subject but, if so, I doubt there are many better. It is a practical, straightforward guide, rich in ideas and presented in a clear, concise, sensitive, occasionally humorous and very readable format... It will be a useful addition to the library of solution-focused trainee counsellors or those, who like me, practise primarily using other theoretical approaches. It both promotes and demonstrates respect for, and interest in, the child, and is written with an air of common sense, positivity and honesty that is refreshing. I very much recommend this book for practitioners. Even if you only read the first chapter, you will learn or be reminded about different ways of engaging young people. Everyone would benefit from incorporating strengths based practice into their work, and their life, and this book will undoubtedly provide the reader with numerous invaluable insights, as well as an overview of the process. There is also a resources section, which may point people in the direction of further reading/materials. These authors demonstrate here their wide experience with challenging behaviour in children and families. There is also extensive coverage of issues around safeguarding children and work within child protection. The text is clear and engaging throughout, with many minimal yet thought-provoking case vignettes. Exercises for the student and for the children and their families form a large part of the book. Some of the exercises are ideal for encouraging reflective practice and for use as educational elements in supervision settings. I can see this book becoming a regular reference text for workers in children's mental health services, social workers and family support workers, consulted whenever a particular type of referral is received, or when a new worker joins the team. This book will be invaluable for anyone working with children and their families. Packed full of simple (yet not simplistic) ideas for constructive practice, it brings together the wide experience of the authors to present real examples of how a solution-focused approach can make a difference to the lives of children. This practice wisdom ensures that it connects with practitioners in a direct, meaningful and helpful way, as well as clearly demonstrating how solution-focused principles and techniques are applied.