Reviews (13)

The Price is psychologically devastatingly high.Read the book to protect your family from psychological dysfunction
This is an excellent book about how the affluent have adopted undermining values (perfectionism, materialism) and how it negatively affects parenting style and causes psychological neurosis among teens.I am the parent of a teenage daughter who goes to a public high school in Marin County.Thus, we live in the social milieu described by Dr. Levine.The book content was both shocking and revealing to me.When I shared some of Dr. Levine's findings that I could not believe I would ask my daughter about them.Invariably, she confirmed that Dr. Levine was correct.That's how I found out that one of my daughter's acquaintances did cut herself frequently.That's also when I knew that Dr. Levine was onto something and not just sensationalizing another marketable myth about Marin County.Also, this book really is not about Marin County as it depicts a nationwide prevalent phenomenon of teenage psychological dysfunction among the affluent.
Reinforcing the basics
A family does not have to be "affluent" in the dollar amounts Dr. Levine describes, to have very similar issues. Middle class kids have "stuff", are envious of the designer "stuff" and haven't a sense of purpose of themselves. The truth is that many of the parents don't seem to either because they are caught up with evrything else except their kids. Kids from lower class to upper class all seem to have phones, Ipods, etc. While reading this book, I spoke with my 14-year old daughter who agreed with much of what the kids felt in the book and realized quite to her surprise that things aren't appreciated as well when not earned. Many of the cases are sad and the acting out for attention in extreme ways seems to happen more frequently. Cutting, getting high, lying, and failing school on purpose are done without seeing future consequences. I think therapy can work for all those frustrated parents and their kids. This is an informative book and what I took from it is: be a parent not a friend, establish rules and stick to them, help kids when warranted and don't let things go too far before doing something.

A Parenting Book for EVERY Parent (not just the rich ones)
Don't judge this book by its title.Parents at every income level will find it helpful.Although the book focuses somewhat on the emotional problems of priveleged youth, The Price of Privelege is a goldmine of valuable information and advice on parenting that we ALL could use.As a child psychologist, I have worked with children and families from all walks for life for the last 12 years.I have seen parents at all income levels make the same mis-steps that Levine talks about.Levine lays out, very clearly, why so much of what parents currently believe to be "good" parenting is at best unhelpful, and at worst destructive (news flash: controlling your child's behavior will help him/her be a happier person and do better in college; praise undermines confidence and effort; self-esteem is not as important as you think it is; chores are good for children).
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Subjects:  1. Adolescent Psychology    2. Child Care/Parenting    3. Child Development And Rearing    4. Child rearing    5. Developmental - Adolescent    6. Family & Relationships    7. Family / Parenting / Childbirth    8. Parenting    9. Parenting - General    10. Psychological aspects    11. Wealth    12. Family & Relationships / Parenting   

Reviews (27)

Richard Louv Defines the Environmental Issue of the Decade
Richard Louv's message of hope - for change and for a greater future - may be the key to keeping us all sane for generations to come.
silly nostalsgic nonsense
Having spent most of my adult life working in the non-profit conservation field, and as a parent, and as someone who had the good fortune to spend lots of time in nature as a child, I read this book in the hopes of learning important things. That turned out to be a forlorn hope.
A Compelling Case for Change
The heavens declare the glory of God;
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Subjects:  1. Child Care/Parenting    2. Child Development    3. Child Development And Rearing    4. Children and the environment    5. Family & Relationships    6. Family / Parenting / Childbirth    7. General    8. Nature    9. Parenting - General    10. Psychological aspects    11. Psychotherapy - Child & Adolescent    12. Family & Relationships / Parenting    13. NATURE / General   

Reviews (11)

A brilliant treatise on how the mind develops by a credible author with good writing skills
The essence of this book is captured in its very first paragraph, "the mind emerges at the interface of interpersonal experience and the structure and function of the brain." It goes on to explain how this is so in the various chapters that cover memory, emotion, construction of reality (via internal representations), states of mind, self regulation, interpersonal connection and integration.
The Brain and Attachment
While having contributed to many publications, The Developing Mind is the first of many books to be written by Dr. Daniel J. Siegel.Dr. Siegel and his work entitled Interpersonal Neurobiology integrates a spectrum of perspectives such as the latest scientific, cultural, and psychological research into an understandable language that has the potential to stimulate positive individual healing and collective changes in our society.

Putting it all togeter
This is one of the best books that I have read regarding emotions and the physiology of the brain.I work with children who have autism and this was a great resource for helping me to put early childhood development and neuroanatomy together ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Brain    2. Developmental - Lifespan Development    3. Developmental psychology    4. Intellect    5. Interpersonal relations    6. Physiological aspects    7. Psychology    8. Psychotherapy - Child & Adolescent    9. Child & developmental psychology    10. Neurology & clinical neurophysiology    11. Psychology & Psychiatry / Child Psychology   

Reviews (4)

Great for novice therapist
I bought this book when I was fresh out of graduate school and starting my first job under supervision.This book has great ideas that are easy, very therapeutic for the children I work with, and also inspiring for coming up with my own creative techniques.

Creative, but Easy
The activities in this book are well organized and simple. Most do require some type of preparation and some materials. Some of the activities use games; others use art therapy, etc. This is an invaluable resource for me in therapy session with children and adolescents. The kids have always been interested in the interventions I have used from this book. This is therapy without the child KNOWING it's therapy.
Money Well Spent
I am a social worker who often works with oppositional and resistant children. This book offers several fresh ideas on interacting and engaging children so that they will begin to talk about their feelings. I have been very impressed with the several activities and have found that they can be applied to children of various ages with very little work. I think this book is a must for anyone who works with children. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. General    2. Psychology    3. Psychology & Psychiatry / Child Psychology    4. Psychology & Psychiatry / Counseling    5. Adolescent psychotherapy    6. Child psychotherapy    7. Couseling    8. Group psychotherapy    9. Play therapy    10. Psychology & Psychiatry   

Reviews (58)

Why not just kill your mother?
After hearing good things about the book I had hoped for some insight on how to change the approval seeking patterns developed from living in family where being good worked alot better than being authentic. Instead I got heavy handed criticism of "mothers" who warp their children through thier own selfish motivations. Some people may have parents who were intentionally cruel, but mine were just sad, depressed and inept. I spent so much effort defending them from this author's wrath, and perhaps anger at her own mother, that if there was any insight in this book about on how I might change my patterns of behavior I couldn't see it.

Frustrating But Extremely Valuable
It is unsurprising that Alice Miller's Drama of the Gifted Child has met with a certain amount of hostility from both the psychiatry and psychotherapy establishments.After all, she frowns both on the use of drugs and cognitive-behavioral techniques as treatments for anxiety--especially in children.She even suggests that those who would use such remedies may have unaddressed psychological problems of their own.What's worse, she appeals to no empirical studies (double-blind or not) in reaching these conclusions; in fact, a reader might be reluctant to conclude from this book that Miller would even be capable of assessing the value of a careful scientific study of this or that anti-anxiety treatment.So, as I've indicated above, this book is often very frustrating.But Miller's work is also quite valuable, at least in my opinion.Like Freud's contemporary Wilhelm Stekel, Miller may not be a systematic theoretician, but her extensive clinical experience has provided her with several important insights that I believe may be useful, particularly to parents of anxious children.
Looking back may be only way forward.
"The unexamined life is not worth living" wrote Socrates. If you find yourself on the path of this philosophy a good place to stop is with Alice Miller's short book, "Drama of the Gifted Child".The book, despite being written for therapist's, is unambiguous, easy to understand, and extremely compelling.The book addresses our secret-selves, which includes our subconscious selves, and asks the question, and I paraphrase here, how did you really feel back in the day? Miller contends that a trauma suffered in your young life will continue producing unhappiness, addiction, compulsion, fetishes, mental illness, and worse in your adult life.The only way out of pain is to face the truth. You must face what happened and how you really felt. Not how you were told to feel, not how you needed to feel to survive, not how you told yourself you should feel-- but how you really felt. This is easier read than done.The author states that you cannot undo the past, but through the process of mourning, obtained only by squarely facing the truth, you can free yourself and finally move forward.It is ultimately the story of your psychic pain and psychic redemption.Pain that could not be have been mourned at the point of trauma, and the devastating effects that pain can still be having on your life
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Subjects:  1. Adult Child Abuse Victims    2. Clinical Psychology    3. Developmental - Child    4. Mental health    5. Narcissistic injuries    6. Parent and child    7. Psychology    8. Psychotherapy - Child & Adolescent    9. Rehabilitation    10. The self, ego, identity, personality   

Reviews (5)

THE CHILD PSYCHOTHERAPY TREATMENT PLANNER
I THINK IS VERY DIDACTIC FOR MI I DO NEED MORE PRACTICE ONEVERY ITEM FOCUSIN IN EACH CHILPROBLEMS DIFFERENT KIND OFEXERCISES WIL BE MORE INTERESTING FOR ME AND THE KID AND NOT TO BE MORE REPETING EVERY ITEM THANKS

great reference book
This book will be a great refernce and resource book for my practice.It will help my to better assist my clients.

A Starting Point and for Getting Unstuck
These 'planners' are a great place to start when designing a treatment plan. They are the equivalent of a 'manual' that refreshes memory, assists with language and format- and gets you past the block. Its weaknesses lie in its treatment methods and assessment paradigm.Read more

Subjects:  1. Adolescent psychotherapy    2. Child psychotherapy    3. Practice Management    4. Psychology    5. Psychotherapy - Child & Adolescent    6. Child & developmental psychology    7. Paediatric medicine    8. Psychological methodology    9. Psychology / Practice Management    10. Psychotherapy   

Reviews (8)

Overly generalized
When I bought this book, I was expecting helpful solutions, but all I got were general facts that most parents of autistic children already know.The book definitely needed more specific information on how to handle problems.

Engaging Autism:Helping Children Relate, Communicate & Think with the DIR Floortime Approach
This book is a must read for parents with an autistic child. This book is easy to read and understand. Dr. Greenspan has made me feel I will be able to help my son fully recover.This is the 1st time in 3 years I have hope!My son is moderate to severly autistic. We have been doing Floortime & have seen much success. What a natural way of helping him & having fun doing it.Thank you Dr. Greenspan.

Too Much Engaging and Too Little Information
I have been a Learning Specialist for nearly twenty years at the high school and community college levels.When I read "Engaging Autism" by Stanley I. Greenspan, I was anticipating a book filled with fresh information, scientific validity, and ideas that could be realistically applied in a variety of classroom settings.Instead, I read page after page of disappointment.DIR/Floortime is an interesting/innovative approach for helping individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other developmental disabilities.However, this book was extremely weak in the following areas:repetition of the same ideas/concepts throughout the work, reliance on anecdotal information, no scientific validation of information, absence of an in-depth bibliography, frequent reference to products written by Greenspan and his team, and lack of organization throughout the text.DIR/Floortime is presented as too simplistic when in actuality it appears to be extremely time consuming and labor instensive which is impractical in contemporary public education settings.The author recommends homeschooling and intense family involvement as though this was a simple solution.However, parents uusually do not have the extensive time or expertise to devote to the DIR/Floortime approach.If you are interested in learning what DIR/Floortime entails, I recommend researching Internet sources or consulting works by other authors.This book is largely a waste of time for professionals in the field of special education.Unless you want to read a rehash of ideas over and over again, I would not waste my time with this book.I was going to order another book by Dr. Greenspan entitled "The Child With Special Needs:Encouraging Intellectual and Emotional Growth" but will not be doing it at this time.
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Subjects:  1. Autism    2. Autistic children    3. Behavior modification    4. Child Development And Rearing    5. Children with Special Needs    6. Education    7. Family & Relationships    8. Family / Parenting / Childbirth    9. Family/Marriage    10. Parenting - General    11. Psychology    12. Psychopathology - Autism    13. Psychotherapy - Child & Adolescent    14. Rehabilitation    15. Advice on parenting    16. Clinical psychology    17. Coping with disability    18. Paediatric medicine   

Reviews (5)

surface but instructive
I had great hopes for this book. After I glanced at it, I purchased it immediately. It certainly does reorient you to the distinctions between goals, objectives and diagnoses, but after using it for a while, it just wasn't sufficient for those more complicated kids. I'll keep referring to it, not so much for information but to place me back on course when I'm stuck and blocked- (happens more than I'd like, when the stress gets to me,) yet I still would suggest, for more seasoned professionals, a higher level of diagnostic and prescriptive content. A great aid for clinicains.
If you work with adolescent this is a great aid to writing treatment plans for a beginner or a skilled clinician. It makes following this state regulations a lot easier.I would definitely recommend this book to all my colleagues.This book has helped me write treatment plans quicker and easier then I ever thought possible.I love this series of books.

A godsend for the busy clinician
I work in a mental health agency as an intake clinician, interviewing families and children and writing assessments to be used for case disposition and treatment planning.I see 4-6 families weekly and my work load has been eased enormously with this addition to my library.It sits right next to my DSM-IV and I use it daily.The language for long term goals and therapeutic interventions are clinically sound and there are a number of options in each to tailor for specific cases. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Adolescent psychotherapy    2. Handbooks, manuals, etc    3. Practice Management    4. Psychology    5. Psychotherapy - Child & Adolescent    6. Child & developmental psychology    7. Psychological methodology    8. Psychology / Practice Management    9. Psychotherapy   

Editorial Review

There is little sugar but lots of spice in journalist Rachel Simmons's brave and brilliant book that skewers the stereotype of girls as the kinder, gentler gender.

Reviews (80)

Girls Need To Make Peace With Conflict
I found this book, "Odd Girl Out," not only helpful but also cathartic. It answered a lot of current questions I have about raising an adolescent daughter by enabling me to go back and visit my own youth and remind me of my own experiences. This book illustrates how easy it is for mothers raising daughters to live vicariously through them and see how it brings out old fears and insecurities. It was a re-education.
Part of the Puzzle, Read It, but Don't Stop Here
You know, this is actually a topic that is near and dear for my heart and it did have a lot of interesting examples and data...but like Fast Girls before it, this reads a lot like someone's research paper and doesn't really delve too far into the history of aggression (in boys or girls) beyond a barest basics that most people probably already know.Simmons also doesn't offer any statistics, she mentions repeatedly that there really isn't any research on this, but I felt like this was just a big book length article that focused on her own personal fascination with the topic and the scope of the book really doesn't go much beyond her own group of interviewees.I was also kind of annoyed by the great deal of repeated information, it's as if in the absence of statistical data to support her theory she just keeps saying the same thing over and over.
Dads and Educators ALSO Need to READ This Book!!!
The book opened my eyes into a girls' world I'd never realized existed. A father, I got the book to understand the social dynamics my daughter navigates. It's like a gardner suddenly discovering that flowers have aromas, weeds have deep roots, and roses have thorns.
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Subjects:  1. Aggressiveness (Psychology)    2. Aggressiveness in children    3. Applied Psychology    4. Developmental - Adolescent    5. Gender Psychology    6. Gender Studies    7. Girls    8. Life Stages - Adolescence    9. Psychology    10. Social Psychology    11. Advice on parenting    12. Child & developmental psychology    13. Organization & management of education    14. Psychology & Psychiatry / Social Psychology    15. Social, group or collective psychology    16. Reading Group Guide   

Reviews (5)

Real Help for Parents and Therapists
Very helpful for therapists and parents who want to use the Collaborative Problem Approach with explosive kids.Using plenty of examples and scripts, Drs. Green and Ablon help to walk people through the approach, through common pitfalls, and provide guidance and support for therapists working with families.A must-read for every family therapist and teacher who has ever worked with an explosive child.

Creating a better world
I am reading "Treating the Explosive Child" and simply cannot put this book down - if everyone incorporated this approach into everyday life, what a humane world it could be.Thank you, Dr Ablon and Green for the expertise you are sharing and disseminating to the world - in my eyes, you are true heroes.

Finally an answer
Ever since my child was about 4 I have been wondering what he "had"....what his behavioral issues were all about.Three therapists later, psychological testing, and countless offerings of advice from friends, parents and teachers I have finally found an explanation that rings true and speaks to my husband and me. My son is now 14.How I wish I had known about this "CPS approach" years ago. The approach is not "Magic 123" (and therefore simplistic) but if it's followed, it works.I first read Dr. Greene's other book aimed at parents called "The Explosive Child" which is also wonderful."Treating Explosive Kids" is directed at therapists and is therefore more dense and a little more difficult to understand for the lay person but the book is filled with dialogue between professionals, parents, and kids which brilliantly and realistically illustrates how to treat a child who is inflexible, explosive, and therefore incredibly frustrating.Guess what:these kids are not simply being manipulative or looking for attention. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Behavior disorders in children    2. Child rearing    3. Problem children    4. Psychology    5. Psychotherapy    6. Psychotherapy - Child & Adolescent    7. Psychology & Psychiatry / Child Psychology   

Reviews (2)

VERY HELPFUL
THE BOOK WAS VERY INFORMATIVE AND SEVERAL RESOURCES THAT I WAS ABLE TO USE IMMEDIATELY. IT'S WORTH THE MONEY.

Therapist's notebook for children and adolescents
This great book is for the therapist working with children and adolescents, where the therapist can use the material as homework, handouts and activities in therapy. The editors, Catherine Ford Sori, professor of psychology and counseling at Governors State University, Illinois and Lorna L Hecker, professor of marriage and family therapy at Purdue University in Indiana, have together with 36 professionals compiled a very important tool for the therapist.Read more

Subjects:  1. Adolescent psychotherapy    2. Child psychotherapy    3. Handbooks, manuals, etc    4. Medical    5. Psychiatry - Child & Adolescent    6. Psychology    7. Psychotherapy - Child & Adolescent    8. Child & developmental psychology   

Editorial Review

For any caregiver experiencing life with a bipolar child, Demitri and Janice Papolos's Read more

Reviews (90)

BP in children definitely exists
I didn't have to read the book to know that BP can be a correct diagnosis in children.During my childhood I had intense emotions and fluidity of thoughts.Standardized tests could not measure creativity in science -- I blew them away.History; forget it.Regardless, the same emotion and thought issues that existed throughout childhood translated to adulthood.Anger became extreme and dangerous in adulthood.This is when I extensively researched psychiatric diagnoses and discovered that BP fit me perfectly.Kay Jamisons book confirmed my research.Many years and much medication later, I'm more normal than normal people.
The first resource I recommend to parents of newly dxd kids
As I was reading this book, I wondered how the authors were able to witness what was going on in my family.It was like they were flies on the wall - they described my family to a T.
Bi-polar Child hard cover book review
This book was exactly as described.It was informative and yet not too medically explicit that I couldn't understand the information being explained.It also held a lot of examples from real families which was also helpful and made me feel like this wasn't just a medical book, it was a tool to help me understand that my child wasn't alone in the world which was comforting to know.
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Subjects:  1. Child Psychiatry    2. Clinical Child Psychology    3. Depression in children    4. Manic-depressive illness in children    5. Pediatrics    6. Psychology    7. Psychoses in children    8. Psychotherapy - Child & Adolescent    9. Psychology & Psychiatry / Child Psychology   

Reviews (1)

A Thorough Explanation and Illustration.
Where I work, we are close to the point in which we will be implementing the Response to Intervention model for determining learning disabled and emotionally disturbed student eligibility. This necessitated my pouring over this book a few times in the last few weeks. I have to recommend it strongly as it would be difficult to imagine a more thorough work concerning this very new subject. Its historical discussion of special education and learning disabilities was excellent as was the authors' review of recent laws and legislation. The authors' description of the ineptitude of the discrepancy model is compelling even for those of us who never endured zoo staffings which were often its inevitable result. For those of us in the field, there are endless forms and figures on these pages which can be used as inspiration behind the forms accompanying our district's transition; although, RTI adoption clearly isn't just a matter of forms. The most exciting aspect is that it will give us an opportunity to develop a new aspect to one's game. Now, we'll utilize scientifically based interventions and be able to initiate them while recording the results. The authors even offer a template for a novel psychological report based upon Response to Intervention. Their creativity and thoroughness was a pleasant surprise.
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Subjects:  1. Education    2. Psychology    3. Psychotherapy    4. Psychotherapy - Child & Adolescent    5. Remedial teaching    6. Slow learning children    7. Psychology & Psychiatry / Child Psychology   

Subjects:  1. Behavior    2. Behavior disorders in children    3. Child Psychiatry    4. Developmental - Child    5. General    6. Pediatrics    7. Physiological Psychology    8. Psychology    9. Psychopathology - General    10. Psychotherapy - Child & Adolescent    11. Child & developmental psychology    12. Philosophy & psychology    13. Psychology & Psychiatry / General   

Reviews (24)

Wonderful to learn about attachment
This was one of many books I have been reading regarding attachment.This book had my sons name written all over it.I am a mother of a foreign adopted son with many issues ahead.This has by far been the best one I have found.It showed examples of problems along with a recommended solution to correcting the behavior.We are now seeing some much needed changes in our household.I highly recommend this selection.

Fantastic!
Daniel Hughes really understands children with RAD! I especially would recommend this book for parents adopting or doing foster care.

highly recommend
We recently adopted a 9 yr old boy.This book helped me understand the source of his behavior and have more compassion.There weren't a lot of methods to help me cope, but I hope his other book will have that.
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Subjects:  1. Developmental - Child    2. Family Relationships    3. Interpersonal Relations    4. Psychology    5. Psychotherapy - Child & Adolescent    6. Child & developmental psychology    7. Child care & upbringing    8. Social Science / Social Work   

Reviews (3)

Excellent resource for working as a professional with children
I have been using this in my therapy practice and have found it very resourceful. It has wonderful suggestions for the therapist to untilize in assisting childrento express and resolve their issues when in situations they are unable to resolve through the expressions of words. They can express through play and in cognitve ways and it works!!!

101 Favorite Play Therapy Techniques
This is the best book I have found on play therapy.It has so many amazing ideas that are helpful for anyone who works with children.

Exelent book.Teaches well how to understand children.
An exelent book for all who are interested about children.The ideas about how to play with children are among the best I've seen yet. I specily like the onea about toddlers.I have personally put these teachings intoeffect and I have seen wonderful results on the way my children, and mystudents, approach things and people. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Medical    2. Mental Health    3. Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation    4. Psychology    5. Psychotherapy - General    6. Physiotherapy    7. Psychology & Psychiatry / Child Psychology    8. Rehabilitation   

Reviews (1)

This book is good.
I am currently using this book for my Early Childhood Education(ECE)Diploma studies.This book has detailed and comprehensive topics and theories on Child Development.It also provides lots of picturesand graphics to enhance your understanding of what you read.This book is amust for anyone studying ECE or for those teaching children and wish toknow more about Child development. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Child development    2. Developmental - Child    3. Psychology    4. Psychotherapy - Child & Adolescent    5. Child & developmental psychology    6. Children    7. Human growth & development    8. Psychology & Psychiatry / General   

Reviews (9)

A teen's perspective on an almost four star book
"Odd Girl Speaks Out" is a book of short stories by teen and preteen girls about their experiences with relationships between other girls.Opening the beginning of each section is commentary by the editor relating to what the section will be about.