Children in Therapy: Using the Family as a Resource

In Children in Therapy, Everett Bailey brings together a stellar group of clinicians and researchers to describe the benefits and process of involving families in children’s therapy and to discuss ways therapists can effectively integrate individual family members into the overall treatment of children.

Divided into three parts, the book presents theoretical perspectives of five different competency-based approaches: solution-oriented brief therapy, narrative therapy, collaborative language systems therapy, internal family systems therapy, and emotionally focused family therapy; addresses common disorders or problems that children present with, for example: anxiety, depression, oppositional behavior, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, sexual abuse, physical abuse, and problems around divorce; and explains five additional applications for working with children and their families, including how to engage families in therapeutic play, how to involve parents and especially fathers in the therapy, and the importance of considering children’s resilience and social and emotional development. Children in Therapy takes a comprehensive look at the ways therapists can use the family as a resource and draw on the inherent strengths of children and families in order to help children heal. For students and experienced clinicians who wish to expand their therapeutic approaches with children, this book is an invaluable resource.

C. Everett Bailey, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor in the Marriage and Family Therapy Program at North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota, and Clinical Assistant Professor of the Division of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences. He is also a former Assistant Editor for the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy and currently serves on the journal's Editorial Advisory Board.