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This book is for youth workers, social workers, mental health staff, specialist teachers, family support workers, and so on, whose clients present with comorbidity, risk, and difficulty accessing mainstream services. It describes inevitably stressful, unsettling work, providing effective help in complex helping systems. An innovative response emerges, building on adaptive (evidence-based) mentalization-based theory and practice. Uniquely, AMBIT applies mentalizing not only directly, in work with clients, but also in work: (a) with the team, (b) with wider (often “dis-integrated”) networks, and (c) creating cultures of learning and radical transparency. AMBIT is as much an improvement system for teams as a “therapy”—strengthening team identity and coherence, and supporting a wider community of practice. Linking evidence-based practice to practice-based evidence, the book concludes with impact descriptions from some of the nearly 200 AMBIT-trained teams, a client’s perspective, and a challenging analysis of systems of care pointing toward the need to create more mentalizing systems.Less

Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Clinical Handbook is an edited volume that summarizes the current state of the research concerning adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This is important, as the research indicates that young adults have low rates of attendance in post-secondary education, of being competitively employed, and of living independently. Traditionally, the field of autism has focused on early screening, diagnosis, and intervention. The poor outcomes indicate that individuals with ASD experience lifelong struggles, and few other books have focused on adolescents and young adults with ASD. Experts from a multitude of disciplines serving this population have written chapters that summarize the research in their area of expertise and offer practical suggestions for clinicians, teachers, and parents. Each chapter provides a bullet-point abstract, a list of additional resources, and study questions. These features are designed to make it useful for college-level instructors. In addition, each chapter provides suggestions for future research, which are designed to move the field forward.Less

The demand for results-driven accountability is pervasive in all aspects of education today. The shift in emphasis from compliance to accountability for closing achievement gaps and improving student outcomes creates challenges and opportunities for school-based professionals. School-based professionals have a significant role to play in supporting school improvement efforts and improving outcomes for students in their role as program evaluators. Despite the need for advanced knowledge and skills in program evaluation, resources dedicated to developing the competencies of school-based professionals in evaluation approaches, methods, and tools are scarce. This book addresses this need by serving as a practical resource for school-based professionals seeking to use program evaluation to enhance data-based decision making and accountability as informed by implementation research and within the context of a multi-tier system of supports framework. Throughout this book, school-based professionals are positioned as change agents guiding their school or school districts in the adoption, implementation, and evaluation of evidence-based interventions and systems of support to meet students’ academic and behavioral needs.Less

In recent years, there has been a movement away from traditional disorder-specific manuals for the treatment of psychological disorders and toward treatment approaches that focus on addressing psychological processes that appear to cut across disorders. These “transdiagnostic” evidence-based treatments may prove to be more cost-efficient and have the potential to increase availability of evidence-based treatments to meet a significant public-health need. Among clinicians, the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders (UP), developed by Dr. David Barlow and colleagues, is the most recognizable and widely used transdiagnostic treatment protocol with empirical support for its use. This book provides clinicians with a “how to” guide for using the UP to treat a broad range of commonly encountered psychological disorders in adults. Each chapter covers a specific emotional disorder but important transdiagnostic processes are highlighted and discussed in relation to treatment. Case studies are employed throughout to illustrate the real-world application of this unique cognitive behavioral protocol and to instruct clinicians in the nuts and bolts of assessment, case formulation, and treatment in accordance with a transdiagnostic perspective. Most of the chapters are authored by current or former unified protocol team members who are all thoroughly familiar with the UP and will be writing about cases they themselves have treated.Less

The aim of this book is to collate what is known about an array of complicating factors for patients with eating disorders, serving as an accessible introduction to each of the comorbidities and symptom presentations highlighted in the volume. The Handbook of Complex and Atypical Eating Disorders presents the available data about atypical and complex ED, in addition to what is known about treatment approaches. The first section contains chapters on the treatment of eating disorders with various psychiatric comorbidities, including trauma, borderline personality disorder, substance use, suicidality, anxiety disorders, and autism spectrum disorders, which may greatly complicate the application of standard treatment approaches. The second section contains chapters exploring treatment of eating disorders with atypical symptom presentations which (i) are not located as a specific diagnostic category in diagnostic criteria for ED’s, (ii) centrally feature ED pathology, and (iii) have emerging data suggesting the distinct nature of the syndrome, including purging disorder, muscle dysmorphia, night eating syndrome, and anorexia with a history of obesity. The final section has chapters which focus on how to adapt eating disorder treatment for atypical populations typically neglected in controlled treatment trials: LGBT, pediatric, male, ethnically diverse, and older adults.Less

Individuals with serious and persistent mental illnesses, including schizophrenia and affective disorders, often experience cognitive deficits that make it difficult to perform everyday tasks. For example, they may have difficulty with attention, memory, processing speed, and problem solving, and this may interfere with functioning at work, school, and in social situations. Cognitive remediation is an evidence-based behavioral treatment for people who are experiencing cognitive impairments that interfere with role functioning. This edition contains all the information needed to set up a cognitive remediation program so clients can strengthen the cognitive skills needed for everyday functioning. The program described is called Neuropsychological and Educational Approach to Remediation (NEAR), which is an evidence-based approach to cognitive remediation that uses carefully crafted instructional techniques that reflect an understanding of how people learn best. The goals of NEAR are to provide a positive learning experience, to promote independent learning, and to promote optimal cognitive functioning in daily life. This second edition of the popular 2009 therapist’s guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to implement NEAR techniques with patients to improve their cognitive functioning and quality of life. Guidelines are provided for setting up and running a successful cognitive remediation program. Therapists learn how to choose appropriate cognitive exercises, recruit and work with clients, perform intake interviews, and create treatment plans. This guide comes complete with all the tools necessary for facilitating treatment, including program evaluation forms and client handouts.Less

Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States; currently, 29 states either allow medical and/or recreational use of the drug. As policy shifts toward medicalization and legalization of marijuana, it is reasonable to expect that prevalence rates and resulting health consequences will increase. But overall the research field regarding marijuana’s possible negative health effects and potential as medicine is still relatively young. Use of marijuana has been linked to negative deleterious effects, but the evidence varies as a function of the age of the user, whether use is recreational or regular, and health domain. This science is stronger for some areas (e.g., mental health) than others (e.g., lung functioning). The issue that marijuana may have medicinal properties has emboldened proponents of marijuana legalization to further push for recreational liberalization of the drug. The words “medical marijuana” suggest that the whole marijuana plant is safe medicine established by rigorous research. Yet the marijuana plant consists of hundreds of components; some are not linked to any medical value and some have different effects on different disorders and ailments. The aim of this edited book is to highlight new and meaningful theory and empirical pertaining to studies on marijuana use trends, the drug’s impact on cognitive and neurological functioning, its medical effects, and treatment approaches for those with a cannabis use disorder.Less

Emerging adulthood, spanning roughly between ages 18 and 29, is increasingly recognized as a unique period of development within the human lifespan. Unfortunately, the peak prevalence for substance use and related disorders occurs during emerging adulthood. At the nexus of developmental theory and clinical practice, this volume explores the idiosyncrasies associated with the assessment and treatment of substance-related disorders among emerging adults. Comprehensive coverage is provided on the developmental aspects of emerging adulthood, emerging adult–specific substance use screening, assessment, and treatment. In addition, many related special topics are addressed, including U.S. healthcare reform and the Affordable Care Act’s impact on treatment for emerging adults, treatment for aging-out foster youth with substance use disorders, collegiate recovery programs, and treatment needs of emerging adults from privileged and marginalized backgrounds. Throughout the book, readers receive research-informed, yet practical, suggestions for emerging adult substance use disorder treatment.Less

Family-based Interpersonal Psychotherapy (FB-IPT) for Depressed Preadolescents presents the rationale and basic principles for interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) and for interpersonal psychotherapy for depressed adolescents (IPT-A), a developmental adaptation that is designed to treat adolescents, ages 12 to 18 years, with depression. The heart of this book introduces family-based interpersonal psychotherapy for depressed preadolescents (FB-IPT), a psychosocial treatment for preadolescent depression for children between 7 and 12 years. FB-IPT is conceptually rooted in an interpersonal model of depression and in developmental research on the antecedents of depression in youth. FB-IPT focuses on improving two domains of interpersonal impairment in depressed preadolescents—parent–child conflict and peer impairment—as a means to decrease preadolescents’ depressive symptoms. Stronger interpersonal skills and relationships buffer depressed preadolescents from stressors that arise during this important developmental period. Research shows that preadolescent depression is an important public health concern because it is often a gateway condition that increases the risk for recurrent depression in adolescence. Preteen depression not only interferes with normative social development at a formative period but also results in residual impairments in interpersonal functioning, which may increase risk for recurrent depression into adolescence and adulthood. Effective interventions for depression in the preadolescent period that target family and interpersonal risk factors may reduce risk for depression recurrence in adolescence. Chapters 5 through 17 of this Therapist Guide describe in detail the steps for conducting FB-IPT with depressed preadolescents and their parents.Less

The use of evidence-based assessment principles is critical in providing contemporary psychological assessment services. Moreover, to ensure that psychological practice is truly evidence-based, scientifically sound assessment results must be incorporated into psychological treatment services. To this end, this volume provides reviews of psychological instruments appropriate for the clinical assessment purposes of (a) diagnosis, (b) case conceptualization and treatment planning, and (c) treatment monitoring and treatment evaluation. Chapters in this volume address the assessment of the most common disorders and conditions among children, adolescents, adults, older adults, and couples. Strategies and instruments for assessing mood disorders, anxiety disorders, couple distress and sexual problems, health-related problems, and many other conditions are covered in depth. Chapters include standardized tables that present ratings of norms, reliability, validity, and clinical utility for clinical assessment instruments. Overall, the volume provides essential information on the most scientifically sound instruments available for a range of psychological assessment purposes.Less