Help! My Kids Are Hurting

Marv Penner is a youth ministry expert with more than 30 years in the field, chairs the youth and family ministry department at Briercrest Graduate School in Saskatchewan, Canada. He's also director of the Canadian Centre of Adolescent Research and author of "The Youth Worker's Guide to Parent Ministry" and "Help! My Kids Are Hurting."

Contents
Preface 6
Introduction 8
Section One: Understanding the World of Hurting Kids 11
Chapter 1: Five Things You Can Count On 12
Chapter 2: Eight Unique Challenges of Working with Kids in Pain 15
Section Two: Becoming a Person Who Can Help Hurting Kids 21
Chapter 3: What Do Hurting Kids Want from Us? 22
Chapter 4: What about Boundaries? 24
Chapter 5: What’s Your Style---Hugger, Teacher, Preacher, or Surgeon? 29
Chapter 6: Sorting Through Your Own Baggage 39
Section Three: The Nuts and Bolts of Helping Hurting Kids 43
Chapter 7: It’s All about L.O.V.E. 44
Chapter 8: “L” Is for LISTEN 47
Chapter 9: “O” Is for OFFER 54
Chapter 10: “V” Is for VALIDATE 62
Chapter 11: “E” Is for ELIMINATE, EMPOWER, and EXPECT 69
Chapter 12: Mistakes That Can Destroy Your Ministry with Hurting Kids 76
Section Four: When You’re Out of Your Depth: Rules for Referral 83
Chapter 13: Why You Should Refer a Hurting Student 85
Chapter 14: When You Should Refer a Hurting Student 89
Chapter 15: How You Should Refer a Hurting Student 97
Section Five: Tackling the Tough Stuff---10 Topics You Need to Understand 99
Chapter 16: Eating Disorders 100
Chapter 17: Adolescent Suicide 104
Chapter 18: Rape, Acquaintance Rape, and Sexual Assault 109
Chapter 19: Adolescent Pregnancy 113
Chapter 20: Substance Abuse 117
Chapter 21: Grief and Loss 122
Chapter 22: Self-Injury 127
Chapter 23: Family Breakdown 130
Chapter 24: Pornography and Sexual Addictions 134
Chapter 25: Adolescent Depression 138
Final Thoughts 142