Treating Troubled Children and Their Families [Paperback]

Integrating systemic, psychodynamic, and cognitive-behavioral perspectives, this acclaimed book presents an innovative framework for therapeutic work. Ellen Wachtel shows how parents and children all too often get entangled in patterns that cause grief to both generations, and demonstrates how to help bring about change with a combination of family-focused and child-focused interventions. Vivid case examples illustrate creative ways to engage young children in family sessions and conduct complementary sessions with children and parents alone, using a variety of strengths-based, developmentally informed strategies. The paperback edition features a new preface in which the author reflects on the continuing evolution of her approach.

Treating Troubled Children and Their Familiesis a staple text for the child therapy and family therapy courses I teach in our clinical psychology PhD program. I believe it is far and away the most valuable reading that students do in these courses. Students regularly comment on how 'right' it feels to view their clinical work through Dr. Wachtel's integrative lens. They also appreciate the easy balance between theoretical perspectives and very detailed descriptions of what to do in a session. Students have even remarked that they save Dr. Wachtel's chapters for last, as a reward for finishing all of their other reading for the week! Among the most essential qualities of Dr. Wachtel’s work are her respect and appreciation for the strengths of each parent and child, which truly make this book a gift for each new generation of clinicians working with families across all sociocultural contexts. --Karla Klein Murdock, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts-Boston

Treating Troubled Children and Their Familiesis required reading for my master's-level students. Wachtel articulates psychodynamic developmental principles in a way that is invaluable to burgeoning clinicians who l“,