Treating child and adolescent aggression through bibliotherapy

Antisocial acts by children and teens are on the rise – from verbal abuse to physical bullying to cyber-threats to weapons in schools. Strictly punitive responses to aggressive behavior may even escalate a situation, leaving peers, parents, and teachers feeling helpless.

This unique volume conceptualizes aggression as a symptom of underlying behavioral and emotional problems and examines the psychology of perpetrators and the power dynamics that foster intentionally hurtful behavior in young people. It details for readers how bibliotherapy offers relevant, innovative, and flexible treatment – as a standalone intervention or as a preventive method in conjunction with other forms of treatment – and can be implemented with individuals and groups, parents, teachers, and even rivals.

Treating Child and Adolescent Aggression Through Bibliotherapy:

• Offers research-based guidelines for treating aggression in children and adolescents.
• Provides an integrative approach to treating aggressive children and youth to more fully address the complex nature of antisocial behavior.
• Sets out a practical framework for bibliotherapy, choosing developmentally appropriate materials, identifying themes for discussion, matching selections to therapeutic progress, and more.
• Demonstrates individual and group bibliotherapy sessions with male and female children and adolescents.
• Includes a complete session-by-session prevention program for the classroom.
• Features an appendix of suggestions for effective therapeutic literature.

This unique, must-have resource is essential reading for school psychologists, school counselors, social workers, and clinical child psychologists and any allied educational and mental health professionals who work with troubled youth.