Understanding and Treating the Aggression of Children: Fawns in Gorilla Suits - Softcover

Crenshaw Clinical Director Of The Children’s Home Of Poughkeepsie, David A.; Mordock, John B.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0765705613 ISBN 13: 9780765705617

Publisher: Jason Aronson, Inc., 2007

Synopsis

Understanding and Treating the Aggression of Children: Fawns in Gorilla Suits provides a thorough review of the theoretical and research basis of the techniques and interventions in the treatment of aggressive and sometimes violent children. This is not a dry and sterile academic review but rather one that comes from work directly in the therapy room with thousands of hurting and in many cases traumatized children. One cannot read this book without being deeply moved and touched by the pain of these children and yet also be buoyed by their courage and willingness to persevere against formidable barriers.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

"UNDERSTANDING AND TREATING THE AGGRESSION OF CHILDREN, is a splendid and important addition to the clinical literature in this vital, yet relatively neglected, domain of child therapy. Its excellence lies in its lucid and concise depiction of the ingredients that go into the 'creation' of such children and its forthright yet subtle ideas as to 'how to best treat them.' It beautifully depicts how the insidious 'unholy trinity' of loss, voicelessness, and shame combine to create the 'fawn-like' underlying personality structure of these children. It goes on to address the essential roles of the impact on the therapist of working with these children; the need and methods for how to work with their parents; the way to address these children's inadequate defensive structures; the importance of milieu therapy in working with the most extreme of these children; the interplay of developmental/psychodynamic forces with the child's neuro-physiology, and, crucially, the attempts to revive a viable sense of hopefulness in these children as the beginning step to better and more secure attachments and empathy. This book should be in the library of any child clinician working with seriously troubled youngsters—it is engagingly written, compellingly astute, and unstintingly helpful in its approach." --Steve Tuber, Ph.D., City University of New York at City College

"This first of two volumes is a comprehensive A to Z guide for clinicians who work with aggressive and violent children. It covers a wealth of information from understanding the underlying causes through developmental failures and recent findings from neuroscience, along with psychodynamic formulations on through to special considerations to treatment and working with parents. The authors close with a chapter on fostering hope and resilience that gives us all hope in working with such a difficult population. This book makes an important contribution to the field of child therapy and needs to be included in professional and personal libraries." --Athena A. Drewes, Psy.D., RPT-S, The Astor Home for Children

About the Author

David A. Crenshaw, Ph.D. ABPP, is the founding director of Rhinebeck Child and Family Center, LLC in Rhinebeck, New York. He is Board Certified in Clinical Psychology and a Registered Play Therapist Supervisor. He is the author of Bereavement (now in its third printing), A Guidebook for Engaging Resistant Children in Therapy: A Projective Drawing and Storytelling Series, Evocative Strategies in Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy and a forthcoming book, Healing Paths to a Child's Soul. John B. Mordock, Ph.D., ABPP, was employed by the Astor Home for Children for 28 years. In his last position, he directed the agencyOs community mental health programs, helping to develop a full continuum of services for emotionally disturbed children and their families. He is the author of twelve books, including a textbook on exceptional children.

Edition details

• Publisher: Jason Aronson, Inc.
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0765705613
• ISBN 13: 9780765705617
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 312