Therapy Books
"A Self-Determined Future with Asperger Syndrome" examines autism and Asperger Syndrome from the social perspective, rather than the medical perspective. It is based on a 'solution focused' approach, which uses the skills and coping strategies people with Asperger Syndrome already employ, to help them reach their preferred future.
The authors describe the origins of the solution focused approach and how it came to be used with individuals with Asperger Syndrome, as well as discussing how it can be used to support individuals on the autistic spectrum.
Complemented by case study examples and practical worksheets and tools, the book treats people with Asperger Syndrome as individuals aside from the 'problem' or 'disordered' aspects of autism.
This empowering book will be of interest to people who are affected by Asperger Syndrome and autism, as well as professionals working with people with people on the spectrum.
This is a key book for anyone wanting to learn more about Solution Focused Therapy. The book is written by some of the key figures from the field and will probably remain one of the leading books on Solution Focused Therapy.
"When I bought this book I found much of it interesting and useful. My only real issue was that some parts were a little dry and hard going." Dan
`This well-structured book should prove a leading text in the solution-focused therapy (SFT) world and will serve as an excellent overview of SFT on those training courses integratively oriented towards the immediate needs of many services and their clients. This book will please both SFT aficionados and those, like me, who are sceptical but open to some persuasion. The author has done a superb job of representing SFT in an up-to-date, rigorous and accessible way, and has, incidentally, shown what a concise text on any 'core theoretical model' should look like' -
Colin Feltham, Therapy Today
`Packed full of ideas and exercises for trainers and therapists. An essential read for professionals wishing to develop their solution-focused practice. Alasdair communicates the wisdom accumulated over years as a practitioner, researcher and enthusiast for the solution-focused approach' - Bill O'Connell Director of Training with Focus on Solutions Limited, Birmingham
'Alasdair MacDonald has produced a landmark in the development of solution-focused approaches. He brings together the history, research and evidence for SF practice with many practical strategies for contexts from severe mental health cases to workplace conflict. The book is packed with concise insights, connections and thought-provoking questions presented with great authority and clarity' - Mark McKergow PhD MBA, author of The Solutions Focus: The SIMPLE Way to Positive Change, and co-founder of SolWorld
This practice-oriented book demonstrates an innovative, effective, brief therapy approach for time-sensitive assessment and intervention with children and families.
With trademark creativity, flexibility, and humor, Matthew Selekman combines the best elements of a range of current approaches with family play and art therapy techniques, to create a comprehensive solution-focused model.
Illustrated by numerous case examples and session transcripts, and supported by empirical research, Solution-Focused Therapy with Children helps frontline clinicians - regardless of level of experience - master the skills they need to bring about rapid, lasting change.
"Probably one of my favourite and easy to read therapy training books I've found to date." Dan
Presenting "Carl Rogers with a twist," a solutions-oriented therapist and writer use humor and other techniques to reframe problems/goals and connect with inner/external resources.
No references or index.
Originally published as A Field Guide to Possibilityland (Possibilities Press, 1997). Annotatio
"Definately another one of my favourite, easy to read therapy books." Dan
Mental health professionals O'Hanlon and Weiner-Davis first published their text in 1989, offering practitioners a new way to think about and approach therapy which focuses on people's competence, strengths, and possibilities rather than their deficits, weaknesses, and limitations.
This book is written in clear plain language how to effectively work in a solution focused way with a wide range of clients and situations.
The authors guide the reader through their approach to emotional health and education, clearly explaining a body of psychological knowledge gained through decades of research into neurophysiology, psychology and behaviour.
Why we need to understand healthy minds
It took millions of years for the human mind to evolve to the point where we have the knowledge to direct our own development. We have reached a watershed. Exciting discoveries about how the mind/body system works show how human nature can unfold to create effective and fulfilled individuals. What will we do with this knowledge?
Science has discovered that nature endows each healthy human conception with a wonderful array of living ‘templates’ – an infinitely rich treasure-house of incomplete patterns that instinctively seek completion in the environment from the moment of birth, and that continue to do so as we grow and evolve throughout our lives. These patterns are expressed as physical and emotional needs and are in a state of continuous ebb and flow. If we are fortunate, and are born into a culture and environment that provides us with the means to get those needs met, we develop well. It is precisely the way needs are met, by the impact life has on them, that determines the individual nature, character and mental health of each person.
Studying these innate patterns, and charting their unfolding, is the new science of human nature … which is what this book is about.
Only by co-operating with these natural processes – the human givens – can children be educated and matured into independent, fully integrated and fulfilled adults. And, when things go wrong and people lose their way, only by working in alignment with the human givens can other people help them overcome emotional problems such as depression, anxiety, addictions, anger disorders and psychotic breakdowns.
And perhaps it is only by understanding these natural processes and overcoming the disadvantages we are also heir to – such as greed, vanity and the ease with which we can be conditioned – that we will be able to evolve further.
Shortlisted for the Mind 2008 Book of the Year prize, 'An Idea in Practice' is a celebration of the astonishing inroads human givens psychology has made since its inception ten years ago.
Its efficacy, practicality and power to promote emotional health and clear thinking are demonstrated time and again throughout the book.
Countless professionals in primary care, education, psychology, psychiatry, psychotherapy, social services, immigration services, physiotherapy, criminology and even diplomacy now incorporate the human givens approach into the way they go about their work.
This book shows why.
Like a powerful lens 'An Idea in Practice' brings into focus rich insights about what is missing from society today and how a variety of talented people from diverse backgrounds are redressing this. It is full of moving stories, humour and deeply thought-provoking material.
Written and edited by Joe Griffin and Ivan Tyrrell, who first coined the term `human givens', they and the other contributors reveal not only why people who use this approach are effecting change so quickly, but how others who are trying to transform distressed lives for the better can do so too. "
Until now, why we dream has remained a mystery to science.
But, by piecing together the most recent scientific findings and psychological understandings, and adding groundbreaking discoveries of his own, Joe Griffin has revealed what turns out to be a strikingly simple and satisfying explanation for why we dream and why the content of our dreams is so very often bizarre.
He and co-author Ivan Tyrrell convincingly show that dreaming is vital for mental health (even though remembering dreams is not) and that the sleep state we associate with dreaming (the REM state) also has crucial importance when we are awake.
Indeed, this understanding of the REM state explains not only how our brains construct a model of reality in our minds, but also hypnosis, creativity, and why we develop mental illnesses such as depression and psychosis.
Full of fascinating real life stories and dream case histories, "Dreaming Reality" gives readers the key to understanding their own remembered dreams, explains why day-dreaming was, and is, crucial to human development, and why stories and metaphors have universal appeal. It is a book that will change lives.