John Sommers-Flanagan

Becoming an Ethical Helping Professional takes mental health professionals on a wide-ranging tour of ethics--covering both the theoretical as well as practical aspects of providing sound, ethical care. A unique and comprehensive resource, this book challenges students and professionals to consider both the process and the content of making ethical choices as a helping professional.

"Clinical Interviewing" blends a personal and easy-to-read style with a unique emphasis on both the scientific basis and interpersonal aspects of mental health interviewing. This invaluable text provides vast insight into and practical examples of useful interviewing techniques for more effective therapy.

"Tough Kids, Cool Counseling" offers creative techniques for overcoming resistance, fostering constructive therapy relationships, and generating opportunities for client change and growth. This edition includes a new chapter on resistance busters and updated and fresh ideas for establishing rapport, carrying out informal assessments, improving negative moods, modifying maladaptive behaviors, and educating parents. Suicide assessment, medication referrals, and therapy termination are also discussed. John and Rita Sommers-Flanagan clearly enjoy working with kids--no matter how tough--and their infectious spirit and proven techniques will help you bring renewed energy into the counseling process.

"A firsthand examination of the divorce experience through the eyes and voices of the children of divorce..." Intimate, humorous, touching and wise advice on divorce and its consequences from those most affected by it - the children of divorce. Based on interviews with hundreds of children and adult children of divorce, Don't Divorce Us! provides valuable insights on the steps to take to minimize or avoid the pain that divorce can bring to children. Rita Sommers-Flanagan, Ph.D. and John Sommers-Flanagan, Ph.D., are experienced counselors who have seen first-hand the effects divorce can have on children. For this book they have collaborated with Chelsea Elander, a grown child of divorce herself, to weave often-poignant interviews, stories, essays and artwork from children of divorce, with proven advice on the ways parents can bring children safely through the divorce process and the life that follows. The book provides sensible strategies for coping with the challenges of double-households, long-distance parenting, ex-spouses, parental dating, step-parenting and the many other potentially stressful issues of divorce. For any parents who are considering divorce, are in the divorce process, or have recently divorced, this book offers valuable insights into helping children through the experience.

Embracing the uniqueness of every parent, family situation, and practitioner, How to Listen so Parents Will Talk and Talk so Parents Will Listen helps professionals address the parent-child problems that families often find puzzling or challenging and for which they seek support and guidance. How to Listen so Parents Will Talk and Talk so Parents Will Listen features many specific interventions and methods for helping parents implement developmentally appropriate and scientifically supported strategies for building healthy parent-child relationships and working through the most common conflicts encountered in families.

Student-friendly and comprehensive, Counseling and Psychotherapy Theories in Context and Practice, Second Edition provides an in-depth understanding of the origins, development, and key figures of each major theory and strongly emphasizes the application of these theories in real-world practice. Pedagogical features include opening chapter outlines, "Putting It In Practice" boxes, practitioner reflections, ethical highlights, case examples, as well as chapter summaries, chapter glossaries, and recommended readings and resources. The Second Edition includes a new section on treatment planning in each chapter and increased coverage of multicultural issues.

Many parents Wonder, Is my child normal? They may be concerned about their child's behaviors, attitudes, feelings, or general development. They may worry if their child doesn't seem to be fitting in socially, isn't happy, isn't getting along with others, or seems overly anxious and fearful. This book gives parents the advice, reassurance, and practical knowledge they need to help their child and themselves. Drawing on their years as counselors and teachers, the authors consider what's normal and what might not be normal. They cover common childhood problems and suggest remedies for parents to try at home. After describing behaviors that might be more rare and serious, they explain the world of mental health professionals, then offer ideas for getting oneself and one's child ready to take advantage of professional help. The message throughout is clear: What's best is when our children are neither normal or abnormal, but simply able to live well.

Provides glimpses into actual counseling sessions with different teenagers ages 16-18 and illustrates challenges that mental health providers face when working with both agreeable and challenging teenagers.

This practical guide provides a holistic, wellness-oriented approach to understanding suicide and working effectively with clients who are suicidal. John and Rita Sommers-Flanagans' culturally sensitive, seven-dimension model offers new ways to collaboratively integrate solution-focused and strengths-based strategies into clinical interactions and treatment planning with children, adolescents, and adults. Each chapter contains diverse case studies and key practitioner guidance points to deepen learning in addition to a wellness practice intervention to elevate mood. Personal and professional self-care and emotional preparation techniques are emphasized, as are ethical issues, counselor competencies, and clinically nuanced skill building