Working with Adolescents: A Guide for Practitioners (Social Work Practice with Children and Families)

A state-of-the-art practitioner resource and course text, this book provides a comprehensive view of adolescent development and spells out effective ways to help teens who are having difficulties. The authors illuminate protective and risk factors in the many contexts of adolescents' lives, from individual attributes to family, school, neighborhood, and media influences. An ecological perspective is applied to understanding and addressing specific adolescent challenges, including substance abuse, sexual identity issues, mental health problems, risky sexual behavior, and delinquency. Throughout the book, clear-cut assessment and intervention strategies are illustrated with rich case examples.