In order to be reflective practitioners, to understand clients and their problems, helping professionals must have a working knowledge of developmental research. They must view clients in context - as part of, and inseparable from, a family, a social network, and a culture. This book teaches future counselors and social workers how to see that larger picture and prepares them to take into account all of the threads of continuity and change in life that cause people to seek help. After early chapters that introduce theoretical models and issues that will reappear throughout the book, the authors address development chronologically—exploring physical, social, and cognitive development as it evolves, from infancy and early childhood, through middle childhood and adolescence, to adulthood, middle age, and later life. Coverage includes exploration of cross-cultural and cross-gender issues. For professionals in the fields of counseling and social work.
The first developmental textbook written specifically for helping professionals and graduate-level students, The Life Span: Human Development for Helping Professionals, Third Edition, provides an in-depth look at the science of human development and how it applies to the fields of counseling, social work and psychology. Using counseling applications, case studies, special topics boxes, and journal questions, the text introduces developmental theories and research within the context of clinical practice.
Written with a primary focus on linking theory and research to counseling applications, the new third edition features expanded coverage of psycholopathology in developmental context as well as added material on the latest development-related neuroscientific findings. The revised edition also provides an open access text-specific companion website that offers a full range of multimedia instructor supplements.
The depth of coverage bypasses that of other life span texts though expanded coverage of research and through clearly linking theory to real world applications. The integration of culture and gender discussions throughout the text helps to introduce students to the most recent findings involving cross-cultural and cross-gender differences. Extensive counseling applications sections appear in every chapter and link counseling practices directly to developmental theories. These sections, which cover topics such as incorporating touch therapy with low birth-weight infants and promoting social competence of peer rejected children, show how the latest information on developmental science can impact and inform counseling techniques and treatment plans. NEW! Expanded coverage of developmental psychopathology. Special boxes called “Focus on Developmental Psychopathology” accompany specific chapters and use new research to help readers understand how deviant developmental pathways emerge. Here, issues of etiology, symptoms, and prevention supplement chapter information about normal development at various stages in life. Topics covered in this feature include pervasive developmental disorders, mood disorders, conduct disorders, and anxiety disorders.
NEW! Revised Case Studies and Discussion questions. Updated case studies and discussion questions present realistic scenarios related to chapter topics and allow students to practice resolving issues that arise for different populations in a variety of situations and help students think critically about the clinical implications of developmental facts and theories.
NEW! Expanded emphasis on neuro-scientific findings related to development. This up-to-date material incorporatesadvances in research on brain development and physiological processes that affect development.
